Bedding sets for kids are so much more than just covers for duvets and pillows. They present an excellent opportunity for your child to express themselves and bring some of their favourite colours, characters, toys or animals to their room. Choosing the best bedding is about more than just looks, though, because you want a set that will make your life as easy as possible when it comes to washing and ironing.
Whether they've just moved into their first proper bed or your child is a bit older and is lucky enough to have a double bed, we've found plenty of good quality options using popular patterns inspired by LEGO, Marvel and the animal kingdom. Help your kids achieve the good night's sleep they need with some of the best bedding from Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and eBay.
Quick List - Top Kids' Bedding Sets
Sleepdown
Ethically Made, Easy-to-Care-for Bedding That Ticks All the Boxes
Happy Linen Company
Wake Up to Sunshine and Rainbows With These Sheets
A recommendation service that carefully researches each product and consults with experts across many disciplines. We are constantly creating new content to provide the best shopping experience from choosing ‘cosmetics’ to ‘food and drink’, ‘home appliances’ to ‘kids and baby’ products, reaching users all across the United Kingdom.
Table of Contents
Kids are supposed to get about 10 hours of sleep every night – that's a lot of time spent in a bed. To make this time the most comfortable it can be, your child needs a bedding set that is soft, breathable and easy to use. In this guide, we'll walk you through the factors that make some bedding sets better than others.
The two main materials used in bedding are cotton and polyester. Often, they are blended to make a new fabric which is a way of incorporating as many of the advantages of the two as possible.
Polyester is a synthetic fabric made from plastic. Its main plus point is that it is cheaper than natural materials. It also reduces the need for ironing as it tends to crease less, making bedding made from polyester easy to wash and turn around quickly.
Cotton, on the other hand, is a natural fabric. Because of this, it is much more breathable than polyester – just what kids need on hot, stuffy evenings. Natural fabrics are more expensive, but very soft, which is why they are regularly used in combination with polyester.
Thread count is one indicator you can use to find out more about the quality of the bedding you're buying. When it comes to bedding for kids, they are probably going to care less about the quality of their bedding, but it is still worth looking at the numbers.
Lots of bedding has thread counts of around 100, which is quite low, but a very high thread count by itself isn't a clear sign of quality. Thread counts of above 500 can be pointless as the difference between this and bedding with a lower thread count is negligible while normally being more expensive.
Unfortunately, lots of sets don't let you know what the actual thread count is. They might say it has a 'high thread count', but it is difficult to know what makers actually mean by this.
Probably one of the most important things to check before buying bedding is to make sure you are getting bedding for the right size of bed. Depending on their age and stage of development, children can be in beds of numerous different sizes.
A toddler bed is the smallest of these, and while sizes of these beds do vary slightly, bedding sets that specify they are for this size of bed will, in all likelihood, work with the duvet and pillow you have. The next size up is a single bed, which comes with a 135 x 200 cm duvet cover.
Then, there are the kids who are lucky enough to have a double bed. The dimensions of a double duvet cover are 200 x 200 cm. On the pillow front, some that are designed especially for kids will be smaller, but the pillow case in bedding sets tends to be a standard 50 x 75 cm.
There are a few different options when it comes to methods of fastening a duvet cover in place, all of which do the job but none of which are perfect. Here are some of the points, both positive and negative, that you should be aware of.
Plastic poppers (or snap-press fasteners) are a popular choice in general, but especially with kids' bedding sets. They are very quick to do up and undo, speeding up the process of making a bed.
However, bear in mind that poppers can be a bit too easy to undo, and can sometimes pop open during the night. The plastic material can also become deformed over time and thus render them useless.
Another fastening similar to poppers is buttons. Buttons are slightly more secure than poppers once done up, although they do take a bit longer to do up in the first place.
A zip fastening requires minimal effort. It can be done up in a matter of seconds and it is the most secure of the fastening methods once closed.
The downside to this sort of fastening is the lack of flexibility which might be uncomfortable. Even a bendy zip is quite rigid and might prevent your child from wrapping themselves up how they would like to.
Washing bedding regularly is a must with messy kids, so you want this to be as easy as possible. The vast majority of bedding is suitable for machine washing, which is definitely important when washing items as large as bedding sets.
Most sets, however, do suggest washing at a cooler temperature, particularly those which include a percentage of cotton. Care instructions for these sets normally recommend a 40°C wash, though it's always worth checking.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sleepdown Enchanted Woodland Animals Children's Reversible Duvet Cover | ![]() | Ethically Made, Easy-to-Care-for Bedding That Ticks All the Boxes | |
2 | Happy Linen Company Rainbows, Sunshine and Stripes Reversible Bedding Set | ![]() | Wake Up to Sunshine and Rainbows With These Sheets | |
3 | Ustide Children's Bedding Set | ![]() | A High-Quality, High Thread Count Option for Double Beds | |
4 | Argos Home Dino Bedding Set | ![]() | Go Way Back in Time and Be Amongst the Dinosaurs | |
5 | little home at John Lewis Safari & Friends Reversible Duvet Cover and Pillowcase Set | ![]() | A Subtle Safari Design Will Transport Kids to the Jungle | |
6 | Catherine Lansfield Happy Space Single Duvet Set | ![]() | Bedding That Doubles as an Educational Tool | |
7 | SCM Amelia Reversible Printed Duvet Cover Set | ![]() | A Pretty Pink Bedding Set for All the Budding Ballerinas | |
8 | LEGO Single Duvet Cover and Pillowcase Set | ![]() | A Playtime Favourite in Bedding Form | |
9 | GoldStar Glow in The Dark Fleece Bedding | ![]() | The Fleece Feel of This Set Makes for a Cosy Bed | |
10 | Marvel Strike Single Duvet Set | ![]() | The Bedding Set for Comic Book Fans |
This adorable bedding includes not just one but two sets, so you can be well and truly sorted when it comes to changing the sheets. Another thing that will make caring for this set simple is the fact that the polycotton fabric requires minimal ironing.
