White noise is one of the simplest tools tired parents reach for. Used well, it can help mask sudden household sounds and give your baby a familiar cue that it's time to sleep. Here's how to use it safely.
1. Keep it out of the cot
Place your soother on a shelf or surface around 2 metres from where your baby sleeps, never inside the cot or Moses basket. The Lullaby Trust recommends a clear cot: baby on their back, with nothing else inside.
2. Keep the volume low
Aim for a gentle background sound, roughly like a shower running in the next room. If you have to raise your voice to talk over it, it's too loud.
3. Use the timer, and let cry-sensor mode do the night shift
Many parents play sounds while their baby settles, then let the timer switch them off. With the Little Owl's cry-sensor mode, the sounds start again if your baby stirs, so you don't have to get up to restart it.
4. Make it part of a routine
Babies love predictability. The same sound, a dim warm light and the same steps each night (feed, change, cuddle, sound on) can become a cue that sleep is coming.
5. Keep cables and chargers out of reach
Charge your soother away from the nursery or out of reach, and never leave a cable near the cot.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. For safe-sleep guidance, see the Lullaby Trust, and speak to your health visitor about your baby's sleep.