Are crib tents and sleeping tents safe?

Sleeping tents are often used by parents for travel. They are large enclosures designed to hold a crib, unlike a crib tent, which attaches directly to the top of a crib. SlumberPod is a popular brand.

Sleep tents are “a variation on the crib tent theme and are designed to be placed above a crib or portable crib/playpen and are often used for travel to create a dark environment in hopes of helping a baby sleep better when he’s not home.” say Caroline BrownMD, who practices general pediatrics at the Winston-Salem Children’s Clinic in North Carolina.

I came across the SlumberPod when my family was embarking on our first vacation with our kids to Walt Disney World. It would be the first time we all shared a hotel room. My husband and I worried—as parents often do when facing an unfamiliar first experience—about how well our children would sleep in a new environment. We also wondered if the shared space meant we would be forced to go to bed early with them.

I asked some fellow parents how they dealt with a similar situation and soon heard all about the SlumberPod. Sarah Husband, a mother of two young children who lives with her family in New Hampshire, first heard about the product through a well-known parenting content creator on social media. “We can still make naps a priority and make early bedtimes work,” she said of using the SlumberPod. “I actually enjoy staying in a hotel room with my kids because I have some free time after they go to bed and can still use an iPad to watch TV or hang out in the room” without their sleep to disrupt. She said the product was easy to carry because it fit in a suitcase.

But are sleeping tents safe? There are no active recalls for the SlumberPod. But in 2012, the CPSC announced one recall of small tent-style travel beds, the PeaPod and the PeaPod Plus Travel Bedafter being linked to several safety incidents, including one death. The PeaPod, which has an inflatable mattress base, was intended for use as a free-standing sleeping environment, but was found to pose a risk of suffocation and entrapment.

SlumberPods, on the other hand, are intended to enclose a carrycot or other safe sleeping environment, rather than serving as a sleeping environment in their own right. “They are generally considered safe because they cover the entire crib or play area,” says Casares. “They can be a useful tool for families who need to create an environment more conducive to sleep while traveling or in other less-than-ideal scenarios.”

In my own research, the main concerns raised with the SlumberPod were overheating and ventilation. My kids are warm, so I was worried that my toddler would get too hot and sweaty in the black fabric tent. The man had the same concern when she first looked at the SlumberPod: “Our only concern. . . was airflow and ventilation,” she says. “(But) the fabric is breathable and there are flaps you can open. We put a fan in if it’s hot when (our son) uses it.”

Currently, no safety incidents have been reported related to the product. SlumberPods “are not attached to a crib and therefore likely pose less risk according to the manufacturer,” Brown says. But “sleep experts still warn against its use due to concerns about possible entrapment and/or overheating of young babies.” The manufacturer recommends using the SlumberPod only for children 4 months and older, and only in a safe sleep environment such as a playground or mini crib.