All about a Mummy
  • Blog
    • About This Blog
    • Arts & Crafts
    • Baby Stuff
    • Book Club
    • Competitions
    • Family
    • Health & Wellbeing
    • House & Home
    • Kids
    • Kitchen Creations
    • Mum Stuff
    • Out & About
    • Photography
    • Reviews
    • Seasonal
  • About Me
  • Work with me
  • Contact
  • Small Print
    • Privacy Notice

How to keep kid's bedrooms dark in the Summer

27/7/2015

10 Comments

 
Picture

Getting the children to sleep during the summer months is a complete nightmare. Cries of 'But it's still light outside!' can be heard up and down the country at maximum volume on repeat until the sun finally disappears from behind the curtains.

So what can we do to help create a cosy, dark environment for our kids to fall asleep on long, bright summer nights? One word: Blackout.

Firstly if you have thin curtains which allow lots of light to come trough you need to line them with blackout fabric. No need to sew, just safety pin it onto the back. This will block a lot of light but unless your curtains sit flush to the window and extend well past the frames a lot of light will still come in due to 'light creep' (Husband's technical term for light creeping around the curtains).

Picture
Before: Blackout curtains - still lots of light coming through.

To get maximum blackout potential you also need to install a blackout roller blind behind the curtain. We are talking double blackout here! Made to measure rollerblinds are available in lots of different colours at exceptionally reasonable prices.

Picture
After: Blackout blind behind blackout curtains

As you can see from the before and after pictures above the blind makes a huge difference.

If you are dealing with a loft room and need to shade tricky roof windows it really pays to buy a decent blind (I spent 2yrs cursing Husband's ill fitting roof blind flooding the room with sun at the crack of dawn so you can trust me on this!). You can buy perfect fit blinds from the VELUX brand. The Itzala range of roof blinds are available in blackout and if you want to theme them to match your child's bedroom go for the Disney range which features 12 different designs including Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, Disney Princesses to name just a few. If you want to go high tech you can choose remote control blinds! Very cool.

It helps to keep other upstairs rooms as dark as possible to stop further 'light creep' around the bedroom doorframe. We didn't fancy a rollerblind on our landing so instead went for wide slat wooden blinds which are made to measure so fit perfectly and have tapes along the cord joints to block even more light. They look really attractive and expensive when actually they are super cheap!

Picture
Wooden slatted blinds for the landing

You can even create small blackout spaces for daytime naps with the Snoozeshade. This pram blackout cover is great for instantly creating a dark environment over car seats and prams so babies and children can fall asleep easily when out and about. The breathable fabric means it is perfect for the summer months and much safer than chucking a blanket over the pram which can cause overheating. A little zip on the front allows you to keep an eye on them without disturbing them.

If you are going away or staying with friends and family chances are they won't have blackout blinds fitted. But luckily there is a travel blackout blind available. Hurrah! The Gro Anywhere Blackout Blind uses suction cups to stick to any window up to a maximum size of 130cm x 198cm. It folds up nice and small so you can take a cosy, dark room with you anywhere, even abroad on holiday.

And if all else fails I have been informed that tin foil (shiny side facing outwards) completely covering the window does the job. Probably not a permanent solution unless your child wants to live in a room resembling a science lab, but will help you out as a quick fix until the blackout blind you've ordered arrives.

Remember when installing blinds in any room to make sure all cords feature easy break chain connectors and are secured to the wall with cleats to avoid accident and injury.

This is a collaborative post

Linking up to #twinklytuesdays with mummascribbles.com #sharewithme at letstalkmommy.com #brilliantblogposts at honestmum.com and #pocolo at vevivos.com

10 Comments
Kellie Kearney link
28/7/2015 12:37:32 am

Blackout blinds were a savour on my youngest, thankfully the baby (15m) isn't bothered and his sleeping patterns haven't changed. Love the travel blackout blind. Would be lost without it when on holidays.

Reply
Coombe Mill - Fiona Cambouropoulos link
28/7/2015 01:23:55 am

We use the travel binds here on our farm holidays as they are easy to move around properties as needed.

Reply
Kell @ All Mum Said link
28/7/2015 05:23:24 am

We have this issue in summer (in Australia) as a result of daylight savings and we also have blackout curtains. They are amazing!

Reply
beth link
28/7/2015 12:11:04 pm

I really need to buy a blackout blind for my daughters bedroom!
Great tips, thanks for sharing x

Reply
Verily Victoria Vocalises link
31/7/2015 03:28:57 pm

Black out blinds are definitely the best - especially during the summer months. I don't know what I would have done without mine when Grace was small! Thank you for linking to #PoCoLo x

Reply
Joy Morales link
1/8/2015 08:39:33 pm

Yes, black out curtains are a must for us. Both of our bedrooms face West and the heat is worse than the light for us here in California. I sleep so much better with them! And so does my little monkey! Visiting from #WeekendBlogHop :)

Reply
Sadia link
2/8/2015 07:15:39 pm

I had wonderful hexagonal blackout blinds in the first home I owned, and I have to confess that I miss them a lot. Thanks for linking with #TwinklyTuesday.

Reply
Mummy Here And There link
4/8/2015 08:50:20 am

Thanks for the information, very helpful X

Reply
Dominic Clarkson link
4/9/2018 10:31:34 am

The excellent blog you wrote and it will be helpful for many people and I will share this blog with those people who want to.

Reply
Crystal Blinds link
11/12/2020 02:32:18 pm

Blinds curtains which are use to cover the shadow in the summer which will protect the children from the brightness and cover the rooms in dark. Thanks for sharing the lovely blog. We also has a same types of blog in our website can visit at any time. https://crystalblinds-ne.co.uk/. Thank you.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome!

    Artist, Baker and Blogger. Mum to my two beautiful, cheeky girls. Muddling my way through parenthood with equally cheeky Husband. 

    Picture
    Follow

      Newsletter

    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    About This Blog
    Arts And Crafts
    Baby Stuff
    Book Club
    Competitions
    Family
    Health And Wellbeing
    House And Home
    Interviews
    Kids
    Kitchen Creations
    Mum Stuff
    Out And About
    Photography
    Pregnancy Diary
    Reviews
    Seasonal

    BritMums - Leading the Conversation
    mumsnet

    Archives

    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

All images and content on this site are copyright allaboutamummy.co.uk 2013-2022. All rights reserved.
PRIVACY POLICY

Please do not use images without permission. Thank you.
  • Blog
    • About This Blog
    • Arts & Crafts
    • Baby Stuff
    • Book Club
    • Competitions
    • Family
    • Health & Wellbeing
    • House & Home
    • Kids
    • Kitchen Creations
    • Mum Stuff
    • Out & About
    • Photography
    • Reviews
    • Seasonal
  • About Me
  • Work with me
  • Contact
  • Small Print
    • Privacy Notice