12 Best Kids' Pajamas for Good Nights
These are our favorite boys' and girls' pajama sets from brands that earned our best reviews.
Reviewed by Lexie SachsExecutive Director, Strategy & Operations
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A bath followed by changing into snuggly pajamas sets the scene for bedtime and signals to your kid that it's time to say goodbye to playtime, hello to winding down. (We also recommend a great children's book before light's out.) A good pair of pajamas should be easy to get on and off, feel soft and keep children comfortable all night.
The experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab test products to help the entire family get a good night's sleep, from mattresses for kids to the best bedding for adults. Executive Director, Strategy and Operations Lexie Sachs has personally tested dozens of pajama sets for kids over the last seven years, as have many other of our Lab pros who are parents. We also test kids' clothing annually as part of our Parenting Awards.
Pajamas are reviewed for softness, fit and durability factors like shrinkage, pilling and colorfastness. We only recommend pajamas that comply with CPSC guidelines for children's sleepwear, which require that they either be flame-resistant or tight-fitting.
For top quality, these get our vote. "They are my fave and last forever," one tester said. One of our Lab experts took Hanna Andersson hand-me-downs that went through two nephews and had them last for both of her kids too — and then handed them down again.
Hanna Andersson uses 100% thick cotton, and the unisex striped long johns, pictured, are a classic that can be mixed and matched. The brand also sells zip-up baby sleepers and family holiday pajamas for every age, from baby to adult and even pets.
For summer, there are also adorable, comfortable short johns. We also like the brand's training underwear for kids, which won one of our previous Parenting Awards.
Material: Cotton certified Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex | Sizes: Birth to adult, with some patterns available for your pet.
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All HonestBaby pajamas are made with organic cotton and the kids' pajama sets consistently run under $20. The prints are a hoot, and switch out all the time, with different ones coming in at slightly different price points. Right now, we're seeing designs of pufferfish for boys, bagels for girls, and gender-neutral footie pajamas for babies.
Then, of course, there are the brand's Fam Jams for every conceivable holiday. And HonestBaby bibs won one of our recent Parenting Awards.
Material: Organic cotton certified by GOTS | Sizes: Birth to adult, with some patterns available for your pet.
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We think the hand-painted florals that Burt's Bees Baby markets for girls are especially lovely. Watercolor Daylily is shown; we also like Mountain Floral and Miss Moo. But your girl might also like dinos, so it's worth seeing what the brand files under "boys" as well.
"Burt's Bees are my go-to because they have the cutest patterns and comfy materials for an economical price, but they're true to size, and my kids outgrow them relatively quickly," one mom told us.
If you want something gender-neutral that can be easily handed down child to child for longer use, the brand's A-Bee-C pattern is a gender-neutral classic. For infants, we love the sleeveless wearable blanket that you can use in the crib — it's both an editors' pick and recommended by parents that we surveyed. (Loose blankets are a safe-sleep no-no for babies.)
Following the trend, Burt's Bees has introduced Halloween and Christmas Family Pajamas that can include a bandana for your pet.
Material: Organic cotton | Sizes: Birth to adult, with some patterns available for your pet.
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This set gives your guy options, since it comes with both a short-sleeve and a long-sleeve shirt and two pairs of pants that can match either top, helpful if he sometimes needs a late-night clothing change. (Potty training is hard!)
Gerber also makes these four-piece sets for girls. We'd be remiss if we didn't also shout out the brand's Sleep n' Play Footie for babies, the kind of infant loungewear appropriate for tiny people who nap on and off all day. (The more than 50,000 five-star Amazon reviews are not wrong!)
Material: Cotton | Sizes: Birth to 5T
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Carter's zippered, footie pajamas are a classic for the cold months, and this three-pack offers them at a super affordable price. The brand's cute all-in-ones also come in footless styles; you can shop pajamas for baby girls as well as baby boys, and for girls sizes 4 to 8 and boys sizes 4 to 8.
The Simple Joys by Carter's line is exclusively for Amazon; at Walmart, there's an exclusive line called Carter's Child of Mine with equally adorable pajamas.
