Find your room's temperature along the top of the chart. It's a guide to what to dress your baby in for sleep — and it works with any TOG-rated sleepwear.

The same chart as a table:

Room temperature	Sleeping bag	What goes underneath
Below 15°C	3.5 TOG	1.0 TOG romper + singlet
15–17°C	3.5 or 2.5 TOG	0.2 romper + singlet (with the 3.5) / 1.0 romper + singlet (with the 2.5)
17–19°C	2.5 or 3.5 TOG	1.0 romper (with the 2.5) / 0.2 romper (with the 3.5)
19–21°C	1.0 or 2.5 TOG	1.0 romper (with the 1.0) / 0.2 romper + singlet (with the 2.5)
21–23°C	1.0 or 0.2 TOG	0.2 romper (with the 1.0) / 1.0 romper + singlet (with the 0.2)
23–25°C	0.2 or 1.0 TOG	0.2 romper (with the 0.2) / singlet (with the 1.0)
Above 25°C	0.2 TOG	Singlet, or nothing extra

How to use the TOG chart

1. Start with the room your baby actually sleeps in. A thermostat out in the hallway can read three or four degrees differently to the air beside the cot, so it's worth taking the reading in the room itself.

2. Find that temperature along the top, then read down to the sleeping bag you have. Most temperatures give you two options — a warmer bag with less underneath, or a lighter bag with a little more. Either is suitable, so use whichever you have on hand.

3. Then check your baby rather than the chart. Place a hand on their chest or the back of their neck; they should feel warm. If they feel hot or clammy, remove a layer. Cool hands and feet are normal and don't mean your baby is cold.

If you'd like it walked through step by step, see our how-to guide on reading the TOG chart.

It works with any TOG-rated sleepwear

TOG is a standard measure of warmth, not a rating each brand sets for itself. A 2.5 TOG sleeping bag carries the same rating across every brand, so you can use this chart with the sleepwear you already own — find the TOG on the label and read across.

The layers underneath work the same way. Where the chart shows a 1.0 TOG romper, any 1.0 TOG romper is equivalent. If your layers aren't TOG-rated, match them by weight instead: a lighter garment where the chart shows 0.2, a heavier one where it shows 1.0.

What does TOG mean?

New parent? Staring at a sleep sack tag and thinking, "TOG? What's that?" You're not alone — it's one of those insider parenting lingo bombs that hits post-baby. Pre-kids, it sounds like sci-fi. Post? It's on every swaddle and forum.

TOG stands for Thermal Overall Grade — a rating that measures how much warmth a piece of clothing or bedding holds in. The higher the TOG, the warmer the item.

In Australia, baby clothing tends to sit between 0.2 and 1.0 TOG, with most onesies around 0.2 TOG (if they're labelled at all — looking at you Bonds!). Sleep suits and sleeping bags run from 0.2 TOG for light summer layers up to 3.5 TOG for genuinely cold rooms.

The usual advice is "dress them with one extra layer than you'd dress yourself". That sounds fine on the surface, but it doesn't take long to realise that even two adults in the same house can dress wildly differently for the same temperature. A TOG rating replaces that judgement with a number, which is what makes a chart possible at all.

Dressing for the colder months? We've broken it down room by room in our winter dressing guide. For everything either side of the chart, see our tips on getting your baby ready for sleep.

Your room won't stay at that temperature

The reading you take at bedtime is not the temperature your baby sleeps in all night. Rooms keep moving for hours after everyone has gone to bed — usually cooling as the night goes on, but a room that has been soaking up sun all afternoon can still be climbing well after dark.

The change is rarely small either way. A room that feels right when you put your baby down can shift several degrees by the early hours, which is enough to move you a row or two along the chart. How far it moves depends on your house, your insulation and what the weather is doing outside, so it's different from one night to the next.

Cooling is the more common direction, and we've written about what it does to babies who wake at the same time every night in why overnight temperature drops can affect baby sleep.

Sleep Like Goldilocks takes out the guesswork

Our smart nursery thermometer reads not only the current room temperature, but the predicted overnight temperature too — then gives you guidance on how best to dress your baby for sleep.

→ See how Sleep Like Goldilocks works

FAQ

What does TOG stand for?

TOG stands for Thermal Overall Grade — a rating that measures how much warmth a piece of clothing or bedding holds in. The higher the TOG, the warmer the item. Baby sleepwear typically runs from 0.2 TOG for summer up to 3.5 TOG for cold winter rooms.

What are common TOG numbers for sleep sacks?

0.2/1.0/2.5/3.5 TOG

Is it common for a jumpsuit/onesie/romper to be TOG rated?

Not common, but recommended.

My jumpsuit/onesie/romper isn't TOG rated - what do I do?

Ideally purchase at least one TOG rated layer to be sure you've got a good understanding of the level of warmth provided and knowing how your baby responds. It can help to eliminate a layer of confusion.

What TOG should baby wear in a 20-degree room?

A 1.0 TOG bag over a 1.0 TOG romper — or a 2.5 TOG bag over a 0.2 romper and singlet. Same warmth, two routes.

What TOG should a newborn wear?

The same as any other baby at that room temperature — TOG follows the room, not the age. Newborns regulate their temperature poorly, so check them more often rather than dressing them warmer.

Can I use this chart with another brand's sleeping bag?

Yes. Match the TOG on the label to the TOG on the chart. If your layers aren't rated, match them by weight instead.

Do TOG ratings add up when you layer?

Roughly, yes — a 1.0 TOG bag over a 1.0 TOG romper lands warmer than either alone. That's the maths the chart (and the Goldilocks) does for you.

Is there an ideal room temperature for a baby?

There's no single ideal number, and Red Nose Australia deliberately doesn't set one. Match the sleepwear to the room rather than trying to hold the room at a particular figure.

Does TOG change with the seasons?

Only via the room. A Brisbane winter nursery can need a lower TOG than a Canberra autumn one — go by tonight's room temperature, not the calendar. Winter rooms: see our winter dressing guide.

What TOG is a Bonds Wondersuit?

Bonds doesn't TOG-rate its Wondersuits, so any figure you see quoted is an estimate rather than a Bonds number. We've put the estimates together in our guide to Bonds Wondersuit TOG ratings.

My baby's hands are cold — do they need another layer?

Usually not. Cool hands and feet are normal. Feel the chest or the back of the neck instead.

Looking for a "TOG clock"?

You've found it — a "TOG clock" is what many parents call our nursery display that reads the room temperature and shows what TOG to dress baby in. That's the Goldilocks: it reads your nursery, predicts tonight's overnight low, and shows the sleepwear combination on screen.

Note: Sleepwear recommendations are a guide only. Remember to always consider other factors such as illness, heating and cooling, extreme temperatures and whether your baby tends to run hot or cold in general.

References

• Red Nose Australia — Choosing the right sleep bag for your baby
• Red Nose Australia — How to dress baby for sleep