Jackson’s New Weighted Blanket

Need some stress relief in your life? A weighted blanket is a great option for both adults and the kids to help promote better sleep, relieve stress, and cozy up! Here are some details on our new kids’ weighted blanket and why we love it so much.

This post is sponsored by Tranquility.

Has this year been a little, ahem, stressful for anyone else?

I think at this point it’s safe to say that this year has been pretty overwhelming for every last one of us. It’s been full of twists and turns, unknowns, and unexpected events. And, I don’t know about you, but I find that when we’re all feeling really stressed and overwhelmed, our kids and their stress sometimes get overlooked a bit.

Corey and I have had to remind ourselves many times over the course of this year that if we’re feeling this stressed out, our kids are definitely feeling it too. And, while we have the capacity and vocabulary to understand and explain why we’re feeling this way, these feelings of overwhelm can be really scary and unfamiliar for kids!

We’ve been really working on finding some intentional ways to help relieve some of the stress we know Jackson has been feeling this year, especially since school started. We’re going on almost three months of virtual schooling and it’s an adventure none of us expected to go on. We’ve been doing things like planning special family nights, letting Jackson work towards special rewards for good behavior during the school hours, and getting lots of outside time to help alleviate some of these difficult feelings.

But, one of the other (super simple) ways we’ve been helping him calm down at the end of a challenging day?

A weighted blanket!

Corey and I have been using and sleeping with one of these weighted blankets every single night for almost a year now, and I honestly find it weird now to sleep without it when we aren’t at home. We love ours so much, so it only makes sense to think that Jackson would love one too (and, spoiler, we were totally right!).

You can read more about why weighted blankets are so awesome (and a little science behind why they work) on this post. I also answered a ton of questions (including the ever-important “where do you keep it?”) on this post!

Jackson has been asking for a weighted blanket for months now, and we finally reached a point where he was asking me almost every day to order him one. My friends at Tranquility make a great weighted blanket specifically for kids, and they offered to send him one. And, y’all, he loves it so, so much!

Weighted blankets are a really great solution for kiddos who struggle to settle in the evenings for bedtime. It helps calm their bodies, and signals that it’s time for sleep – which is great, because Jackson has always taken forever to fall asleep. We’ve been working on tucking him in with his weighted blanket and a book every night, and we’re finding that he settles much faster when he has that additional weight on him!

Another benefit is that weighted blankets have an actual calming effect on your body, so when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, things will feel a little better if you take a break and curl up under one (it’s science – really!). When things feel too difficult, we’re having a meltdown moment, or Jackson just really needs a break, we encourage him to grab a book and spend a few minutes under his blanket. It’s a really good re-set and leaves him ready to (calmly) return to work and the rest of his day.

For our family, any solution that can help quickly calm an overwhelmed and stressed-out child is a must-have.

Tranquility’s weighted blankets for kids

Tranquility’s weighted blankets for kids weigh 6 pounds, and they’re designed to be about 7%-10% of your body weight. So, this would be a perfect option for a kid who weighs anywhere from about 60-90 pounds!

Tranquility also has weighted blankets that come with a removable washable cover, so you don’t have to stress about it getting dirty. Just pull the cover off and toss it in the washing machine and you’re good to go! Most of the weighted blankets I used to see when I was a special education teacher were so clunky, uncomfortable, or unevenly distributed so it’s honestly just so exciting for me to see an option like this that’s so cozy and actually looks great too!

Oh, and my favorite part about Tranquility’s weighted blankets (and the number one reason I signed on to be an ambassador for them this year)? They’re so affordable. Weighted blankets are notorious for being unattainably expensive for many people, and I love that Tranquility’s mission is to make a weighted blanket that’s accessible for everyone. Their blankets start at just $40, which is less than half the price of most other weighted blankets on the market – and they’re just as high quality and cozy as any other weighted blanket out there!

Oh, and, while you’re buying a weighted blanket for your kiddo, another really great idea would be to grab one for their teacher while you’re at it! This year has been more than a little unusual and stressful for all of us, and I think if anyone needs a little treat that helps promote relaxation, better sleep, and stress relief, it would be teachers!

I think a weighted blanket would be a perfect Christmas gift for your kiddo’s teacher, or it would be great for teacher appreciation week, or even just as a “hey, thanks for putting up with all of this mess” gift!

You can find Tranquility weighted blankets at Walmart and Target, both online and in-store. Corey and I both use this blanket, and this is the one we have for Jackson. And, to be honest, I’m tempted to get at least one more blanket to keep in the living room so we can snuggle up with one on the couch without having to steal it from our bed!

I honestly can’t recommend a weighted blanket enough – it’s officially one of those can’t-live-without-it items in our house. You can click here to learn more about Tranquility weighted blankets, or click any of the other links above to just go ahead and snag you one!