What Age Can My Baby Sleep With A Stuffed Animal Toy?

Many parents love to put an adorable stuffed animal in a baby crib while the little one is sleeping. However, placing soft crib toys like these could pose a risk to the baby in the earliest days of his life. So at what age baby is comfortable sleeping with a stuffed animal like a teddy bear?

Before getting the right answer, let us first talk about,

Why You Should Let Your Baby Sleep with a Soft Toy?

Well, the answer is simple and short. Babies in the early days of their life are not good sleepers and often wake in short intervals. By placing plush toys in a baby crib can help them sleep more comfortably.

But this only works when your baby is old enough to sleep with a stuffed animal toy. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is a risk for infants who have a sleeping plush buddy in their crib.

Therefore, young babies should not sleep with any kind of soft plush toys until they are old enough. Older babies are good enough to sleep with safe baby crib toys.

So When Can Babies Sleep with a Stuffed Animal?

According to the experts, the right age to introduce stuffed animal toys to your baby is at least12 months. Or at least when your baby starts moving on his own (crawling).

As your baby will sit up and start rolling, there is less risk of SIDS in this case. Most babies are able to crawl and take their first steps when they are about 1 year old.

Around the age of 12 months, you are good to offer soft baby crib toys to your baby.

Choosing the Best Stuffed Animals for Your Baby

Well, there are a lot of factors to look for when choosing a stuffed animal toy for a baby crib. But here is the most influential factor to consider before buying soft sleeping toys.

The first and most important thing is the size. The bigger the size, the higher is the risk of suffocation for infants and toddlers. Instead, go for a soft toy that is completely safe to put alongside your baby in a crib.

The Bottom Line

Getting a stuffed buddy for your little one is easy. However, you must be aware about the right age before offering these bulky sleeping toys to your baby.

Moreover, it is wise to opt for smaller size and lightweight when buying the best-stuffed animal toys. On top of that, look out for stuffed toys with no sharp edges. It is more likely that you will get sleeping toys made up of soft fabric.

Look out for the age recommendation tag on the soft animal toys before you buy them for your baby.