Children's Bedding in Ireland: Cot, Toddler and Single Bed Sizes, Tog by Age and What to Buy When

Most children’s bedding questions are really size questions in disguise. Parents search for toddler bedding and find cot bed sets, buy a single duvet cover for a 70 cm toddler bed, or put a 10.5 tog duvet on a three-year-old because it was the one in the cupboard. Irish and UK bed sizes do not match the EU sizes that IKEA, JYSK and most online shops now sell, which makes it worse, and the safe-sleep rules for babies are strict enough that getting them wrong matters.

This guide lays out every children’s bed size sold in Ireland with the duvet, cover, sheet and pillow that fits it, when a child can safely have a duvet and a pillow, which tog they need at each age, which fabrics survive Irish family life, and how to protect a mattress from the inevitable. Where we sell the item we say so; where we do not, we tell you the size to look for elsewhere.

In this article

• What size bedding does a child’s bed need? (cot, cot bed, toddler, single)
• What age can a toddler have a duvet and a pillow?
• Which tog duvet does a child need?
• What kind of bedding should a 2 year old have?
• Cotton, microfibre or teddy fleece for children’s bedding?
• When should a child move to a single bed, and what changes?
• Bedwetting, spills and allergies: protecting the mattress
• How to wash children’s bedding
• Frequently asked questions

What size bedding does a child’s bed need?

Four mattress sizes cover almost every child’s bed sold in Ireland. The first two are nursery sizes that we do not stock; the single sizes are where our range starts. Measure the mattress, not the bed frame, and match the duvet to the mattress rather than buying the next size up: an oversized duvet on a small bed slides off and is harder for a child to manage.

The same information as a chart, with the sizes written the way Irish shops label them.

Two things trip people up. A cot bed and a toddler bed are the same mattress, 70 x 140 cm, so cot bed duvets fit toddler beds and the reverse. And single beds come in two lengths: 190 cm if bought from an Irish or UK retailer, 200 cm if bought from IKEA, JYSK or most European online shops. Our Irish bed sizes chart covers every adult size in the same detail.

What age can a toddler have a duvet and a pillow?

Not before 12 months, for either. The HSE’s safe sleep guidance is that babies under one year should sleep on their back, on a firm flat mattress, with no pillows, duvets, quilts or cot bumpers, because loose bedding can cover the face and a baby cannot regulate temperature under a duvet. Use a fitted sheet and a baby sleeping bag, or lightweight cellular blankets tucked in below the shoulders, and keep the room between 16 and 20 degrees.

Sleeping bags carry a tog rating like duvets, and the right one depends on the room rather than the season. This is the guidance most sleeping bag makers print on the pack:

From the first birthday a duvet is allowed, and 4.5 tog or lighter is the usual starting point; most toddler duvets sold in Ireland are 4 or 4.5 tog. A pillow usually comes later. There is no fixed rule, but safe-sleep charities suggest waiting until the child is at least a year old, and many parents wait until about two and the move to a cot bed, then start with a flat toddler pillow around 40 x 60 cm and 2 to 3 cm thick. Children do not need the neck support adults do, and a thick pillow pushes a small head forward.

Which tog duvet does a child need?

Lighter than you think. Children have a higher metabolic rate than adults, their bedrooms are usually the warmest rooms in an Irish house because the heating is left on for them, and they cannot push a duvet off as easily. A child who kicks the duvet off every night is usually too warm, not too fidgety. Use this table as a starting point and adjust by feeling the back of the neck: warm and dry is right, damp means too hot.

Tog describes insulation only, not weight or quality, and continental duvets are labelled in GSM or warmth class instead. Our duvet tog guide for Ireland has the conversion table. For a first single-bed duvet, the cheapest route is a 4-season duvet: use the thin 200 GSM layer on its own, which is about 4.5 tog, and press-stud the 300 GSM layer on when the child is older or the room is cold. You buy one duvet at four and are still using it at fourteen.

First single-bed duvet

Sleeptime Micro Touch 4-Season Duvet, long single

Two duvets in one: a 200 GSM layer (about 4.5 tog) that works on its own as a child’s first single-bed duvet, and a 300 GSM layer to add as they get older or in winter. Hypoallergenic hollowfibre, 40 degree wash, 140 x 220 cm. Designs and sizes shown are subject to availability.

