does anyone use an electric blanket for children

meritaten

I dont use electric blankets - I think the purchase of proper blankets which will last thirty years or more (or the blankets I crochet from leftover wool) should keep people warm.
Why waste electricity when a good duvet and/ or blankets would keep you warm?

I grew up in a house without central heating. we had blankets on the beds and hot water bottles (tho I would use wheat bags these days as I remember how awful it was when my hotty burst! It burnt my feet and soaked my mattress!).
use enough bedding and warmth is NOT a problem! To this day I cannot abide a hot bedroom - I prefer to have a couple of duvets and a coverlet. that way If I am too hot I can discard a layer.

Bumpmakesfour

One of my childhood memories is walking into my parents room to get them to read me my sdtrawberry shortcake book late one night when they were asleep aged about 4 (yes it's that vivid)to find the bottom of their bed smouldering..the electric blanket was burning:eek: Can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't gone in because I couldn't sleep!Obviously,as a result,I would never ever use an electric blanket anywhere in my house and deffo not on a childs bed because I'd be even more paranoid incase they wet the bed and the thought of a second hand one makes me even more :eek:

We have the usual duvets plus a quilted blanket on the kids bed and when it's REALLY cold they sometimes get into a sleeping bag under all that plus they wear bed socks and flannel PJs

noodles86

Jinx, that sounded awful! Just to put my 2p in, when I was a child about 15 years ago, I had an electric blanket and loved it. I would have it on the highest setting all night (even though I was told not too!) this was before we had central heating and luckily nothing ever happened in regards to the blankets, just discarded when we had ch. would I let my dd have an electric blanket? Nope! Not only the horror stories but I feel it would do her more good with different layers and snugly pjs to keep her warm! Love the idea of the wheat bags but don't have a microwave to heat them

adamantine

i have an electric blanket on my bed and i love it! think i was about 13 or 14 when i got one. the one i have now doesnt have the timer like my last blanket did but this one is machine washable though.

i wouldnt put one on my kids bed till they are alot older. mine are 2 and 5. the other week i bought them a hot water bottle each and they love them! DS1 lies on his and DS2 gets me to put it at his feet so he can have "cozy toes mummy".

mrs_marty

I just minded on what my parents done when we got a little older now please note my parents house is a very very very old house; more drafts than heat lol we got a hot water bottle and a sleeping bag on top of our bed; the sleeping bag was mega thick. I was so warm, I think now thats why I can only sleep all year with a winter duvet over me

barbiedoll

Electric blankets are very expensive to run, when we got rid of ours, our electricity bill fell by loads! :eek:

Cosy pyjamas and a hot water bottle with a nice furry cover, put in 15 mins before bedtime works for us. They don't tend to spontaneously leak, you can check them before you put them in the bed!

bedpotato_2

Wheat bags are rubbish (in my opinion and experience) because they cool down so quickly. Each to their own. They're all right for muscular pain.

Hot water bottles are fine as long as you squeeze all the air out, otherwise there's a risk of them exploding. A lot of people don't seem to know that, hence the comments on this thread about exploding hot water bottles! Hot air expands, so any air left in there will make it burst. Here's a tutorial I have just found for you in Google:

http://www.wikihow.com/Fill-a-Hot-Water-Bottle

I can't believe people don't seem to know this! My dad taught me all of this when I was little and it would never even occur to me to leave the air in there!

The other downside of hot water bottles is that they only cover a small area and leave the rest of you cold.

I prefer my electric blanket, but always turn it off before going to sleep.

MarilynMonroe_2

Personally I wouldnt use one for a child, I'd rather just put a hot water bottle in, or even 2 - one for feet and one to cuddle.

I was always led to believe electric blankets are dangerous .. however I did get one some years ago but I thought it wasnt as good as hot water bottles!

MarilynMonroe_2

bedpotato wrote: »

Wheat bags are rubbish (in my opinion and experience) because they cool down so quickly. Each to their own. They're all right for muscular pain.

Hot water bottles are fine as long as you squeeze all the air out, otherwise there's a risk of them exploding. A lot of people don't seem to know that, hence the comments on this thread about exploding hot water bottles! Hot air expands, so any air left in there will make it burst. Here's a tutorial I have just found for you in Google:

http://www.wikihow.com/Fill-a-Hot-Water-Bottle

I can't believe people don't seem to know this! My dad taught me all of this when I was little and it would never even occur to me to leave the air in there!

The other downside of hot water bottles is that they only cover a small area and leave the rest of you cold.

I prefer my electric blanket, but always turn it off before going to sleep.

yep always make sure you put the lid on with a little bit of water overflowing so theres air room. x

MarilynMonroe_2

Have you heard of using fleece under their sheets?