How to help our autistic kids sleep in this heat

The heat is on.. and so are the warm nights.  Small chat about the weather this week has consisted of the various ways people have been staying cool whilst trying to sleep.  Windows have been opened and fans have been on in an effort to shift some of the slightly cooler air through the homes in our part of London. But not in our house - it's just not safe with our kids.  So what's our latest tips to help survive the warm nights?

We can't use fans or have wide open windows. Our autistic son David doesn't really understand some types of danger.  There's little difference to him in walking around the house as there is walking out a door or open window and wandering down the road.  And he's as likely to play with a fan as anything else. 

We have a key operated front door (you need a key to leave the house), and the downstairs windows are fitted with restrictor safety catches. For extra security the upstairs windows have restrictor cables -  like a locked cable to stop the windows opening beyond roughly five centimetres.  This is big enough to let in some air but not big enough for David to get a limb through (anymore at least).

So how do I try and keep us cool and safe?  Here's some simple ideas.

• Chillow - is a 'chilled' pillow - like a cool sleeve that goes in your pillow case when you sleep.  I came across these when I was talking to mum about how hot her sleeping son was getting under a weighted blanket.

• Cold water bottle - just take your hot water bottle and fill it with ice cold water instead, it'll keep their bed cooler.

• A cold drink by the bed in a thermos bottle means the water stays colder for longer.  We love our Sigg bottle, it has an easy flip and twist spout.  Waking up with a dehydration head ache is no fun and easy to do when we don't drink enough in the hot weather. 

• Ice packs by any openings or the bed - if you have that little gap in the window or a breeze coming through the door, drop an ice pack near it and it will help cool the air as it passes through.  Similarly an ice pack on the bedside table can cool the air immediately around it.  You might need to leave it in a bowl or on a plate to catch any condensation and we use ones filled with water so if they are broken the kids can’t accidentally eat anything toxic

• Lighter blankets - A 3 in 1 duvet is useful as it provides a very light duvet that attaches to a medium one giving you the option to have a light, medium or both together thick duvet.  When it gets warm we can slim down David's blanket so he doesn't get so hot. 

• Just a sheet - but the same type - We have an extra duvet set.  We purchased a single and double duvet set that are the same  and when it gets really hot we pull out the double duvet cover and use it like a big bed sheet that David can sleep under.  As it is bigger its weighs down the edges so he doesn't get tangled and can even be tucked under the mattress to provide pressure.  As it's made from the same fabric, colour etc as his normal bedding it's not as big an adjustment so can cope with the change.

If you have any other tips to sleeping when it's hot, I'd love to hear them.

This is not a sponsored post - anything mentioned are simply things we've used and loved or would recommend.