I’m looking for a mattress for my son a I stumbled upon this futon by TFS Honest Sleep. We haven’t tried it, but it looks pretty good on paper. I didn’t find any references to this brand on this forum, but maybe someone heard of them? Are they a quality company?
Details of their futon:
Medium Firm support
Chemical-free virgin wool
Excellent temperature regulation and moisture control
USDA and GOTS certified organic cotton
Supportive layer of pocketed innersprings
Double tempered steel micro coils, made entirely from recycled materials
Made without chemical fire retardants
Anti-microbial and dust mite-resistant
Roll packed for easy delivery and setup
Materials:
733 4" micro coils made from recycled materials
24-40 lbs of USDA and GOTS certified organic cotton (depending on size)
12-20 lbs of natural wool (depending on size).
Organic cotton 7 oz. twill
Also, in general, what are some disadvantages of futons for kids comparing to regular sized mattresses? Do they last as long?
Another mattress I’m looking at is Verse by Naturepedic.
One of the most important factors parents/caregivers tend to consider with a child’s mattress or sleep surface is whether or not the mattress uses safe materials. I took a look at the TFS Honest Sleep and they are very transparent about their materials, and look to be high quality and well certified.
With regards to a futon for kids…
(Taking a page out of Phoenix’s book here…) Ideally a mattress should be a minimum of about 6" - 8" longer than their height (8" would be more ideal) and should be about 16" wider than their shoulder width. The design should be firmer [this is inherent to the futon you’ve chosen] when they are younger and still growing to help with good spinal alignment and when they begin to develop more and go through puberty then is the time that they may need a little more thickness in the comfort layers to help with their changing and more developed body shape (they will normally tell you if you ask about the comfort of their mattress or there would be some signs that they are not sleeping as well as they used to). A regular twin mattress is 38" or 39" x 75" and is generally wide enough for most kids or adults (38" - 39" is generally fine for a shoulder width up to about 22" or so) and it wouldn’t need to be any longer until they are taller than 5’ 7" - 5" 9" or so. If you expect them to grow taller than this then it may make sense to start with a twin XL. Wider than a twin would depend on your best judgement and would be a “luxury” in most cases but wouldn’t normally be necessary.
It’s hard to say for sure how long this mattress would last for your child, but standard futons (without coils) tend to have a 5 - 10 year lifespan. I’m assuming that this would be slightly extended due to the coils included in this mattress/futon hybrid. You may be able to get this information from the manufacturer directly.
Thank you so much for all the info! I thought I’ve read all Phoenix’s comments regarding kid’s mattresses, but haven’t seen this about measurements! It does make me wonder about what size to purchase. We definitely expect LO to be over 5’9, however we already have a bed frame… So this gives me bit of a dilemma. I can (reluctantly) haul the bedframe back to the store and look for a different one (likely more expensive) or get him the twin now and buy a second mattress in 10yrs time. My husband is convinced that he will find a way to destroy the mattress and we will have to buy a new one anyway:) Decisions, decisions…
Are there more details in that ‘book’ of Phoenix’s? I’d love to read more!
Many beds have a life span in the 10 year range as it is, so it’s not a terrible idea to buy a “kid size” mattress now, and then replace it when LO is nearing (or coming out of) a growth spurt bringing them closer to “adult size.”
And, without knowing how old your child is, it’s very possible they do a good number on the mattress! Of course, that’s why protectors were invented
