Dr. Komarovsky about how old a child needs a pillow
In the department of children's goods for newborns you can see a rather wide selection of various pillows - both rectangular and figured. But does a newborn and baby need a pillow? This question often worries young parents who, relying on their own feelings, are sure that the baby can’t do without a pillow. The well-known children's doctor and TV presenter Yevgeny Komarovsky answers these questions.
Age allowable
In the rules of healthy childhood sleep, which Dr. Komarovsky formulated, a special place is given to the pillow.
This subject, without which adults can’t imagine their dream, according to the pediatrician - and most of the pediatric doctors agree with him - a child under two years of age is not needed at all.
Usually this statement causes a storm of emotions and bewilderment, because the child, according to the parents, can not sleep without a pillow, he will have a headache. This is a misconception, says Komarovsky.
Apart from the fact that there is no need for such a sleeping accessory for a newborn and an infant, its use can be quite dangerous:
- sleeping on a pillow increases the likelihood of sudden infant death syndrome (not reliably proven, but there is an assumption);
- a child after 4–5 months of life, when he develops active coups, may turn in his sleep and block the nasal passages, as a result of which the onset of asphyxiation is possible;
- sleeping on a pillow in the first two years of life increases the likelihood of deformation changes in the cervical vertebrae;
- pillow filler can cause an acute allergic reaction of the first type - immediate, which is often accompanied by the development of edema of the respiratory system and death of a person.
The body of the child has different proportions than the body of an adult, Komarovsky says. The head of babies is larger in size and as a percentage of the body, and therefore it is important to maintain a balance - both the head and the body during sleep should be on the same horizontal plane.
By 2 years, the balance changes, and sleep on the pillow becomes quite acceptable, provided that the parents take the choice of the product with full responsibility.
When is there a need?
Sometimes this general rule of using pillows in childhood has exceptions. Usually, situations are considered in which a pillow can be recommended for a child under the age of two.
These situations include:
- congenital torticollis;
- prevention of torticollis with the outlined changes in the condition of the neck muscles;
- frequent abundant regurgitation, neurological abnormalities;
- hypertonus or hypotonia of the muscles of the child, in need of correction (at the discretion of the doctor).
In all these cases we are not talking about pillows, which are sold in children's stores and so delight the eyes of parents who went shopping for a newborn, but about special products, called orthopedic. Buy this "just in case" and start using from the first days of a baby's life - parental crime. An orthopedic product, if it is not needed because of the peculiarities of the baby’s state of health, is no less harmful than any other pillow.
Today, sellers of children's goods go to any tricks, just to sell their parents something, and therefore so-called anatomical pillows appeared on the market, which are not orthopedic.
If you want to buy such a baby, ask your pediatrician's opinion - if he sees at least some reason for using the product, whether the baby needs it. In most cases, this is a worthless and dangerous purchase.
Tips for choosing
Thus, the choice of pillows, if the baby is healthy and does not show an orthopedic product, should attend to only when the baby is 2 years old. Evgeny Komarovsky points out that an improperly selected product increases the likelihood of a neck muscle strainthat can be not only a cause of restless sleep, but also cause headaches, curvature of the spine.
Despite the abundance of types of products and vigorous imagination of those who produce them (pillows, balls, products in the form of toys), the best choice would be a regular rectangular pillow. She will fit perfectly in the crib if the baby sleeps in it; it is convenient, even if the child is spinning heavily in a dream.
The optimal length is the length in the range from 30 to 45 centimeters, width - from 40 to 65 centimeters. These parameters do not play a big role. Much more important, what is the height of the pillow. Ideally, it should be equal to the distance from the ear to the shoulder of the child or from the base of the neck to the shoulder with the addition of 1 centimeter.
Thus, for children under 2 years old (according to indications) the height should not exceed 1–2 centimeters; in 2–3 years the child can sleep on a pillow, which is about 6 centimeters in height. At preschool age from 3.5 to 7 years, you can buy a product taller - 8-9 centimeters.
Pay attention to the pillows with a slope - their height gradually decreases at an angle of about 25 degrees. Such a product is not only under the head of the baby, but also comes under his back, which provides a more harmonious development of the neck muscles and vertebrae. There are also porous pads available for sale - they can pass air even if the child in the sleep snaps into it.
Orthopedic pillows are better for choosing according to the certain recommendation of the doctor. They are always somewhat shorter than normal. On the sides there are small rollers that fix the position of the head, as well as grooves that support the neck.
Down and feather pillows, which are so respected by grandmothers and great-grandmothers, are not suitable for children, since such fillers often cause allergies in a child. In addition, they infest parasites, to get rid of which is quite difficult and troublesome.
Pillows with camel or sheep wool fillers are better in terms of hygiene and hypoallergenicity, but they are short-lived, quickly losing their shape and height. Therefore, they also can not be considered the best choice for the child. The holofiber almost does not let the air through and is definitely not suitable for sleeping in the summer. During sleep on such a pillow, the child is threatened with diaper rash in the neck, head, ears. The synthepon has the same characteristics.
When choosing a baby pillow, you should give preference to such fillers as artificial down and special foam with memory effect (“memoriform”), cotton. Cushions filled with buckwheat husk also enjoy quite positive feedback from specialists and parents.. These have one drawback - when the head moves in a dream, the pillow rustles.
The pillowcase should be sewn exclusively from natural fabric. This will help protect your baby from contact allergies.
Do I need a cushion in the stroller?
No matter what the grandmothers say, a child under 2 years old does not need a pillow in the stroller. Earlier, when the strollers did not have the function of lifting the back, the one-year-old baby was really put a pillow for support, but today there is no need for this - you can put the baby in the stroller without pillows.
In winter, when the baby is dressed in warm overalls, his legs are higher than his head, and here a small pillow can be quite useful - a flat and hard, unlike a pillow for sleeping. You can choose this separately, and some models of wheelchairs are supplied with such a pad as a pleasant bonus for customers.
In the next video, Dr. Komarovsky and a consultant for children's products will explain and show how to choose the right pillow for a child, how old it is needed and what to pay special attention to when buying.
