Pick the perfect kids neck pillow that actually works!
We know just how important it is for your kids to be comfortable and well-rested if you are going to undertake long journey’s, be it by plane, car, train -anything that involves hours of sitting!
For us, a big transition stage has been moving to booster seats, without the head support that they are used to with more structured convertible car seats. Kids necks still need supporting for good rest on the go.
In this post, we take a more in-depth look at some of the best children’s neck pillows on the market to get kids and toddlers comfortable, as well as comfort items you can use on long-haul flights.
This post is part of our travel products review series – for all the latest innovations in the family travel space.
This page contains affiliate links. As Amazon Associates, we earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Best Neck Pillows for Kids
Whatever form of transport you are on, a travel pillow can help children feel more comfortable by supporting their heads for sleeping.
What to look for when purchasing a neck pillow for kids
There are several important features to look out for when choosing a good travel pillow to support your child’s head.
- Many brands are not ideal to be used with a child’s car seat as they may not fit within the existing head support; Kids neck pillow products work best in cars once a child has graduated to a booster.
- Foam-filled pillows may be too firm and bulky for smaller children, look for more flexible microbeads with younger kids.
- Check how breathable the material covering is and is it machine washable?
- How light and flexible is the product to carry? If you need to fly to your destination, does it take up much space in your luggage, or can it easily clip on to your child’s backpack?
Best Kids Travel Pillows – Ideal Neck Support for the Car
Here’s a buyers summary guide for neck pillow products we like for preschoolers through to pre-teens. You can see them described in more detail below.
| Product | Image | Material | Weight | Colours/Designs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCOZZY Kids Chin Supporting Travel Pillow |   | Outer fleece, filling siliconised microfibre | 4.2 oz | 7 standard colours, 24+ patterened designs |
| INFANZIA Travel Neck Pillow for Kids |   | Outer made from cotton pique | 8.8 oz | Panda, Devil + blue, gray, red |
| Trunki Yondi Travel Neck Pillow |   | Outer made from spandex, velour, nylex; Microbead filling | 4 oz | 7 animal and colour designs including Monkey, Owl, Lion, Fox, Dino |
| Critter Piller Kid’s Neck Pillow |   | Outer polyester. Filling hypoallergenic fibers made from recycled materials | 6.4 oz | 23 different critters to choose from |
| Cloudz Kids Pillow Plush Animal |   | Outer polyester, filling premium polyester fiber | 4.8 oz | 13 animal designs |
| Nido Nest Neck Pillow |   | Outer stretchable polyester & cotton liner, inner polyester microbeads | 4.2 oz | Ladybird, Bumblee Bee, Frog, Owl and Pig |
| Trailblazers Travel Pillow for Kids |   | Outer polyester and spandex, inner memory foam | 7 oz | Galaxy purple |
| Dot&Dot Twist Memory Foam Travel Pillow |   | Outer coton, filling memory foam | 1 lb | 5 neutral colours |
Let’s look at each of these in more detail
Best Kids Neck Pillow: BCOZZY Chin Supporting Travel Pillow
Great for all forms of transport, this is one of the most practical designs of kids neck pillows and we’d argue it’s the best travel pillow for kids (we own 3!).
Coming in both adults and kids sizes, we love that this product completely contours the neck, wrapping under the chin to stop chin bobbing with a snap strap that allows you to attach it to your bag.
There is a greatly improved choice of colours since we bought ours, but limited cute designs in the kid’s size. The overall range of colours and designs is huge though if you’re looking for something fun and stylish for yourself too!
Runner Up: INFANZIA Travel Neck Pillow
Also one of our top picks, we absolutely love the design of this children’s travel pillow. It is a firm runner up in the kids travel pillow category (perfect for toddlers too). It is ideal for use in a car seat as it is narrower at the back and wider at the front to provide adequate chin support.
The snap clasp helps secure the pillow under your child’s chin and makes it easy to secure to your bag when not in use. The INFANZIA Travel Neck Pillow comes in playful panda or devil designs, plus more neutral blue, grey and black. These kids travel pillows are machine washable and one of our favourites for a long road trip.
Critter Piller Kid’s Neck Pillow
This is a great choice for kids looking for a bit more fun with their neck pillow. The manufacturers say suitable from 3 years old, but note this one is a little bulkier than some products so it wouldn’t really suit being used in a car seat, but ideal on planes and trains where there’s no other support for your child’s neck.
The cover on this cosy travel pillow is polyester while the filling is hypoallergenic fibres made from recycled materials.
