Why Do Kids Kick Their Blankets Off While Sleeping?

I am sure every parent who reads this will relate with this.

I have two kids and both of them kick the blankets away when they sleep.

In the summers, we use AC at night and sometimes it gets really cold. So naturally, as a parent, I want my kids to be comfortable and not be cold. I put a light blanket or a bedsheet on top of them.

After 5 minutes, I check again.

The blanket is gone.

The kids have somehow managed to kick it off.

Now my kids sleep with me and I am always worried that they might catch a cold, so I cannot sleep properly. I cover them once, then again after some time, and sometimes 3 or 4 times in the same night.

And this happens almost every night.

In the winters, the opposite happens. The kids might feel cold, so we give them a heavy blanket. But again, the same thing happens.

They kick it away.

So the question is — do they not feel cold? Why do kids keep kicking their blankets off while sleeping? And is there a better solution?

Why do kids kick their blankets off?

The simple answer is that they may be getting too warm or simply don't like the feeling of being covered.

Children can move around quite a lot during sleep, and kicking, turning and changing positions are very normal. A blanket that feels comfortable when they first go to sleep may feel too warm or uncomfortable later in the night.

Temperature is one of the biggest reasons.

If a child feels warm under a blanket, kicking it off is actually a very simple way for the body to get rid of some of that heat. One article looking specifically at this behaviour points to temperature regulation, sleep cycles and the weight or thickness of the bedding as possible reasons children kick covers away.

And if you have a toddler or young child, you probably already know that they don't need much encouragement to move around in bed.

They sleep sideways.

They turn around.

They put their feet on your face.

And somehow, by morning, the pillow is on the other side of the bed and the blanket is on the floor.

So maybe the blanket being on the floor is not always a sign that something is wrong.

But don't they feel cold?

This is what used to worry me the most.

If I am sleeping under a blanket and I feel cold without it, surely my child must also feel cold?

But children can have different temperature preferences from adults. Some children seem perfectly comfortable sleeping with much less covering than their parents would prefer.

I came across a Reddit discussion about exactly this problem, and what I found interesting was how many parents had the same experience. Some said their toddlers simply preferred a cooler sleeping environment, while others had stopped worrying about the blanket and instead dressed their children in comfortable pajamas.

One parent summed up their approach quite simply: keep the room comfortable and use long-sleeved and pants pajamas so the child is still covered even if the blanket comes off. Another parent said they had simply started using warm pajamas because their child kicked the blanket off every night.

This actually made a lot of sense to me.

Instead of fighting with the blanket all night, why not make sure the clothes underneath are comfortable enough?

One thing I was wrong about — can kids catch a cold from being uncovered?

As parents, we have all heard this.

“Cover the child properly or they will catch a cold.”

I have worried about this myself.

But a common cold is caused by viruses, not simply by sleeping without a blanket. The CDC explains that more than 200 respiratory viruses can cause colds, with rhinoviruses being the most common. These viruses spread through things like respiratory droplets and close contact.

So if your child kicks off the blanket during the night, that does not automatically mean they are going to wake up with a cold in the morning.

Of course, that does not mean temperature doesn't matter.

If the room is very cold, a child can become uncomfortable, and you obviously want them to be warm enough. But the answer doesn't necessarily have to be repeatedly waking up and putting a blanket back on them.

And honestly, this was a relief for me to learn.

Because getting up three or four times every night to cover a child is not exactly good for the parent's sleep either.

Why do kids do this even in winter?

This is the funny part.

You would think that in winter, when the room is cold, children would happily stay under a thick blanket.

Not necessarily.

A thick blanket can feel heavy and warm, and some children simply don't like it.

The same thing happens in summer with a light bedsheet.

They kick it away.

In winter, they kick the heavy blanket away.

So perhaps the problem is not always that they don't want to be warm. Sometimes they just don't like being covered by something.

This is also why some parents in the Reddit discussion mentioned using pajamas, one-piece sleepwear or sleep sacks instead of relying completely on a loose blanket.

The idea is simple: keep the child comfortable without making the blanket responsible for everything.

What about AC in summer?

This is especially relevant for us in India.

In summer, many of us sleep with the AC running throughout the night. The room might feel comfortable when we go to bed, but after a few hours the temperature can feel quite different.

And children may react differently from adults.

You might be perfectly comfortable under a blanket while your child is sweating underneath it.

Or you might feel cold while your child is happily sleeping without any covering.

So instead of trying to judge the temperature only by how you feel, look at your child.

Are they sweating?

Do they feel unusually hot?

Are they sleeping comfortably?

Are their hands and feet cold?

Are they waking up because they are uncomfortable?

These simple things can tell you much more than constantly checking whether the blanket is still on.

So what is the solution?

For me, the solution has been very simple.

Don't depend completely on the blanket.

Make sure the child is wearing comfortable sleepwear that gives enough coverage while still allowing them to sleep comfortably.

This is actually one of the reasons we make our PJ sets at Gozi.

Our PJ sets have full sleeves and full-length pants, so the arms and legs stay covered even when the blanket is somewhere on the other side of the bed.

The fabric is 100% cotton, breathable and made in a soft interlock knit.

And I think softness is especially important for sleepwear.

Kids are going to move around. They are going to roll over, stretch their legs, turn around and sleep in all kinds of positions.

If the clothes are rough, tight or uncomfortable, they are going to feel it throughout the night.

But when the fabric is soft and comfortable, it almost becomes like another layer of bedding.

Why we made our PJ sets this way

When we designed these PJ sets, we wanted something that could work for children through different seasons.

In summer, the idea is to keep the arms and legs covered without putting the child into something heavy.

In winter, the full sleeves and full-length pants provide an extra layer under the blanket.

And there is another benefit that parents may appreciate more than kids do — snuggling.

The fabric is soft enough that when you are sleeping next to your child, hugging them or simply pulling them closer, it feels comfortable.

My kids love wearing them and, honestly, sometimes getting them to take them off is harder than getting them to wear them.

And that, for me, is probably the best sign that we got the comfort part right.

Maybe we need to stop fighting the blanket

After seeing this happen with my own kids, I have started thinking about it differently.

Maybe the goal isn't to make sure the blanket stays perfectly over the child throughout the entire night.

Kids move.

They get warm.

They get cold.

They change positions.

And sometimes they simply don't want something covering them.

Instead of waking up every hour to put the blanket back, we can make sure the room is comfortable and the child is wearing suitable sleepwear.

A lightweight blanket can still be there if they want it.

If they kick it off, they are still wearing comfortable clothes underneath.

And if they really get cold, most children will usually let you know — by waking up, crying, coming to you or asking to be covered.

So yes, I still check on my kids.

I am a parent after all.

But I don't wake up every time I see a little foot sticking out from under the blanket anymore.

Because sometimes the little foot is exactly where the child wants it to be.