Using a Space Heater in Baby's Room

My little duplex gets FREEZING!!! In my sons room i use a lil space heater that i sit @ the doorway on the hardwood floor. It works great and doesnt get too hot, Bought it at target 2 lil ones for $24.

I use a tabletop space heater in my daughter's room. She's almost a year old and we have been using it since she was born. We got it at Home Depot. We installed an extra smoke detector in her room just to be on the safe side but we love it.

I think a space heater is fine.... I use the one that is small and square and has a fan option in addition to the low/hi heat option. It makes for good white noise as well. They are about 20.00 at Target.

There is an AC unit in my daughters window, and though my husband built a frame for it to fit in, it is still almost like the window is open all the time somewhat --- so it FREEZES in there at night. We live in an older model townhome that has those very unsafe wall heaters, so we use space heaters throughout the home (one upstairs one downstairs). We got one from target that has a thermostat that you can set so the heater turns off once it reaches the desired temp (it also automatically shuts off if it is tilted at an angle or pushed onto the floor) - but what we do is go ahead and put the kiddo to bed, and when we go to bed, we open her door and put the space heater in the hallway on high between our open bedroom doors: the warm air from the hallway makes it into her bedroom enough to warm it to a really nice temp without making it too hot in there.

I have a 5 year old with the same problem. He kicks every cover off, but his room is in the back of the house and gets a little chilly back there in his and our room. What we did is we got an electric heater that mounts to the wall, it has a very low setting, so when it gets cold in the winter here we set it on the lowest setting and it kicks on only when it reaches a certain temperature. Very efficient does not get hot to the touch and not able to put little fingers in there either. They put off enough heat to keep him warm at night, but does not runny the electric bill sky high.

No, it is not safe. However, if you have stable electricity and your electrical wiring is sound you are probably safe. Your best bet would be to use a small heater with a thermostat (they have digital ones now) that you can set. Make sure if it tips that it has an automatic shut off and keep stuff at least 3 feet away from it. Basically, you are going to have to choose one or the other so pick what you can live with and sleep with! Good luck!

we had the same problem. we lived in a victorian house with no heat in the bedrooms. i was too scared to use a space heater so we put our daughter to sleep in the crib, having warmed it before she went down. then when we went to bed we pulled her in with us. even if she didn't use too many blankets she had the body warmth of us. she still had no problems with going to sleep on her own cause she was still put to bed by herself. using the space heater is just scary cause of the "what if's". good luck, i hope you find what works for you:)

We use a space heater in our daughter's room and it works great. We bought one that shuts off automatically when the room reaches desired temp.

There are a few things you can try - first, make sure that the windows in his room are corked and if they are old, there are very inexpensive window sealers that can help solve a draft problem. If you have an area rug in there - consider putting in wall to wall carpeting with a thick pad (if money is tight, this can be the holiday gift that you ask of from your family (parents, grandparents, siblings)). There are also the old fashioned PJ's of our time with the flannel footies, many kids find them fun - also consider thermal PJS too. If these don't work, then a place a small NEW space heater in a very safe spot in the room - (where it can't be tipped over in the middle of the night). Good luck!! K. Andrews (Author of "Cool! You're Pregnant! The Handbook for the Busy Woman"

Tips on space heaters. I returned two before settling with the Lasko $30 dollar heater. The first was also Lasko but had a digital top. What I didn't know about digital is they BEEP..when you unplug, plug back in, change the temp...each degree...BEEP BEEP BEEP and the lights flash on the screen. Woke up the baby, I took it back. Then I tried a radiator heater I was assured this would be quiet spent a $100. Yes the heater was quiet then it starts to ping and bang so loud I thought someone was banging around outside almost woke up the baby. Returned. At this point I went simple and bought a manual turn dial Lasko and have never looked back, quiet, keeps my kids rooms warm but not hot and turns off when the room warms up. Also if tipped over shuts off. I have been using one for 3 winters now and still works great. I use the fan setting in the summer. There are several brands out there and mine has a ceramic cover so no little fingers can get in. You need to be cautious and make sure the heater is turned off right after the kids get up in the morning but the ceramic cover cools quickly I think you would be happy.

When my son was small, we bought a space heater that had a thermostat. I placed the thermostat control on his dresser right next to his crib so that it would shut off at a certain temperature. It ran up the bill, but kept my son comfortable at night. I slept easier, too! :)

Just make sure to get one that has safety features such as automatic turn off if anything gets to close to it; and a timer is nice so it doesn't get too hot in the room. We also use a space heater in my kids room and found a really nice, safe one at Walmart for around $30. I would recommend staying away from the old model versions that have a large round metal dish in the back to direct heat. Those are really dangerous!

I have the same issue. On cold nights, I dress my 13 month oldson in a long sleeve onsie, cotton Pjs, and then a blanket sleeper. On really cold nights, we have a sealed radiator. All my research shows that's the safest way to go, that other types of heaters, i.e. fan or heating coils, not only suck tons of energy, but are hard to regulate and could possibly be a fire hazard.