There are a massive 23 different critters to choose from though so if your fussy one is looking for a particular animal this could be your best place to find it!!
Cloudz Kids Pillow Plush Animal
One of the most lightweight options that come in a huge variety of animal designs for a bit of fun from crocs to tigers, and even unicorns!
The animal design does make them a bit too bulky to fit in a car seat but they’re perfect for on the plane or when used with a booster seat.
You can see the full range of Cloudz Kids Plush Animals here.
Nido nest neck pillow
Another cute kids neck pillow made from soft microbeads. These great squishy pillows also come with an appealing matching eye mask. The super stretchy material is machine washable (which not many do) and the snap clasp holds the pillow firmly on your child’s neck, ideal for long car rides.
A good choice for those who want a range of critters to suit their child’s interests – you’ll find the Nido nest neck pillow available in Ladybird, Bumblee Bee, Frog, Owl and Pig – You can see the full Nido nest neck range here.
Best for Older Kids: Trailblazers Travel Pillow for Kids
This galaxy design neck pillow by Byron’s Games offers kids the ultimate in travel pillow comfort! Offering 360-degree neck support, purposefully designed for a child’s head, this is one of the cosiest travel pillows.
We love the machine-washable exterior and neck clasp to prevent slippage. It also comes with its own handy travel case. We wish they had more colours that the boys love too as they’re so wonderfully soft, this one has become a favourite with our own tween girl.
Runner Up for Older Kids: Dot&Dot Twist Memory Foam Travel Pillow
Once kids have started to outgrow the novelty pillow products this is the perfect graduation to something more versatile and neutral. This twistable neck pillow allows you to contour the pillow to a variety of sleeping positions making it great not just for long flights but snuggling up in the car or a train -anywhere you’re on the move!
Slightly heavier and bulkier than the light microbead products as it’s made from high-quality memory foam, but does come with a clasp for attaching to bags and a removable cotton cover great for washing. Comes in 5 gender-neutral colours.
Travel Pillows for Toddlers
For slightly smaller children, our top toddler neck pillow picks are those with a little more flexibility to fit within car seats and a lot of cuddly fun that can also be machine washed!
| Product | Image | Material | Weight | Colours/Designs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skip Hop Zoo Little Kid & Toddler Travel Neck Rest |   | Outer velour, filling polyester | 7.2 oz | Dog, giraffe, ladybird, owl, monkey |
| Panda U-shaped Neck Pillow |   | Outer soft plush fabric, filling polypropylene cotton materials | 6.4 oz | Panda |
| Yufiova Travel Pillow for Kids |   | Soft plush exterior, air inflated | 3.4 oz | Blue and Pink |
Let’s look at the best toddler travel pillows in more detail:
Skip Hop Zoo Little Kid & Toddler Neck Pillow
A pillow that doubles as a soft toy makes this one ideal for the toddler category – designed for 2 to 4-year-olds. This cute character neck pillow is made of polyester with a velour finish.
Bonus add ons! The gorgeous Skip Hop range includes insulated toddler backpacks, lunch boxes and reign backpacks which can be a great fun addition to your travel gear!
Panda Children’s Neck Pillow
This cute and cuddly panda cushion is ideal to appeal to the younger crowd and one of the best toddler neck pillows (though we’d recommend given it’s quite a bulky one and is better used without a car seat).
Made from soft material and polypropylene filling, it gives a firm but comfortable U-shape to support your toddler’s neck. It also comes with its own handy travel bag.
Yufiova Baby/Toddler Car Seat Head Support Pillow
A really practical pillow design for smaller heads in car seats. Not as cute and novelty as other designs – this inflatable travel pillow is only available in light blue and pink but ideal for your younger ones looking for maximum head support.
Ideal for the littlest child’s head so they can also be used inside their car seat. The cover is removable and the pillow deflates making it one of the easiest designs to roll up and include inside your toddler’s plane bag.
Seat Belt Comfort for Kids
When kids are graduating from car seats to boosters, we found that they were irritated by the seat belt rubbing on their necks. Anything soft and cuddly helps, even if it’s not a full head wrap but something they can wrap around the actual seat belt.
