What are the key safe sleep guidelines recommended by the Lullaby Trust?
According to the Lullaby Trust, babies should sleep on their back, in a clear cot free from toys and thick padded bumpers, on a firm and flat mattress. They should share a room with their parents for the first six months, in a smoke-free environment, and be kept at the right temperature — between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius — to prevent overheating.
In this episode of The Toddle About Show, hosts Bill Clapson and Emily Clapson are clear about one thing: when it comes to baby sleep safety, the Lullaby Trust is the definitive authority parents and experts alike should turn to. Amid an overwhelming amount of conflicting advice online, the Clapsons frame these guidelines not as optional tips but as non-negotiable foundations for any family navigating early infant sleep.
The temperature guidance is especially practical: a room kept between 16 and 20°C is the recommended range. Tools like the Gro Egg — a colour-changing room thermometer designed for nurseries — are commonly used by parents to monitor this in real time. Overheating is a recognised risk factor, which is why maintaining the right sleeping environment matters as much as the sleep position itself.
"Broken sleep doesn't just make you tired. It makes you short tempered, more anxious, less enjoyable as a parent. So when we work on children's sleep, it's really important to focus on the whole family."
— From the episode: Baby & Toddler Sleep: Myths, Safe Sleep & Bedtime Tips for Parents · The Toddle About ShowSee also
No — babies absolutely do not need silence to sleep. Creating a consistent sound environment, such as white noise, rain sounds, or stories, can actually help babies sleep more soundly.
This is also a myth. Babies are not machines programmed to shut down for exactly 12 hours; sending them to bed late does not result in a later wake-up time.
This is a myth — keeping a baby awake during the day does not make them sleep better at night. In fact, the reverse is true: the better babies sleep during the day, the better they tend to sleep at night.