Sachs says that Carter's pajamas are a staple in her house and have held up well throughout the years. She's been able to hand them down from one daughter to another.
Material: Polyester | Sizes: Birth to 8
The Children's Place makes short-sleeved pajamas that are fun, trendy and won't break the bank, especially if you snag them from Walmart. A Lab expert used these cotton sets for her kids every summer for years — they come in boy styles too. For girls, there are also sleeveless sets for extra-hot nights.
If you shop all of their pajamas, you will find baby sleepers, holiday styles and, for wintertime, hooded, zip-up one-piece pjs for big kids. Even though these cost less than some other brands, we found they held up to repeated wear and washing. But we'll admit that they don't feel as luxurious as some pricier brands, and their patterns tend to be a little wild.
Material: Cotton | Sizes: 4 to 16
Magnificent Baby was founded as a brand that uses embedded magnetic fasteners instead of snaps or zippers. That makes changing your baby in and out of long-sleeved, footie pajamas a breeze.
The footies earned one of our Parenting Awards. "The modal material is super soft, the patterns are cute and the magnetic closures are great," one parent told us. Another tester, once introduced to the brand, planned to buy several after trying it.
The pjs come in a variety of colors and prints, and start at preemie sizes for the littlest newborns.
Material: Modal | Sizes: Preemie to 24 months
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This brand came highly recommended by parents we surveyed. "They last forever. My son is 2 1/2 and still fits into his 12–18 month size," one mom said of the silky stretch fit of these pajamas. Another said, "My 3-year-old only wants 'cozy' jammies now, and means these."
We know that there are a lot of parents shopping for kids' "bamboo" pajamas, but "bamboo" is actually viscose fabric, like these Little Sleepies pajamas. (If you want to learn more about the fabric, read The Truth About Plant-Based Fabrics.)
Parents we surveyed were divided on the fabric, with one mom who said, "I'm not a fan of the popular bamboo fabric. I find it's clingy, sweaty feeling, stretches out and pills." Ah well, one parent's "sweaty and stretches out" is another parents "warm and fits a long time!"
Material: Viscose and spandex | Sizes: 12 months to 16
Gap has print options for all ages in loads of fun designs, but we like these that are made with recycled polyester flannel and offer the sort of grown-up two-piece look of old-fashioned pajamas.
These are for kids in sizes 6 to 14. BabyGap sells them in sizes 6 months to 5. For newborns, the brand sells old-timey infant sleep gowns.
Sachs appreciates that the fabric of many Gap pajamas feels substantial, saying that "it's often thicker and softer than other sets." Keep an eye out for sales that Gap holds on a regular basis because the sets will often drastically dip in price.
Material: Recycled polyester | Sizes: Preemie to 14
Primary is known for its basics that are super colorful and gender neutral. Most of the mix-and-match PJs are bold solid colors and stripes, and you can buy them by the piece, investing in these PJ pants if your child just wants to wear T-shirts on top for bed, for instance.
These won a previous Parenting Award. Textiles Lab experts found the cozy fabric to be thick and substantial. It held up well to repeated use in our reviews, and testers loved how the pieces could be handed down.
Primary has a lot of baby pajamas too, and now sells pajamas for grown-ups.
Material: Organic cotton certified by GOTS | Sizes: Birth to adult
Target is another favorite place for kid pajamas, according to parents we surveyed. The retailer offers fun licensed ones in addition to its Cat & Jack line, with new designs coming in all the time. It also often has adorable union suits — long, footless rompers that zip up the front and sport a hood.
We understand that these can be particularly popular with kids ages 8 and up who want to essentially wear a blanket around the house on weekends. Other kid-tastic designs include a Minecraft Creeper union suit plus Hello Kitty, Lilo & Stitch and a leopard suit with cat ears.
Material: Polyester | Sizes: XS to XL
This brand is a favorite splurge for Lab experts and Good Housekeeping's Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor, Marisa LaScala. "Their patterns are always the best — I always wish they had them in my size, and sometimes they do!" LaScala said.
