Does anyone know why baby sleeping bags...

[Selenium]

have such a ridiculously low tog rating compared to adult duvets? I've often wondered why we use a 10.5 tog duvet in winter but my baby has only 2.5 tog. I'm sure there's an obvious explanation, but I just can't think of it!

Because we can chuck a thick duvet off when we are hot but a baby can't unzip and wriggle out a sleeping bag and could overheat. I was thinking about this the other night when it was freezing!

Because they're bags. Zipped up, rather than just laying on top.

Because babies are smaller - they would overheat with a higher tog. Being smaller they heat up faster.

Babies have much faster metabolisms than adults, so they heat up faster, as Iggly said. Also overheating is very dangerous for them as they're not good at regulating their own body temperature until much older.

They also go underneath as well as on top which affects how warm they are.

I have found this explanation on the gro-store website:

Health professional guidelines recommend that Baby Sleep Bags should be ?lightweight'. Our own research and our mounting body of "parent testimonials" confirm that our 2.5 Tog Grobag Baby Sleep Bags are ideal for the UK climate and for the recommended nursery nursery temperatures of 16°C to 20°C. A Baby Sleep Bag surrounds the baby, providing insulation from both below and above, and also a warm pocket of air around the baby.

Because of the low tog rating, Grobag Baby Sleep Bags also provide great versatility throughout the year, simply by adjusting the level of your baby?s nightwear. When the weather is very cold, simply add more clothing (this could include a sleepsuit, socks and even a cardigan). When the weather is warmer, or perhaps if your child is unwell, you can remove layers of clothing while still keeping your baby at the right temperature.

Remember: never use a duvet or quilt with a Baby Sleep Bag.

p.s. you can now get 3.5tog grobags - they never had them when my kids were babies.

I have a 3.5 tog grobag but it says to use it when it's below 16 degrees which is bloody freezing!

We would be lucky if our room got above 16C.

I use a 2.5 tog and a blanket. And a long sleeve vest with tights.

In the winter our house goes down to about 14°C during the night.

Wow I suddenly feel our house isn't cold after all! Although it is currently 15 degs here (haven't got up to turn heating on), it's usually about 19 when we go to bed.

Thanks for the explanations! Makes sense that it should be thinner as it's a bag and well insulated and baby gets hotter too! I guess that adult sleeping bags that you take camping are usually thinner than a duvet too. I think our house goes down to about 16 degrees at night so hopefully 2.5 tog should be fine for ds at the moment.

Being too hot is also a SIDS risk, of course - they'll wake up if they're too cold but not necessarily if they're too hot.