From €44.95View the 4-season duvet →

What kind of bedding should a 2 year old have?

A two-year-old is usually in a cot bed, or in a cot with the side still on, so the list is short and specific:

1. A waterproof mattress protector under everything. Potty training starts between two and three and nappies leak before then. A cotton-topped protector washes at 40 to 60 degrees, depending on the label, and does not crackle.
2. Two fitted sheets, 70 x 140 cm, so one is on the bed while the other is in the wash. Cotton or cotton jersey; jersey stretches over the corners of a cot bed mattress without fighting.
3. A 120 x 150 cm duvet, 4.5 tog or lighter, with two covers. A sleeping bag is still fine at two if the child prefers it, and is safer for a child who climbs.
4. A flat toddler pillow, optional. 40 x 60 cm, firm, no thicker than 3 cm. Skip it if the child does not settle better with it.
5. No cot bumpers, no loose blankets over the face, no hot water bottle, no electric blanket. A warm room and a light duvet is the whole system.

Fabric matters more than print at this age. Choose 100% cotton or a cotton blend for anything touching the skin: toddlers sweat, cotton absorbs it, and polyester fleece does not. Save the teddy fleece for the cover, and only in a cold room.

Cotton, microfibre or teddy fleece for children’s bedding?

Children’s bedding is washed far more often than adult bedding, dried indoors in a hurry, and expected to look the same after fifty washes as it did on day one. That changes what the best fabric is. The three we sell for single beds each win on a different count.

Our honest recommendation for most Irish families: one printed microfibre set for everyday use and quick drying, and one cotton set for the nights when skin is irritated or the room is warm. Add a teddy fleece cover for January if the bedroom is an unheated box room. For the longer comparison of cotton, polyester, microfibre and bamboo, see our duvet cover materials guide.

Single bed, printed microfibre

Little Monster microfibre duvet cover sets

140 x 200 cm covers that fit Irish 135 x 200 and EU 140 x 200 single duvets, with press studs and a matching pillowcase. 90 GSM microfibre, OEKO-TEX certified, 40 degree wash, dries in a couple of hours. Football, horses, llamas, dinosaurs and space. Designs and sizes shown are subject to availability.

From €19.95Shop kids bedding →

Single bed, 100% cotton

Little Monster 100% cotton duvet cover sets

Ranforce cotton, smooth and breathable, for children with eczema or sensitive skin and for anyone who prefers natural fibres. 140 x 220 cm long single cover with press-stud closure, in a reusable storage bag. Designs and sizes shown are subject to availability.

From €24.95Shop cotton kids sets →

When should a child move to a single bed, and what changes?

Most children go from cot to cot bed between 18 months and three years, usually when they start climbing out or outgrow a sleeping bag, and from cot bed to single between three and five, when their feet reach the end of a 140 cm mattress or a sibling needs the cot bed. There is no benefit to rushing: a 70 x 140 cm bed with the sides off is a toddler bed and will do until about 110 cm in height.

When the single bed arrives, everything changes size at once, and this is where most of the mistakes happen:

If the new bed is an EU 200 cm single, which includes almost every IKEA and JYSK frame, buy EU bedding: a 140 x 200 cm duvet and cover, and a 90 x 200 cm fitted sheet. Our single sets and sheets are cut to these EU sizes and also fit Irish 190 cm beds, which is the point of buying from a shop that stocks both. A bed guard for the first few months is worth more than any bedding decision.

Bedwetting, spills and allergies: protecting the mattress

Around one in five children still wet the bed at four and a half, and around one in twelve at nine, according to the continence charities, so a waterproof protector is standard equipment, not a special case. The good ones have a cotton top, a thin polyurethane membrane underneath and a fitted skirt; the bad ones are the crackly PVC sheets that make a child sweat and wake up anyway. Keep two protectors and two sets of sheets, and strip the bed at 3 am in one movement: protector, sheet and duvet cover come off together, the spare set goes on, and everything is washed in the morning.