Each season, the designers are inspired by a city or country — in this case, Turkey. It's a pricey but philanthropic brand, which often has sales and it's especially good about emailing deals to regular customers.
But back to the pajamas: They're cotton and get softer with each wash, and are long-lasting enough to make good hand-me-downs. We think they are among the best gift ideas if you're buying for a kiddo and want to get something useful and durable.
Material: Cotton | Sizes: 3 months to 16
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How we test kids' pajamas
The Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab evaluates all sorts of fabric-based products, including sheets and towels as well as kids' clothing. This story also combines research from the Parenting Lab, much as we did for our list of the best walking shoes for kids.
For many of our picks, we conducted both in-Lab tests and worked with consumer testers to evaluate real-world performance and durability, often as part of our annual Parenting Awards testing. Others were recommended again and again by parents we surveyed and come from brands we've worked with and trust.
What to consider when shopping for the best kids' pajamas
According to federal flammability laws, kids pajamas either need to be flame resistant or tight-fitting. While all kids pajamas should pass safety and flammability laws, that's not always the case. We've found pjs from small brands and online marketplaces that don't meet these requirements. So keep in mind:
✔️ Cotton pajamas should be tight-fitting. Since cotton is flammable, the garment should be snug, like long johns, to minimize chances of loose fabric coming into contact with a flame.
✔️ Loose-fitting pajamas should be polyester. Synthetic fibers are inherently flame resistant, so they're most commonly seen in nightgowns and old-fashioned-style pajama sets.
✔️ Watch out for pajamas labeled as clothing. To get around the flammability laws, some brands will label what looks like pajamas as "loungewear" even while implying that they're for sleep. While they're considered safe to wear during the day, we wouldn't risk putting young kids to sleep in loungewear at night.
What's the best material for kids' pajamas?
This is largely a question of kid comfort and parent choice that there is no one material we recommend. Here are some details on four of the choices you might encounter, from our Textiles Lab experts:
- Cotton is the most popular fiber in the world for its softness. It's sometimes described as breathable, making them a nice choice for kids who might get sweaty. Woven cotton, more often seen in adult pajamas, might feel crisp or smooth. Kids' pajamas are often knit cotton with a softer T-shirt-like feel. As explained above, cotton kids' pajamas must be tight-fitting to meet flammability requirements.
- Polyester is a synthetic fiber with excellent durability and affordability. This fabric typically feels smooth when woven and soft when knit. It holds up well to washing (so important with kid pajamas!) but is not as breathable as cotton.
- Rayon, modal and lyocell fabrics are super soft and almost cool to the touch. These regenerated cellulosic fibers are considered semi-synthetics and are prized for their slippery texture. Pajamas that claim to be made of bamboo fall into this classification, but be aware: Often, these fabrics are mislabeled and/or use misleading marketing. When we tested products using these fabrics, we found that there was no presence of bamboo after all the processing required to spin fibers.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
The Good Housekeeping Institute in New York City employs engineers, scientists and journalists who work together to review consumer products of all kinds.
Many of the pajamas recommended in this article were personally tested by Executive Director, Strategy & Operations Lexie Sachs, a mom of two who holds a degree in fiber science from Cornell University. She's also tested kids' backpacks and helms the Parenting Awards.
The original version of this list was compiled by Contributing Writer and Analyst Jamie Ueda, working with data from the Textiles Lab. Recently she's reviewed household products such as the best water filters and best dinnerware sets.
Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn updated the reviews of the best kids' pajamas, incorporating recent award winners and favorites of parents we surveyed. She previously worked at both Parents and American Baby magazines and regularly reviews kid products including humidifiers for babies and double strollers. She's a mom of two.
Lexie Sachs (she/her) is the executive director of strategy and operations at the Good Housekeeping Institute and a lead reviewer of products in the bedding, travel, lifestyle, home furnishings and apparel spaces. She has over 15 years of experience in the consumer products industry and a degree in fiber science from Cornell University. Lexie serves as an expert source both within Good Housekeeping and other media outlets, regularly appearing on national broadcast TV segments. Prior to joining GH in 2013, Lexie worked in merchandising and product development in the fashion and home industries.
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