How to keep a kid on his sleeping mat?

Are there any tips on keeping a 6 year old on the sleeping mat?

We tried our new family tent (the Tarptent Hogback) out in the backyard last night. While it worked great, our 6 year old son moves a lot. He ended up in the morning on the tent floor with his sleeping bag (Eureka Grasshopper) and the mat (Therm-a-Rest Ridge Rest short) was nowhere under him.

I have the same bag for my 7 yr old son and 8 yr old daughter. My kids don't move that much. But you might try velcro.

If he was sleeping soundly and wasn't cold, I wouldn't worry too much! Sometimes I think we fuss too much over our kids! I babysat my grandkids for a week last month; one morning I found my 8-year-old granddaughter sleeping on the bare floor, no covers. She was sleeping just fine--in fact, I had a hard time getting her up for school!

We had the same problem, and to make it more fun we'd often find our daughter halfway out of her bag in the morning. Even on very cold mornings.

I worried about it, then realized that if she were cold or uncomfortable, she'd wake up and let us know. She always looked warm and was sleeping soundly, even on a hard shelter floor on a 25-F morning half out of the bag.

Kids....

Just look at them with envy. and enjoy living vicariously through them. There was a time when I could sleep comfortably like that too...

I once woke up to find half of my son (mostly legs) outside the tarp!!!! He has slipped under the edge. Didn't affect his sleep at all. I'm lucky it wasn't raining.

Don't confine him. Let nature take its course.

I guess you guys are right. We've done plenty of car camping with friends and each kids sleeps in their own tent by themselves. So I never payed to much attention to it then. When sharing a tent it's much more obvious.

I think someone, might be Big Agne,s makes a bag with a pocket on the bottom that the mat slips into. You could have someone add one to the bag unless you are handy enough to do it yourself.

The alternative is either throw a cargo net over him or just duct tape him to it.

My Kelty Foraker 15 degree bag has little tabs sewn into the outside in the seam. I bought two little sleeping pad bungies and ran them under the sleeping mat. Then attached them to each side. One just below my shoulders and one about knee high. It seems to work well.

I never used a sleeping pad until I was in my 30's, including temps down to 15 F in a 30 F-rated bag (in all of my layers, shivering ). Pads are nice.

My kids won't stay on their pad either. Straps or bungees actually made things worse because they'd roll, the pad would go to the side, and it would stay there or on top all night due to being held in place. I suspect a bag with a pad pocket like a Big Agnes would have the same result.

If it's below 60 F, they sleep in a fleece jacket, plus a fleece hat if below 50 F. (I do the same with my quilt. ;)) This allows them to stay somewhat warm no matter where they end up.