Here are our top seat belt pillow picks for kids! Read more details below:
| Product | Image | Material | Weight | Colors/designs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Belt Cover Pillow for Kids |   | soft plush outer, cotton filling | 3 oz | Unicorn, Dinosaur |
| Cloudz Kids Plush Seat Belt Buddy |   | Soft plush | 3.2 oz | Cat, dog, rhino, unicorn |
| Apomelo Car Seat Belt Cute Pet |   | Cotton | 9.9 oz | Panda, dinosaur, bear, bunny, monkey, unicorn |
| Zento Faux Sheepskin Seat Belt Shoulder Pad |   | Faux Sheepskin | 0.34 oz | Grey |
| Sloth Seat Belt Pillow |   | Soft fabric, Polyester filling | 11.2 oz | Sloth |
Unicorn Seat Belt Cover Pillow for Kids
Attaching by velcro to the seat belt, this cute and cuddly comforter doubles as a pillow. Larger than most you should not experience slippage and the cover is machine washable.
The downfall is maybe it’s a little too large so may not conveniently pack in their luggage, but large enough your child can also take along as their cuddly pal on the plane too.
This seat comforter pillow also comes in a dinosaur design.
Cloudz Plush Seat Belt Buddy
These simple but cute and cuddly seat belt wraps are also a good option. They’re an ideal lightweight solution while travelling with kids who’ve graduated to lap belts.
They come in several design options including cat, dog, bear and unicorn and are machine washable, ideal for little droolers! They work in both high backed and stand-alone booster seats.
Apomelo Car Seat Belt Cute Pet
Another cuddly critter design we really love these designs including monkey, bear, panda, dinosaur, rabbit & croc.
Again not the best for portability as they are 18″ long but lovely and soft, height adjustable with velcro and machine washable, these have instant snuggle appeal!
Zento Faux Sheepskin Shoulder Pads
Ok not nearly as fun as the cute and cuddly type, but super practical and easily up for the job of stopping the neck rub on seat belts.
Available in twin packs these really are practical and don’t look so childish for your older children who like to get comfortable too. They are feather-light at under half an ounce each so easy to pack away in the suitcase then use them on your road trip.
Airplane leg pillows
Last but not least, the other pillow and comfort craze to consider is not just kids necks but how else they can get cosy to sleep on a long overnight flight – introducing leg pillows!
A leg pillow or airplane pillow as many commonly refer to them, essentially allows kids to stretch out flat (though legs may still need to be curled) for a more comfortable flight than being seated upright.
We discuss these plane products in much more detail here (includes which airlines actually allow you to use these sleep devices and who prohibits them). We’ve included here a summary of the different types of leg rest pillows you can try for a (slightly) better night’s sleep in the air!
| Product Name | Image | Weight | How it Works | Where to purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg Rest Travel Pillow by 1st Class Kids |  | 0.5kg (1.1lbs) | Can be rolled or folded. Inflate my mouth or from ceiling air vent | Amazon US or if overseas check distributors |
| Fly Tot |  | 1kg (2.2lbs) | Folds flat and inflates with a foot pump - this adds bulk but saves time | Available on Amazon US |
| Plane Pal |  | 1.2kg (2.6lbs) | Folds or rolls into its own bag, can buy with or without the foot pump | From the UK supplier Keep Em Quiet |
| Kooshy Kids |  | 0.8kg (1.8lbs) | Roll or fold flat in a carry bag. See our full product review | Amazon US or direct from the supplier in Australia |
| Flyaway Kids Bed |  | 1.3kg (2.8lbs) | Inflatable bed with fully flat mattress and inflatable leg support. See our full product review | Available from the supplier Flyaway Designs |
You may also want to check out the Jet Kids Bed Box – A hard case that doubles as a roll-along suitcase and sleep aid for long-haul flights
See all our favourite kids travel products in our guide to coolest kids travel gear
Got a product you think fits the bill? Head to our “Work With Us” page
More Reading for family Travellers
Before you go! We’ve been travelling the world with our kids for over 10 years and in this time we’ve reviewed a lot of family travel products – we know what’s essential and what to leave at home! While you’re here why not also check out:
- Travelling high chairs; are they worth it?
- The best portable travel cots & sleep solutions
- Tips for surviving road trips with toddlers
- Getting comfy at the beach – the best kids beach chairs compared
- Picking out the best types of luggage for kids
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© Our Globetrotters
Thanks for sharing the information. Also don’t be afraid to try out your car pillow in other environments as well. You may find that these can be really helpful in relieving any aches and pains when you’re sitting anywhere for extended periods of time.
OMG those animal travel pillows are so adorable. Those are going to be so much fun with traveling.
Kids body are very sensitive naturally. During Travelling, high quality Travel Pillow for Kids is very much necessary for the kids. thank for your suggestion and good collection of Travel Pillow for Kids.