Ashley Reid
December 21, 2025
Meltdowns & Sheepskins:
How Sheepskins Are Helping Children Regulate
Meltdowns, outbursts, mental overload, regardless what you call it.
Meltdowns, outbursts, mental overload, regardless what you call it. All parents know that these are not uncommon occurrences with children. We have all been that parent whose little one has completely lost it inside of a store and we have been forced to abandon carts and carry them out. Or have the hard days that turn to hard weeks, wearing the whole family down like a threadbare blanket.
That’s why anything that can alleviate stress and help those of us in the trenches feels like a much-needed win. Enter an unexpected household staple that not only makes sleep better but isn’t another gadget or quick fix: sheepskin.
Emotional Regulation & Sensory Input
Emotional regulation isn’t easy. As a mother in my thirties, I’m still amazed at how easily I can become dysregulated. Maybe it’s ADHD, maybe it’s life, or maybe it’s the challenge of teaching two young children how to regulate themselves while I’m still learning, too. Who would have thought we’d still be figuring out our emotional needs well into adulthood?
Our children’s nervous systems are still developing, which makes sensory comfort not just important but developmentally essential for emotional regulation. Soft, tactile fibers can create positive sensory experiences, helping reduce stress, overstimulation, and anxiety.
Our children’s nervous systems are still developing, which makes sensory comfort not just important but developmentally essential for emotional regulation. Soft, tactile fibers can create positive sensory experiences, helping reduce stress, overstimulation, and anxiety.
Providing children with their own space to regulate or, chill out, is a helpful tool to set them up for success. The Snugly is perfect for this as its circular shape engulfs your kid in a plush snuggle of soft shorn sheepskin. Making it the star of the show in your calm down corner, fort, or just the center of the living room.
Sleep, Rest & Emotions
Quality sleep is the foundation for emotional stability and well-being. Restorative, deep sleep sets the tone for the entire day. While adults often become sluggish and unmotivated after a poor night’s sleep, children usually go in the opposite direction: wild, impulsive, quick to anger, and prone to emotional outbursts. In other words, lack of sleep fuels the very behaviors we’re all trying to soothe.
On the flip side, good sleep restores balance. It improves resilience, patience, and the ability to cope with stress. (If you’re curious, the NIH has an excellent article on how sleep affects children from infancy through adolescence.)
Using natural fibers in your child’s sleep environment is one simple but powerful shift toward better rest. Natural fiber bedding promotes deeper, more restorative sleep. Sheepskin, in particular, is an excellent temperature regulator—it won’t trap heat and cause sweaty discomfort like polyester. Instead, it keeps little bodies cool in summer and warm in winter. For a tired toddler who can’t decide if they’re too hot or too cold, this is a win-win.
Not just the younger kiddos are able to gain from the benefits of sheepskin products. Many teenagers and parents of tweens/teens say they see a huge improvement from their children sleeping with sheepskin. Suffering from school anxieties, or those constant growing aches & pains, the sheepskin mattress topper is made from a 2” pile and delivers an impressive helping hand in nervous system regulation. This is an excellent way to ensure your hyper-independent teen is still getting their nervous system needs met, even if they insist they don’t need it.
Intuitively Grounding
Historically, sheepskin has been used with infants and children in many cultures because of its innate soothing properties. While the natural lanolin is proven to promote wound healing and well-being, the use of sheepskin is something more primordial and intuitive. Being wrapped up in a sheepskin is a primal feeling, bringing us warmth, reminding us of safety. Facilitating the most basic and ancient human needs and emotions. The weight, the softness, the feeling of sheepskin creates that deep pressure input needed in emotional regulation. This gives our children the tools to self regulate, even when we feel like we’re not able to connect with them in these hard moments. We can help set them up for success, offering a way for them to have the independence they crave, while still offering them love and support.
For those times when you need emotional regulation, creating a sensory welcoming environment is a practical tool that helps support the bigger work we do as parents. Teaching them emotional resilience, something that we could all use a bit more of. At the end of the day, children don’t need another flashy gadget to help them cope. They need love, connection, and empathy. Sheepskin can help by providing grounding in the moments you need it. When your child can regulate better and feels supported in the tools you’ve given them, the whole family can breathe a bit easier.
