Is there a certain age at which it's considered safe for a toddler to cozy up with a pillow in their crib or bed? Well, not exactly, say the experts.
Once you’ve decided your toddler is ready to start sleeping with a toddler pillow, don’t just give them an extra baby pillow from your guest bed. A fluffy adult-sized pillow isn’t an appropriate starter choice. Look instead for one that’s small, thin and reasonably firm. There are many toddler-specific pillows on the market that are suitably sized for still-developing necks and spines.

If your little one has sensitive skin, a hypoallergenic toddler pillow is an ideal choice. Don’t forget to throw the pillow into the wash occasionally to keep it clean and to rinse out allergens—a small toddler pillow should fit easily into your washing machine.

If your kid doesn’t like using a baby pillow right away, don’t worry. Smith’s son pitched his pillow out of the crib on a nightly basis for the first while, and my son prefers to sleep with a robot-print throw baby pillow rather than the toddler-specific pillow we bought especially for him. Luckily, this robot pillow does tick off all of the expert-approved boxes—it’s small, thin and reasonably firm—and our son sleeps well with it, so maybe we should just let sleeping toddlers lie.