Choosing an Urn for a Child or Baby: Sizes and Burial

Choosing an urn for a child is not like choosing one for an adult. The amount of ash can be very small, sometimes almost nothing, and plans for it can change later. This guide goes through the questions in the order they usually come up: how much ash there will be, what size of urn that means, where the urn will go, and how to share the ashes in a family. The urns mentioned are from our urns for children and baby urns, and each size quoted comes from that urn's own page.

How much ash there will be

Ask this before you look at urns. The answer decides everything else.

For a baby, the amount may be tiny. Sands, the UK stillbirth and neonatal death charity, wrote on April 30, 2014 that "following the cremation of a very small or premature baby, including a baby born well before 24 completed weeks, there may be very few or no ashes" (Sands, Important information for parents). The same statement says that when there are ashes, parents should always be offered them, however few. The funeral director or the crematorium can tell you what to expect, and you can ask them to let you know the amount once the cremation has taken place.

For an older child, there will be more. The amount follows body size, which is why urns are sized by weight.

What size urn a baby or child needs

Our urn size guide uses a simple rule: allow about one cubic inch of capacity for each pound of body weight. You can see it on the product pages. The Calla Lily Medium Urn in Blue holds 2 liters (about 122 cubic inches) and is listed for a body weight up to approximately 55 kg (122 lb).

In practice that gives three bands:

• A baby: a keepsake or small urn, from about 0.1 to 0.9 liters (6 to 55 cubic inches). If the crematorium returns only a little, the smallest sizes are enough.
• A young child: a medium urn. The Passage Medium Urn in White holds 1.4 liters (about 85 cubic inches) and is listed for up to approximately 38 kg (85 lb).
• An older child or teenager: a larger medium urn such as the Calla Lily, or an adult urn. Our guide to adult cremation urns covers the full sizes.

Room to spare is fine. An urn that is too small is the one problem you cannot fix, so if you are between two sizes, choose the larger.

Urns for a baby

Angel Wings Small Urn in White

The Angel Wings Small Urn in White is a single feathered wing in white glazed ceramic, 19 cm (7.5 in) tall and 9.5 cm (3.7 in) deep. Its page describes it as able to hold "the complete remembrance of an infant". Capacity is 0.2 liters (about 12 cubic inches). A plug with a matching white ceramic cover closes the base, and glue is supplied if you want to seal it for good.

Pictured: Angel Wings Small Urn for Ashes in White

Embrace Heart Small Urn in White and Gold

A matte white ceramic heart with a small gold heart set into the center. The Embrace Heart Small Urn in White and Gold holds 0.8 liters (about 48.8 cubic inches), and its page lists it for an infant, a baby or a small portion of ashes. You fill it through the base, which is then sealed with the ceramic glue supplied. Its page describes it as made for display in the home.

Pictured: Embrace Heart Small Urn for Ashes in White and Gold

Bear Small Urn in Stainless Steel

At the top of that baby range, the Bear Small Urn in Stainless Steel holds 0.9 liters (about 55 cubic inches). This one is a standing oval ring of brushed steel with a bear at its center. Its page says the bear is cut right through the metal as an open shape; in the photo it reads as the outline of a teddy bear holding a balloon. A lid closes it. Being solid metal, it can stand indoors or in a garden, and it stands 20 cm (7.87 in) tall.

Pictured: Bear Small Urn for Ashes in Stainless Steel

Urns for an older child

For a child of school age, look at medium urns. The Calla Lily Medium Urn in Blue is shaped like an open calla lily, with sculpted petals under a blue iridescent glaze and a small golden seed at the center. It is 26.5 cm (10.4 in) tall and weighs 2.0 kg (4.4 lb) empty. Ashes go in through the base, which closes along a sealed bottom edge. The same design comes in other glazes in our urns for children.

Pictured: Calla Lily Medium Urn for Ashes in Blue

If the Calla Lily is more ornate than you want, the Passage Medium Urn is a plainer white ceramic shape at 1.4 liters, with a space for a tea light. Check the weight limit on the page before you choose either one. A teenager may need an adult urn.

Burying the ashes or placing them on water

Some parents want a grave to visit in a cemetery or churchyard. Others want the ashes returned to a garden, a natural or woodland burial ground or the sea.

For a natural burial ground, a garden or water, choose an urn sold as biodegradable, because a ceramic or metal urn will not break down. A cemetery or churchyard plot is different: it may accept other urns, and each one sets its own rules, so ask the cemetery what it allows before you choose. If the garden is not yours, ask the owner before you bury or scatter anything there.

The Embrace Biodegradable Urn in White Hemp, Small is made by hand from mulberry bark, with no synthetic parts. It holds 0.66 liters (about 40 cubic inches), measures 10.8 cm (4.3 in) high and wide, and has a lift-off lid. It can sit on a shelf until the burial.

Pictured: Embrace Biodegradable Urn for Ashes in White Hemp - Small

A heart shape is also made in the same mulberry bark. The Love Heart Biodegradable Urn in Pastel, Small holds 0.49 liters (about 30 cubic inches) and weighs 0.07 kg (0.2 lb) empty.