Sleepdown put a real emphasis on creating fabrics that are environmentally friendly and, as a result, friendly to you and your child. The materials are tested for harmful substances and are made in socially responsible workplaces so you and your child can rest easy, not just because of the comfy sheets, but because you'll know that they were made in an ethical way.
This bedding set offers two cheerful designs in one; by flipping the sheet, you'll see a completely different pattern but one that complements the other harmoniously. One is full of sunshine and rainbows, instantly lighting up a room and making it a happier place to be, while one is simple with stripes.
With a blend of high-quality cotton and easy-care polyester, this duvet will last many, many washes and be very simple to iron. It is also good value in all of its various size options, which is never a bad thing.
You may be slightly put off by the more expensive price of these sheets at first, but it is important to know that this price is as it is for a reason. Firstly, these sheets are designed for a double bed which is harder to find with a child-friendly design, although they are available for a single bed too.
The thread count for this bedding is extremely high – easily the highest on this list. This makes for a set of sheets that is robust but still beautifully soft. A great choice for sea lovers everywhere!
The first thing that parents will be drawn to is the incredibly affordable price of these sheets. Both the toddler and single bed option might cost less than a tenner, but quality has not been sacrificed to achieve this. The fabric is half cotton, half polyester, so it encompasses the advantages of both.
Dinosaur designs can look quite garish, and sometimes outright scary, but these sheets avoid that by creating the dinosaurs with a lovely hand-drawn effect. And, it can be stuck in the washing machine and the tumble dryer and be good as new in no time!
If you're looking for a fun pattern your child will love, but something that balances this with subtlety and elegance, then look no further than this bedding set from John Lewis' own children's collection. Animals are interwoven throughout the leafy design and kids will enjoy finding all the different creatures.
They will also appreciate the soft feel on their skin from the 140 thread count cotton fabric and the fact that the bedding has a button fastening, ensuring it doesn't come undone overnight.
Kids are easily enthralled by space, and now you incorporate a science lesson into the soft furnishings in their room! Each planet, drawn in a fun, cartoonish style, has some information about it next to it. Once they've learnt about the planets, you can reverse the duvet and pillow to reveal a different, more subtle pattern.
On the downside, the use of poppers might mean the duvet cover comes undone from time to time, and over a period of use the poppers might become less effective. This bedding set can also only be enjoyed by single-bed users.
Soft in colour with its delicate pastel pink and soft in texture with its 100% cotton fabric, this duvet set is luxurious as it is pretty. The cotton makes the set highly breathable, just what little ones need on warmer nights. To prevent the duvet inside from moving around too much, there are corner ties on the cover that keep it in place.
The zip fastening, while secure and concealed, might not be suited to everyone as it can mean that the duvet is more stuck in a certain position. And the set only comes in one size, limiting the amount of people who can use it.
For decades, LEGO has been one of the most popular toys for kids. Now you can buy it in bed set form, something kids everywhere can get excited about. The bright primary colours will work perfectly in children's bedrooms and they can have fun exploring the artwork and the figures that cover the sheets.
This set is 100% cotton, making it wonderfully soft, but quite hard to iron. It also only comes in the one size, so it won't suit if your child is still in a toddler bed. Another thing worth knowing is that the fastening used is not specified, which might put you off buying.
Most bedding sets are made from a similar type of fabric: light and linen-like. This bedding is a bit different. Instead, this set has a fleece texture, making it incredibly cosy for cold winter nights. As an added bonus, the material also makes ironing unnecessary.
Kids will love the novelty of having glow in the dark stars on their bedding, but frustratingly all of the items are sold separately so the price of a set adds up. The fleece material, whilst soft and cosy, is made completely from polyester so won't be the best at ventilating a bed.
Resembling a comic strip, this duvet cover and pillow set is definitely attention-grabbing. Marvel's popularity has gone through the roof in recent years thanks to their films, and any young fan is going to want to make sure they have this in their room.
This set is made from 100% polyester, which does make it very easy to iron, but it is also means that it lacks breathability which could lead your child to end up warm and sweaty. The colours are also very bright and might overwhelm a room.
Once you've got your child off to bed in their new bedding set, it's time to focus on you. In today's world, getting enough sleep can be tricky, but there are a few products that might increase your chances of getting the shut-eye we all need.
Buying a new bedding set is a very easy way to introduce new themes and colours to a room – just what you need when you have a growing child whose tastes and preferences are constantly changing. Sleeping in a pattern they love will make them want to go to bed, and hopefully, this list had something that will appeal to both children and parents alike.
Author: Emma Cramp
No. 1: Sleepdown|Enchanted Woodland Animals Children's Reversible Duvet Cover
No. 2: Happy Linen Company|Rainbows, Sunshine and Stripes Reversible Bedding Set
No. 3: Ustide|Children's Bedding Set
No. 4: Argos Home|Dino Bedding Set
No. 5: little home at John Lewis|Safari & Friends Reversible Duvet Cover and Pillowcase Set
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
Automotive
Baby Products
Beauty
Books
Business, Industry & Science
Computers & Accessories
DIY, Garden & Tools
Electronics & Photo
Fashion
Grocery
Health & Personal Care
Home & Kitchen
Large Appliances
Musical Instruments & DJ
PC & Video Games
Pet Supplies
Sports & Outdoors
Stationery & Office Products
Toys & Games