Allergies follow the same logic. Dust mites feed on skin flakes and thrive in warm, humid bedding, and they are a leading trigger of asthma and eczema in children. The Asthma Society of Ireland’s advice is to wash bedding weekly at 60 degrees, which kills mites, and to use a protector that can be washed at the same temperature. Cotton sheets and cotton pillowcases take 60 degrees, and so do many cotton-topped waterproof protectors (check the label); printed duvet covers usually do not, so keep the layers that touch the skin in cotton and wash the cover at 40.

Bedwetting and spills

Dreamhouse 100% cotton waterproof fitted mattress protector

Cotton on top, a waterproof membrane underneath, fitted with a deep skirt so it stays put. Machine washable, tumble dry low. Single 90 x 200 and 90 x 220 cm, plus EU narrow and large singles for 80 and 100 cm beds. Designs and sizes shown are subject to availability.

From €20.95Shop mattress protectors →

Winter, cold bedrooms

Sleeptime teddy microfleece Glow in the Dark Stars set

230 GSM teddy microfleece for a cold room, with stars that charge in daylight and glow at bedtime. Press-stud closure, hotel-style pillowcase, 40 degree wash, 140 x 220 cm long single. Warm enough that you can drop a tog on the duvet. Designs and sizes shown are subject to availability.

From €29.95Shop teddy kids sets →

How to wash children’s bedding

One practical Irish note: bedding that goes on damp from an airer in a cold room will feel cold and can leave the mattress damp underneath, which is how mould starts under a child’s bed. Twenty minutes in the tumble dryer, or a day longer on the airer, is worth it.

Frequently asked questions

What size is a cot bed duvet?

A cot bed duvet is 120 x 150 cm, and it is the same size for a toddler bed, because both use a 70 x 140 cm mattress. A cot duvet, for a 60 x 120 cm cot, is 100 x 120 cm, but it is only used from 12 months, when a child can safely have a duvet at all. Buy duvet covers in the same size as the duvet: 120 x 150 cm for cot beds and toddler beds.

What size duvet cover do I need for a single bed in Ireland?

An Irish or UK single bed is 90 x 190 cm and takes a 135 x 200 cm duvet, so a 135 x 200 cm cover is the exact fit. A 140 x 200 cm EU single cover also fits, with 5 cm of extra width. If the bed is a 200 cm EU single from IKEA, JYSK or an online retailer, use a 140 x 200 cm duvet and cover. Our single sets are 140 x 200 cm covers that close with press studs, so they work on either bed.

What age can toddlers have a duvet?

From 12 months. The HSE advises no pillows, duvets or quilts for babies under one year because of the risk of overheating and covering the face; use a baby sleeping bag or cellular blankets instead. From a child’s first birthday, a light duvet of 4.5 tog or less is the usual starting point, and most toddler duvets sold in Ireland are 4.5 tog.

What tog duvet should a 3 year old have?

A 4.5 tog duvet suits most three-year-olds all year in an Irish home, because small children run warmer than adults and their bedrooms are usually heated. If the room drops below 16 degrees at night, 7.5 tog is reasonable from around age three. Avoid 10.5 tog and above until primary school age, and never add a hot water bottle or electric blanket under a child’s duvet.

Can a 2 year old have a pillow?

Yes, from around two a flat, firm toddler pillow (about 40 x 60 cm and 2 to 3 cm thick) is fine, and many children do not want one until later. Pillows are not recommended under 12 months at all. Move to a standard pillow when the child moves to a single bed, usually between three and five.

Is microfibre or cotton better for children’s bedding?

Cotton for sensitive or eczema-prone skin and for anyone who wants to wash at 60 degrees; microfibre for prints, price and drying time. A 100% cotton set breathes better and tolerates hotter washes, while a printed microfibre set costs less, keeps its colours wash after wash and dries on a radiator in a couple of hours, which matters when a child is sick in the night. Many families keep one of each.

How often should you wash children’s bedding?

Weekly, and immediately after any accident. Children sweat as much as adults relative to their size, and dust mites, which trigger asthma and eczema, build up in bedding fastest. Wash sheets and pillowcases at 60 degrees if the label allows it, which kills mites; printed duvet covers usually need 40 degrees, so pair them with cotton sheets and a washable protector that can take the hotter wash.