Here’s a hot topic for you: What baby sleeping bags should your baby use? To keep your baby at an ideal temperature during the hotter and cooler months, you’ll need to know how much warmth a baby sleeping bag or doona provides. Manufacturers developed a system to help parents and caregivers know which sleeping bag to buy for each situation. This is called the TOG rating.
Key Points
- TOG is the Thermal Overall Grade used to show how much insulation the sleeping bag provides. Australian TOG rating ranges from 0.2 to 3.5.
- The TOG rating helps parents and caregivers choose the best sleeping bag to ensure a safe sleeping environment.
- The TOG rating was developed to help reduce the risk of SIDS by ensuring babies are not too hot or too cold when they sleep.
In This Article
- What Is a TOG Rating?
- A Guide To The TOG Rating Grade
- TOG Testing
- How To Dress Your Baby When Sleeping In A TOG-Rated Sleeping Bag
- Check For Signs Of Overheating
What Is A TOG Rating?
The Thermal Overall Grade (TOG) measures thermal capacity. It indicates the amount of insulation a fabric provides. Overall, TOG ratings show how much warmth certain clothes and bedding provide. The higher the number, the warmer the sleep sack, and the lower the number, the cooler the item is.
This allows consumers to choose the correct sleep bag for the room temperature to ensure babies aren’t too hot or too cold. The TOG rating system has done wonders to prevent overheating in infants and, in turn, has helped minimize the risk of sudden infant deaths. But how do you use the TOG system?
A Guide To The TOG Rating Grade
When choosing a sleeping bag for your baby, there are several factors to consider, including which TOG rating is appropriate for warm and cold weather months. These include:
- What clothing your baby is wearing under the sleeping bag
- Your baby’s room temperature
- Your baby’s health
- Any other bedding your baby will be using.
Understanding TOG RATINGS
Here are the different TOG ratings to help you understand which baby sleeping bag to choose:
0.2 to 0.3 TOG | SUMMER
This TOG rating indicates that this fabric is ultra-lightweight and breathable. In addition, it’s designed to keep your little one cool. This makes any sleeping bag or doona ideal to use during the summer months. In areas that experience extreme heat and households that don’t have cool air or air conditioning, this is the best option.
0.7 to 1.0 TOG | ALL SEASONS
The 0.7 TOG rating is ideal for all seasons as long as your baby is dressed appropriately. If you want to use a baby sleeping bag with this TOG rating throughout the year, it is recommended to keep your baby’s nursery between 18°C and 20°C. This can be done by conditioning the air with a heater, fan or air conditioner.
2.0 and 2.5 TOG | WINTER
These TOG ratings are ideal for the colder winter months and households with insufficient heating. For example, if your baby’s room temperature falls below 18°C, a sleeping bag with this TOG rating would be best for your baby, depending on their clothes.
Most products, like sleep bags, clothing, and other bedding that have undergone the TOG rating test, are likely to have a guide on the back of the packaging. This is to assist you in choosing the correct TOG rating for your specifications.
TOG Testing
A TOG rating is not a mandatory testing requirement in Australia. However, the TOG rating system is widely accepted and understood by many customers. Most TOG ratings are tested in accredited testing labs with a TOG metre.
The TOG meter has a reader with temperature sensors connected to a temperature-controlled cabinet with three channels for temperature readings before and after known insulation. The third sensor is for construction.
How To Dress Your Baby When Sleeping In A TOG-Rated Sleeping Bag
How you dress your baby for bedtime will also play a part in whether you should use a TOG-rated sleeping bag. The key is to dress them just as you would dress, not too hot or cold. If you dress your baby too warmly and put them in a sleeping bag, it runs the risk of them getting overheated.
Consider the following as a general rule for how to dress your baby for a TOG-rated sleeping bag. But you’ll need to use this at your discretion and pay attention to your baby’s needs.
TOG Rating Outdoor Temperature Clothing
A sleeping bag isn’t every parent’s preference, and some babies may also find it uncomfortable to sleep in. In this instance, it’s best to look at the TOG rated fabrics used to make baby clothing and what rating you need to look for in line with the season and outdoor temperature.
0.2-0.3 TOG | SUMMER 23 °C And Above Nappy
During the summer months, or when temperatures meet and exceed 23 °C, it’s best to dress your baby in clothes that have a very low TOG rating of 0.2-0.3 degrees. This will usually be sleeveless and legless vest suits, but many parents choose to leave their baby to sleep in nothing but a nappy to prevent overheating.
0.7-1.0 TOG | ALL SEASONS 18°C to 22 °C Bodysuit
When the temperature is between 18 and 22 °C, baby clothing with a TOG rating of 0.7-1.0 is best. The types of clothing available with this rating will be short-sleeved bodysuits and sleeveless bodysuits.
2.0-3.5 TOG | WINTER 16°C to 17 °C Romper Or Bodysuit
As soon as winter rolls around and the temperature drops to 16°C and lower, you should choose baby clothing with a 2.0-3.5 TOG rating. These will likely be items such as rompers and bodysuits, as well as baby pyjamas.
Check It’s the Correct Size
To ensure your baby sleeps safely, you’ll need to use the correct size of sleep bags. Here are the average sizes for your baby’s age, but this will differ from baby to baby.
- Newborns and Infants (up to six months old) – a 70 cm sleeping bag best suits newborns. If your baby is premature, ensure the sleeping bag has a maximum width of 60 cm.
- Babies (six to 12 months old) – sleeping bags for a child at this age need to have a length of at least 90cm.
Some baby sleeping bag designs have snap fasteners to allow parents and caregivers to adjust them to fit babies and young children as they will vary in height.
Organic Cotton Sleeping Bags Are Preferable
A baby sleep bag made of organic cotton is lightweight and allows increased airflow. This fabric also has other benefits, like improved moisture drainage, which will hopefully reduce the number of times your baby might wake up in the night due to the uncomfortable feeling of excess sweating.
Organic cotton has an amazingly soft feel, which is brilliant for keeping your baby’s sensitive skin irritation-free due to its hypoallergenic qualities.
Check For Signs Of Overheating
As much as the TOG rating can help you make an informed decision on which bedding to use for your baby to keep them warm and not hot, you need to stay vigilant. Not all babies will react the same way to different bedding. Here are some signs that indicate your baby could be overheating:
- Damp hair
- Sweaty back or chest
- Waking up frequently
- Red ears or looking flushed
- Feeling hot (with or without fever)
- Fussing or restlessness
- Sluggish
Babies predominantly control their body temperature through their heads and faces. Therefore, it’s crucial that if your baby sleeps in a sleeping bag, regardless of the TOG rating, they’re placed on their back, and their head and face remain uncovered.
Final Thoughts
The TOG rating system was developed to improve consumers’ sleep comfort and safety regarding bedding and clothing. This is especially helpful in providing parents and caregivers with a way to provide their baby with a safe sleeping environment where they won’t get too hot or too cold and reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.