Best Mattress for Kids

Kids grow up fast, and anyone who has any knows how quickly they can apply wear and tear to anything they come into contact with. If the time has come to upgrade your kids’ beds, it can be easy to just go online and find something that would look great in their room. However, you’re not likely to use it much past initial impressions, and you may be unaware of certain preferences that your child may not know how to express.

When we buy many types of new products, we are often able to detect volatile organic compounds through smell. From new shoes and paint to cars, mattresses and more, we all know that there is often a chemical smell that comes with a product following its production in the factory. If this is something your child is sensitive to, look for products that are CertiPUR-US certified. These products, while they may have mild offgassing, will typically release all VOCs within a couple of days. You can also open the mattress a day or two before you start allowing your child to use it.

Now that you have a better idea of what to look for in the right mattress for your child, let’s take a look at a few examples that the staff here at The Sleep Judge has personally tried out. We will consider various factors to help you find a product that will match both your budget and quality needs.

Best Mattresses for Kids

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What Size Suits You?

There can often be a pretty significant difference in price depending on the size of mattress you choose, so let’s take a moment to better understand the various sizes on the market and who they are most appropriate for.

The dimensions of a twin bed are usually around 38 x 75 inches, and this is your most inexpensive option. This route is suitable if you have one child who will be using the bed.

The twin XL adds five inches to the length of the mattress, making it 38 x 80 inches. You can often find a good twin or twin XL mattress for your child if you’re on a budget, but they will need to be replaced more quickly as your child grows. Therefore, you could lose out on years of durability. I’d recommend this option if you have younger children who can take advantage of the mattress when it’s time for your older child to move on to something bigger.

A full-sized mattress is often one of the best options for a parent to choose when mattress shopping for kids. It’s length is the same as a twin at 75 inches, but keep in mind this is 6 ¼ feet, more than enough to accommodate any child I’ve ever seen! However, the full mattress adds 16 inches to the width, making it 54 x 75 inches. This allows them more room to move around as well as you room to lay in bed next to them when you tuck them in.

It also must be understood that, while you may compare a mattress with an 8 year life span to the time it’s been since you graduated college, a four-year-old child sees that as double their entire life. By the time eight years pass, they’ll be starting middle school. Buying a full sized mattress allows your child to really grow with and enjoy a durable product they’ll probably always remember.

Getting the Comfort Right

It’s been revealed in a study of roughly 1,000 children and preadolescents that sleep deprivation is directly related to a drop in academic performance. It is also attributed to a number of negative side effects in children specifically including:

• Overly emotional, often displayed by tantrums
• Difficulty in waking up in the morning
• Hyperactivity
• Clumsiness
• Excessive talking

Firm or Plush Mattress for Child?

It’s clear that getting the comfort right for your child is key and could make life around your home much different if he or she currently displays these symptoms. Let’s review the different firmness levels to help you and your child identify what they prefer.

• Plush- these products are on the softer side and are typically identified with an indentation load deflection of less than 25 pounds.
• Firm- feature an ILD of higher than 31 and can be a great choice for kids who sleep primarily on their stomachs
• Medium- this firmness level typically lies within 25 to 31 pounds and is accommodating for the majority of sleepers.

Consider Support

Comfort is concerned with the overall feel and firmness of a product while support consists of the ability of the mattress to properly align your spine. It’s very important that your child is able to grow up sleeping with the right support for them in order to promote normal growth and health.

If your child is older, I would definitely recommend you involve them in the shopping process. As you learn more about the types of materials you’ll have as options and what they can provide, they can certainly inform you of specific things they need based on their sleep preferences and style.

As you consider support, you want your child’s mattress to do its part in offering proper spinal alignment. However, there are a couple of habits you can instill in your child in order to help them enjoy a lifetime of added sleep support. For starters, encourage them to avoid using more than one pillow. Also explain how laying on your side with your knees bent can help reduce pressure.

Can Prove Well Worth Initial Investment

You will have to spend a little more for a high-quality product most capable of standing the test of time and your child’s sleep needs. That’s why we always recommend shopping prepared to spend at least $500. However, the higher you can go above this mark, the better durability you can expect to enjoy. Considering how important it is to your child’s overall health and quality of life, you can quickly find it to be well worth the initial investment.

How to Choose a Mattress for a Child

A great place to start is to decide what type of material or material combination will offer the best solution for your child. Let’s take a moment to walk through the most common you’re going to run across as you shop so you can understand them better.

Memory Foam

Memory foam is a visco elastic material and it’s going to respond both to pressure and your child’s body heat. Therefore, the longer they lay on the product, the more it will begin to conform with their body. This is what provides that “hug” that’s typically associated with memory foam. They can also enjoy less disturbed sleep if they sleep with a sibling as memory foam is often associated with high motion isolation.

If you do decide to pursue a memory foam product, look for one that features GreenGuard GOLD certification or CertiPUR-US certification to ensure off gassing is minimal. You should also look for methods the manufacturer has taken to allow for breathability as traditional memory foam products are known to sleep hot.

Innerspring

Anyone with kids understands what a beating they can put on their belongings. This is a fact of life that makes innerspring products attractive to parents as they generally offer good durability. Now, mattress technology has made a lot of advancements since the innerspring you may recall from your childhood. When you shop, you’ll have two primary options from which to choose:

Open Coil

This is going to be your better option if you’re on a tight budget. However, as usually is the case, they will wear out more quickly than the next option we’ll discuss. If you have a small child who doesn’t weigh much and will soon be outgrowing their bed and also don’t have much to spend, this could prove to be a viable short-term solution.

Pocketed Coil

In pocketed coil construction, each coil is wrapped individually, and this contributes to a higher cost. Since they consequently don’t share the entire load of your child, you can typically expect pocketed coils to last longer. Your child can also benefit from the improved contour they will experience on pocketed coil products compared with open coil.

Latex

When it comes to latex mattress products, you can usually expect durability to be impressive. They are also capable of providing superior support for your child. While they do offer similar features of memory foam products we discussed a moment ago, I would encourage you to check our complete comparison of the two mattress materials before you decide.

Conclusion

While the Aveline may be suitable for your needs if you really need to replace your child’s mattress and are short on cash, I’d strongly recommend the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams Eurotop Latex Mattress. I was very impressed with the overall comfort and support this product offered, and I found myself sleeping through the night without tossing and turning. As the mother of three kids, I let them weigh in on their favorite from this list, and two out of three agreed. (My son is a big fan of the Bear Mattress, and he participates in sports, so I’d recommend Bear for child athletes).

I was particularly impressed with the firmness level of this my Dreamfoam mattress. The company did a great job at incorporating the information I provided to offer me a product that matched my specific sleep needs. This can prove highly beneficial to your child as they will likely be enjoying this durable product for a number of important years of their childhood. Overall, a great product at a reasonable price.

Additional Resources

• How to Fall Asleep Fast for Kids
• Overcoming Bedtime Battles With Your Kids
• Bedroom Ideas for Kids