MIL not sleeping over our house being too cold

16 is very cool.

Most people i know have it between 18 & 23. The active, "warm" types are happy at 18/19, the sedentary people, colder folks and older people go for 21-23.

I used to know a guy who kept his house at 16 and his house always had a vaguely damp smell and was really cold.

If i had visitors I'd generally have mine at 20 but turn it up/down on request.

18 degrees in a dry house= comfortable
18 degrees in a damp house= miserable cold and unhealthy.

Get a dehumidifier for the cold bedroom but also put the central heating up at least to 18 otherwise the house will be covered in mould by the end of the year.

I agree - have visited Sweden many times and their homes are warm.

And the people and their children dress appropriately when outside in the very cold temperatures but don't sit bundled-up in layers and heated blankets when indoors!

16 is freezing
mine is 20 usually

16 is way too cold, and I say that as one who doesn’t like an overly warm environment.

Especially if it’s damp. I wouldn’t want baby breathing in chilly dank air.

At least get an electric blanket and keep one room warm.

Your MIL is absolutely right - sometimes we are you know!

If you set the thermostat at say 20/21 the heating will kick in as and when needed to keep the rooms and fabric of the house at a decent temperature - if you did this you wouldn't have to top up in the day if its especially cold and use heaters/fireplace in certain rooms

Why are you both sparse with heating? You have a young baby - keep your house warm!

Outside for sleeping well wrapped up, but generally their houses are much warmer than in the UK. I've never been too cold in a Danish house (my husband is Danish so I've visited lots), they certainly don't suffer from the delusion that it's somehow character building to live in a damp, cool house.

have a look at the NHS website article on room temperature, it recommends 18’C as minimum.

Totally agree - 22 degrees would be horribly warm. I would go for 18 OP, most people nowadays overheat their houses - but once they’re used to the overheating anything less feels cold 🤷‍♀️

Too too cold. The actual temperature at 16 will be less in the room. Even at 20 sometimes it is cold in a room. Depends on other things what actual room temp. is.

You’ll start seeing mould growing on the walls this winter if you don’t turn the heating up. And that is very bad for you and the baby. Husband will have to find economies elsewhere if he’s worried about money

16C is the legal minimum for office workers. However if it falls to that most people are sitting there in coats IME. In OP's case just going up to 18 would be much healthier for dc, dh and the house.

Mmmmm 24 degrees is toasty. 🩷

16 would be cold for me. You have a huge range 16-20 for baby, wouldn’t hurt to turn it up for guests occasionally as most people feel cold at this temperature.

Team MiL here (words that don’t often get said by me). 16C is uncomfortably cold and I’m not at all surprised she is complaining.

Hi OP.

If you set it to 17 degrees minimum then it will be a bit more comfortable for the baby.

16 degrees in a house is ok if you’re moving about all the time but it’s not nice for a baby who is is more immobile and tends to be lower on the ground (heat rises). 17 at night and 19/20 in the day would be nice and comfortable whilst still wearing appropriate seasonal clothes (eg a jumper rather than a tshirt).

also, stop faffing about with heaters and learn how to use your radiators properly - you are just unnecessarily spending electricity. Very inefficient.

This is one of my major frustrations. So many people expect houses to be heated to about 24 degrees and that just seems bonkers to me. We have people refusing to come to the house, my MIL sits in her coat all evening EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE THE HEATING ON and it's still mild outside. We live in a big old house and it doesn't get incredibly warm and it's expensive to heat. Babies are actually far safer sleeping in a slightly chilly room than one which is too hot. So I came on to support OP.

However, we have so much fuss from others when our heating is switched on morning and evening, and whenever we have guests, and is set to 18 degrees (19 when MIL is staying). Because it's mild at the moment, much of the house is actually 19/20 degrees. I can imagine the hysteria if we had it set like the OP. Even to me 16 degrees and heating only on in the morning and evening seems cold. And I can't believe I of all people am saying this. Also, if you're struggling to use rooms because they are cold I would just switch the heating on.

Our thermostat is on about 19/20C, ocassionally whack up to 21C, in the hall, and so other rooms are slightly warmer. Get cheap thermometers in the main rooms you use. I find the living room pleasant at about 22C. I have a jumper and thick socks on as well and sometimes a blanket, so I'm hardly swanning around in a t-shirt.

This OP. Just heat the house.

Try a week at 20.

I think you've missed the point OP - the lullaby trust is talking about nighttime temperature not daytime. So the temperature the baby is sleeping in should be 16-20 at night or during naps. When the baby is awake they should be in a room with a comfortable temperature and as a rule for thumb babies need one extra layer to that of an adult or older child. So if you're wearing a t shirt and cardi then baby will need a very, t shirt and cardi. An ideal temperature for a daytime room for a baby is 20° according to WHO and for adults 18-20°.

16 degrees is too cold in a house.
18 degrees is better but still not that hot.
I have thermometers in the house , some rooms are colder than others.

I have a relative who never put the heating on to save money despite having young children and family telling them to turn it on.
The house was always freezing in the winter, I would make excuses not to visit.

@KickHimInTheCrotch

Your MIL is being over dramatic and if she's not living there its none of her business. You will all be fine, no one will perish in a slightly cooler house. In fact it's probably healthier than being in a stuffy over-heated house.

No it's not. Advice from Public Health England, NHS and Asthma + Lung UK is that a house as cold as the OP has it isn't healthy at all, but particularly not for her baby, her asthmatic OH or for her MIL if she is elderly. Of course MIL should speak up if she is worried about their health.

Baby should sleep in a room that's between 16-20 but I find that the temperature drops a degree or two overnight so I wouldn't start at 16.

Also, not sure where you are but it's been quite mild for winter so far, I would expect it to get a fair bit colder so I would be concerned about how warm you'll be able to keep it then