For water, the Oceane Round Quartz Biodegradable Water Urn, Small is made from sand and natural gelatin with a crushed quartz surface. Placed on water, it floats for a while, then breaks down and sinks. It holds 0.82 liters (about 50 cubic inches) and comes with a biodegradable inner bag.

Pictured: Oceane Round Quartz Biodegradable Water Urn for Ashes - Small

These are the wrong choice if you want to keep the urn for years. A biodegradable urn is made to break down once it is buried, and a water urn is made to dissolve. Natural burial grounds also set their own rules about containers, so ask before you buy. Our guide on how cremation urns are buried explains the steps.

Sharing the ashes within the family

Parents may want to keep the ashes together. Grandparents or a separated parent may each want a small part. Keepsake urns allow this, and so does keeping one main urn at home with a keepsake beside it.

The Lumos Keepsake Urn is a rounded white porcelain piece with a space for a tea light in the top. Inside it holds 0.25 liters (about 15 cubic inches), and an airtight push stopper closes the base.

Pictured: Lumos Keepsake Urn for Ashes

Smaller still, the Crystal Heart Small Urn in Ivory is hand-blown glass in a marbled ivory tone, 10.5 cm (4.13 in) tall, holding 0.1 liters (about 6.1 cubic inches). Our guide to dividing ashes after cremation explains how to share them out.

The urns in this guide, side by side

• Crystal Heart Small, Ivory: 0.1 L (6.1 cu in), sealed with a self-adhesive label, for display at home.
• Angel Wings Small, White: 0.2 L (12 cu in), base plug with optional glue, indoors or outdoors.
• Lumos Keepsake: 0.25 L (15 cu in), push stopper in the base, indoors or outdoors.
• Love Heart Biodegradable, Pastel, Small: 0.49 L (30 cu in), lift-off lid, at home or buried.
• Embrace Biodegradable, White Hemp, Small: 0.66 L (40 cu in), lift-off lid, at home or buried.
• Embrace Heart Small, White and Gold: 0.8 L (48.8 cu in), base sealed with glue, at home.
• Oceane Round Quartz Water Urn, Small: 0.82 L (50 cu in), lid closes with no glue, water or at home.
• Bear Small, Stainless Steel: 0.9 L (55 cu in), lid, indoors or outdoors.
• Passage Medium, White: 1.4 L (85 cu in), filled through the base, indoors or in a garden.
• Calla Lily Medium, Blue: 2 L (122 cu in), sealed base, for display.

Rules worth knowing

United States

You do not have to buy the urn from the funeral home. The Federal Trade Commission's consumer leaflet on the Funeral Rule (May 2007) says "The funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you bought online, at a local casket store, or somewhere else", and that it cannot charge you a fee to do it (FTC, Funeral Goods and Services, Facts for Consumers, on govinfo.gov).

England and Wales

Since October 1, 2016, the law has defined ashes as "all the material left in the cremator after a cremation", once any metal has been removed (The Cremation (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016, made September 6, 2016). In a written statement to Parliament on September 8, 2016, a justice minister, Dr Phillip Lee, said the new definition was part of changes to infant cremation and that "These changes will provide clarity for bereaved parents at a difficult time in their lives". This is general information, not legal advice. Your crematorium can explain how it applies to you.

Support for parents

In the UK, Sands supports anyone affected by the death of a baby. Wherever you are, the hospital's bereavement team or your funeral director can put you in touch with local support. If you have a question about an urn, you can contact us.

Sizes and product details in this guide were checked against our product pages on October 18, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What size urn do I need for a baby?

Usually a keepsake or small urn of under one liter. Allow about one cubic inch of capacity for each pound of body weight, and ask the crematorium how much ash there is, because a very small or premature baby may leave very few.

Are there always ashes after a baby is cremated?

Not always. Sands, the UK baby loss charity, says that after the cremation of a very small or premature baby there may be very few or no ashes. Ask the funeral director or crematorium what to expect before the cremation.

What size urn does an older child need?

Usually a medium urn of about 1.4 to 2 liters. Check the body weight listed on the urn's page; the Calla Lily Medium Urn, for example, is listed for up to approximately 55 kg (122 lb). A teenager may need an adult urn.

Can a child's urn be buried?

It depends where. For a natural burial ground or a garden, choose an urn sold as biodegradable, such as the small Embrace or Love Heart urns made from mulberry bark, because ceramic and metal urns do not break down. A cemetery or churchyard may accept other urns, so ask the cemetery what it allows before you buy.

Can the ashes be shared between family members?

Yes. Keepsake urns such as the Lumos or the Crystal Heart hold a small portion each, so parents, grandparents or siblings can each keep one.

Do I have to buy the urn from the funeral home?

No. In the United States, the FTC Funeral Rule says a funeral provider cannot refuse to handle an urn bought elsewhere or charge a fee to do it.