Some kids have a stronger sleep than others, but all kids equally benefit from sleep.
While sleeping, children are going through physical growth, cognitive development, and even emotional regulation. Anyone with a child knows the difference in behavior based on how much they’ve slept. Most importantly, sleep is important for their overall well-being.
The last thing you want is for them to wake up (due to an outside noise) just after you’ve put them to sleep. This makes parents jumpy and forces them to sneak around their homes, further increasing their burnout.
Fortunately, soundproofing your baby’s nursery can prevent all of this. Here are a few tips on how to do this the most effectively.
1. Add a carpet or a rug
Most noise in the room won’t come from the baby but from the adults traversing the space. This is why you must devise a way to make your presence quieter. First, you want to minimize the impact of the footprints. By adding a layer of soft surface across the floor, you’ll make the room much quieter.
This is also a great idea when they start crawling. Sure, carpets require more maintenance (compared to linoleum floors); however, they’re also softer and warmer. Not only are they warmer, but they also increase the temperature in the room by about two degrees.
Most importantly, this is not an expensive upgrade; you should have done it either way.
2. Seal gaps and cracks
Before we proceed, it’s worth pointing out that you’ll be using a baby monitor and checking in on your baby occasionally. So, you don’t have to fear adding so much insulation that you won’t hear the baby crying.
The least expensive way to do this is to use weatherstripping around windows, doors, and other elements inserted in your walls.
Electrical outlets are also quite problematic, so you might want to get some foam gaskets and seal around them. You may also want to plug them (if they’re too low) and further protect the kid when they start crawling. When planning a nursery, always plan two steps ahead.
3. Soundproof a door
The next thing you want to do is soundproof a door. First, you want to seal all the gaps (something we’ve already covered in the previous section).
If it’s a hollow-core door, you might want to replace it or fill the gaps inside it. If they’re empty, they can’t block too much. You can even use panels on the door, which would cost between $250 and $500. This is as cheap as possible compared to the cost of buying a quality interior door to replace the existing one.
Buying a draft stop is the cheapest solution to stop the noise from coming underneath your door. However, it’s more effective to install door sweeps. These cannot be lost, misplaced, or detached. They’re usually designed not to damage (scratch your floor) and are cost-effective.
4. Change the furniture layout
There is usually no shortage of plush chairs, dressers, and even bookshelves (with toys and children’s books) in nursery rooms. By rearranging these books, you can easily improve the acoustical layout of your home.
First, you want to identify the source of the noise. Then, you need to understand that your baby’s crib is the room’s focal point. When they’re in the crib, they’re asleep. The thing is, you don’t have to soundproof the entirety of the room; creating a “barrier” around the crib would be enough. If you position your furniture right, you can do that, even within the same room.
5. Buy a white noise machine
Noise is, by definition, an unpleasant sound; however, not every hum needs to necessarily be unpleasant. Go to YouTube, and you’ll see many videos titled “Hair dryer noise to put your baby to sleep,” etc. Instead of improvising with your phone, why not buy a white noise machine and handle these things more efficiently?
Still, how do you pick the right one?
First, you can check the sound and “test” it on your child. Just find a pattern on YouTube and play it to them. See how they respond. Also, remember that they’re not the only ones who’ll have to endure it. So, ensure you find something that doesn’t irritate you too much.
You also want to look for extra features like an auto-off timer, portability, and sound quality. All of this will help you make up your mind.
6. Hang a curtain
Sometimes, the troublesome noise will be coming from the outside. To prevent this, you need to use a thick, sound-absorbing curtain. Ideally, you can find a soundproof curtain, but the truth is that any curtain would do. This will also stop the echo in the room, which is a significant addition.
You also want to pick a ceiling-to-floor curtain because this provides an extra layer of insulation between the noise source and the room.
Remember, you want much light in the room, so you want to pick a semi-transparent curtain.
7. Consider acoustic panels
Finally, if you really want to make a difference and don’t care about the budget or the effort, you might consider going all out with acoustic panels. These panels are useful for both sound absorption and noise reduction.
Perhaps even more importantly, you will improve the room’s acoustics and boost your speech intelligibility. This is important since you soon want your kid to start discerning speech and even speaking themselves.
Even in kids’ rooms, you can pick panels that will fit the overall décor. This is an important issue that many people completely neglect.
Wrap up
Finally, you need to understand that their sleeping patterns form at a very young age. If they get conditioned to get a full night’s sleep at this early age, this habit may transfer into their adult age. This can be a foundation for a lifetime of good sleep, benefiting everything, from general mood and mental health to physical development and job/school performance. In other words, you can lay a foundation for one of their life’s most important good habits. Don’t miss out on it!