We had the same problem and my kids hated the sleep sacks as well. I simply put socks on their feet and doubled up the sleepers (bigger sized one over top a smaller one). I was too worried about a fire to have an unmonitored heater going at night with everyone asleep.

we use a space heater in our son's room and it is working fine, I just make sure to look in every so often and to make sure it doesnt get too hot. Also make sure it is a good distance from where the baby is sleeping, ours is across the room from where he sleeps and is on the lowest automatic setting.

We've used one in our son's room since he was born. I learned in my research that the ceramic heaters are dangerous. We use an electric heater that automatically shuts off if it is bumped or tips over.

I use a space heater in my daughter's room. It's an oil based, metal one that I bought new and followed the directions from the manufacturer (keep 3' away from furniture, etc). I can turn it down real low so it doesn't overheat her and I don't have to heat the whole house.

The best solution we have ever found! www.eheat.com We use these in both of our kids' rooms and in the living room! Very low cost,(3 cents an hour) no off gassing or danger whatsoever. Environmentally friendly, I could go on and on, we love these heaters! Most importantly, my kids wake up warm and toasty!

We have the Vornado space heater for both of our children's rooms and it is great. We bought the first heater for my oldest 2 years ago and haven't had any problems.

The thing to know about space heaters is that their wattage is similar to a hair drier, so we only use them when the kids are in their room at night. I used to leave them on during the day to keep the room warm until we had an electrician out looking at something else and he mentioned the wattage thing to me. The Vornado heats the room up quickly so you don't need to leave it running when they're not in their room anyway.

I would be very careful about it as most throw off a fume and it can be unknown to us parents as we may not be able to smell it.
I recommend getting the flannel sleepers that have feet and zip up. This is what we did to our children when they were younger and now my children do it to their children.
This will protect when blankets won't.
B.

C.,

When my son was young, I would put the space near the door and then run the heater for 1 1/2 hours and then the room would be warm that way.

Or you could just put Aaron( my son's name too) in one of those feeted sleeper and that will keep him warm all night without the heater.

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,
S.

HI, we have the same problem at our house woth our 2 year old son...my mom just bought a radiator heater for her bathroom. You fill these with water or oil, depending on which one you get, and it has a thermostat so it shuts on and off....no fire or open element. We will probably get one of these soon. She got hers at Walmart, around 40-50 bucks.

We use space heaters on really cold nights. You can get ones that allow you to control the temperature of the room (they turn on and off as needed). Most also have a safety tip feature that shuts the heater off if it gets tipped over (ours is so sensitive that just bumping it will make it stop for a minute). Also I turn ours off before I go to sleep, once the room is really warm it will stay warm as long as the door is shut.

My baby likes to sleep naked. If it is not cold enough for the space heater I dress her warmly after she has fallen asleep. It is easy enough to slip on the carter's two piece long sleeve jammies and some socks, on really cold nights I'll throw on a sweatshirt and sweat pants too.

But keep in mind that some people, even when it is cold, get really hot when they sleep. My 8 yr old daughter still can't sleep with anything heavier than a sheet even when it is cold. I used to wrap her up the way I do with my 2 yr old but it just made her miserable and she wouldn't sleep well. My husband has a fan blowing on him while I wrap up with an extra blanket. Even though they feel cold to me they both swear they are comfy.

We have used a very small space heater in our son's room for over two years (he is now three). Make sure it is solid so it doesn't tip over. Keep it away from anything that could burn easily --- we have it sitting on the hard wood floor away from the rug. Teach your child not to touch it. I got ours at Walgreens and it is about 8 inches high and grey (and has a solid base). WE sometimes go in at night just to check it and make sure it is not too hot. Ours also has a thermostat so it clicks off at a certain point (That made me feel better).

_Kris

Hi C.

We have the same problem as well. I use the Vornado space heater. It is really safe. It looks like a little fan and it doesn't get hot to the touch, has a thermostat and a fan with the choice of on or auto so when the room hits the temp you want to keep it at it turns off and then back on.

Our house is also super cold in winter, and our heat source is virtually unusable because it's an old floor grate in the living room. We've chosen to heat key spaces in the house, namely the kids' rooms and the living room, with an electric wall "panel" heater called and EconoHeat. It works to make a small- to medium-sized room comfortably warm, though we still bundle the kids in fleece if it's really cold out.
The units are affordable and not too expensive to run. Also, they are low-profile on the wall and will not burn a child's hand if they happen to brush against it. Here's the website:

http://www.eheat.com/index.php

I definitely recommend these heaters for a child's room!

Good luck,
J..

Space heaters are very scary to me, too! I would look for other alternatives if you can. Will he wear pajamas with feet in them (as opposed to a sack)? My son still likes to wear footed pajamas and he's 2.5!

We have used a space heater in our daughters room since she was an infant ( she is now 4 years old) without any problems. We did hunt around for one that didn't get too hot on the outside. It is made by Honeywell. However, our daughter never climbed out of her crib and by the time she was in a toddler bed she was old enough to understand that touching it would hurt her. If your son climbs out then I might be more concerned about it tipping over than the heat. I hope this helps some.

I have always used a space heater in my daughter's room since she was brand new. Just as long as you are careful where you place it and make sure there is nothing flamable near it you should be fine. I have been using a temperature controlled space heater. Once it hits a specific temperature it will turn itself off. Very handy to have. Target, Home Depot, Sears...they all sell them.