When should I start my toddler with a pillow and duvet? Sleep expert Deborah Taylor answers your questions

Sleeping bags and sleep sacks can be used up to around 2-3 years of age or discontinued earlier on, dependent on parental preference. Also worth considering – where does your toddler sleep, and can they move around safely in a sleeping bag? Most guidelines suggest that babies should not have pillows and duvets before the age of one year at the earliest. In my experience, most parents prefer not to use a pillow and duvet until around 18 months old, or when their toddler moves out of a cot and into a bed.

In the light of the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) advice, it is better to have as little bedding as possible in a cot to ensure a safe sleeping environment. Toddlers will be warm enough in a sleep sack and sleeping flat is better for alignment of the spine at this age. By the time they go into a toddler bed, it is perfectly fine to use a duvet of appropriate tog rating for the temperature of the room, and also a toddler pillow.

Deborah Taylor is a UK trained paediatric nurse and health visitor who has lived and worked in Hong Kong for the past 11 years. She has specialised in infant and toddler sleep for many years, initially in London, UK and in 2004, founded the first infant and young child sleep clinic in Hong Kong. Following the success of the sleep clinic, Deborah now has her own company Infant Sleep Resources offering a range of sleep services and packages to suit your infant and toddler sleep and settling challenges