Pillows?

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Hi
Our ds is almost 18months and has started piling his soft toys up behind him in his cot and then uses them as a pillow.
At what ages is it OK/safe to put a pillow in his cot/bed - I'm sure he'd rather cuddle his toy than lie on it!
Alex

I cant remembre what age my ds had one about 2 I think, when he went into a bed

Found this on a web site:

Pillows could be dangerous for babies.
They can cause suffocation, either by the baby turning face down and burying his face in the pillow or by getting his head under the pillow. This is rare.
Babies do not need a pillow to sleep comfortably.
Do not use pillows until the child moves from the cot into a normal bed, usually at 2 to 3 years. Even then pillows are not essential, but children usually want to have one to be like everyone else. Once our shoulders are wider than our heads, most of us sleep more comfortably with a pillow.
Young children should start with a flattish and fairly firm pillow. Older children usually choose the type and size they prefer. The type of filling does not matter unless there is an allergy problem.

My DS had a pillow at 18months. We got one from toysRus which is especially for young toddlers. It is made of foam and has lots of diamond shape holes in it so if child is face down they can breath. It is also only about an inch and a half high so it is not too high for small necks!

Gemma

DD has had a pillow since about 15 months. She slept on her back or side, and also bundled toys under her head. I got her a cot pillow from Mothercare, and its been fine...she took a while to twig that you are supposed to actually put your head on it but its pretty flat and even though she now occasionlly sleeps on her front (23 months) has no problem turning her head to one side.

pillows, duvets, quilts, etc are all considered ok from 12 months. DD first started using hers just after 1 year when she had a cold - was good for elevating her head and gave me somewhere to put the tissue with karvol on it to help clear her nose. I just used a standard sized flattish pillow.

we were using a flatish, adult pillow at around 12mths (I think), they were placed high up on the pillow so that not just their heads, but their shoulders and part of back, were on the pillow too. this way their head was not at an angle (if u see what I mean).
I think we used one even earlier with our first child when he had a cold, it definatly helped him sleep better. then we just comtinued using one as he seemed to like it.

they can have pillows and duvets from 12 months