Weighted blanket for 8 year old
January 24, 2020 12:02 PM   Subscribe

My eight year old was diagnosed years ago with a sensory processing disorder. My impression is that she might enjoy sleeping with a weighted blanket, but I don't know much about them. Help me choose one, please?

The sensory processing disorder, while noticable in some ways, is not keeping her back in life and she's generally cheeky, happy and smart. But she does seem to enjoy a heavier touch than me or the other kid, jiggles around a lot for the sensation of it, lifts heavy things or kind of twists around on the floor for fun. She says she can't really imagine what a heavier blanket would feel like, and if it would be cuddly enough. I'd like to try it out to see if she'd enjoy sleeping with one.

There's a bit of a hype around weighted blankets right now, so there's almost too much choice out there.

Do you have any advice? Is there any reason I shouldn't get one, and what should I look for when buying?

Also, while she's had occupational therapy for a while, she's not currently in therapy, and I can't ask her therapist, who has moved on to a different place.
posted by Omnomnom to Grab Bag (12 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Do you have enough normal sized blankets/quilts to make a hefty stack of them? Put them in a laundry hamper and a bathroom scale and weigh out 20-30lbs of blankets/towels etc. That's what we do when I need a little something extra in the blanket department. Free test-drive!
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:11 PM on January 24, 2020 [1 favorite]


I believe they are supposed to not exceed a percentage of body weight, especially for children so consider that in a purchase as well
posted by raccoon409 at 12:17 PM on January 24, 2020 [6 favorites]


My daughter has sensory processing disorder as well. Supposedly, weighted blankets are not supposed to exceed 10 percent of a person's body weight.

My daughter just didn't care for it. She prefers to have multiple blankets, comforters and pillows arranged around her. She spends some time arranging her nest every night. But every child is different!

My child also enjoys the compression from this macrame hanging chair. I think it satisfies the need for compression and movement. It's only $46.00 and it's been well worth it for us, so that might be something to consider too.
posted by Ostara at 12:21 PM on January 24, 2020 [1 favorite]


I love my weighted blanket, but there have been a few tragedies involving children, so be very careful, especially if you have other, younger kids or younger kids may be visiting.
Here are some safety tips.
posted by FencingGal at 12:39 PM on January 24, 2020 [2 favorites]


I like my YNM brand blanket that has the glass beads sewn into the batting so that they don’t leak if the blanket develops a hole. It’s also made of natural fiber, which helps keep things from overheating in the summer.
posted by corey flood at 12:41 PM on January 24, 2020 [2 favorites]


I'm autistic and use a weighted blanket. It's really not the same as a stack of quilts, though that is what I slept under before. The fact that it's less warm, less bulky, more breathable, and just denser actually does make a difference. I prefer the weighted blanket, and I know others who prefer the stack of quilts.

Some weighted blankets are cuddlier than others. The cuddliest I've encountered (and also the most breathable and least sweaty in summer) are the ones that appear to be knit out of massively, absurdly chunky yarn, like this one. Some are also designed with ties or buttons that let you fasten them to a duvet cover, which gives extra cuddliness in the form of fluffiness and softness. Without those ties and buttons, though, they just wad up in the corner of a duvet cover instead of staying spread out in it.

As everyone else is saying, stick to the suggestions about blanket weight vs body weight. They will seem too low — you will think "five or ten pounds is very light even for a kid! that can't possibly do anything!" — and they might even feel too low when she gets under the blanket at first. But for something to sleep under for a full night, 10% of her bodyweight is a lot and will likely take getting used to. It will almost certainly not be too little.
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:18 PM on January 24, 2020 [5 favorites]


I also want to caution you to be very careful about pets who want to sleep under these blankets. Not a good idea.
posted by all about eevee at 1:43 PM on January 24, 2020


When I asked our 8yr old's occupational therapist about it (we see her for SPD, ADHD) she recommended no more than a 5 or 6 pound blanket. We just got this one this past week. It's more a throw size than a full length blanket which imo seems safer and it's plenty big for him. He loves getting under it but it hasn't stopped the behavior I hoped it would, which was getting up out of bed and coming into our room in the middle of the night.
posted by snowymorninblues at 1:48 PM on January 24, 2020


I got the adult size of this one, was impressed with the quality. Was about $10 cheaper in December.
posted by Sophont at 1:56 PM on January 24, 2020


If cuddly means texture, you can put it in a duvet cover. I have two weighted blankets and neither is a texture that I like with my own sensory issues, so I made covers for both. Plus a cover is so much easier to wash than the weighted blanked.

My main one is slightly smaller than normal twin size, it was just the right size to take an ultra-soft king sized fleece blanket, fold in it half and add a zipper to the long side. I use the fluffy one in the winter and switch to one made from a sheet in the summer.

I also got a great deal by buying on Etsy from someone who buys factory seconds, finds the defective section and repairs it with new beads. Was so good I went back to get a lap sized one for the living room.
posted by buildmyworld at 2:14 PM on January 24, 2020


I have this one and like it. It gets shared in our family; sometimes someone just needs to sleep under 'the very heavy blanket'.

They have a weight calculator on their site, and a specific section just for kids although it looks like most of them come in a variety of weights and sizes.

I can't speak to others but this one is pretty breathable. It's heavy but not like being in a greenhouse.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:59 PM on January 24, 2020


I have one, a queen 20 lb for myself and my child with similar issues who cosleeps (she's
8, it's part cultural, part issues) frequently steals/shares the blanket by choice. One cat likes to climb under this blanket also. Otherwise she sleeps with no blankets at all - nothing or everything.

I would start by a tightly tucked in bedsheet and a quilt/blanket over that first, then try a large swaddle, essentially wrapping her up like a burrito for a nap as a trial in a light blanket/sheet. If she respinds favourably to that, she may like a child-sized weighted blanket. A single sized at 10lb with minky fabric and satin on the other provides a lot of tactile feedback. Make sure the quilting is small squares or channels so the beads stay distributed and it's machine washable, or at least the cover is removable for washing.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 10:50 PM on January 24, 2020


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