Hi L-overwhelmed,
You may have read this already but just in case you haven’t … there is more information in post #2 here and the topics it links to about mattresses and children and “suitable” and “safe” materials including a link to some general guidelines for children in post #2 here. It also includes a number of links to the better forum posts and topics about mattress and children as well which have more information about many good options children which would be well worth considering.
Any mattress that uses materials that are durable enough and are in a suitable firmness range and that has a reliable safety certification and you consider to be safe enough would be a suitable choice for a child regardless of whether it has an organic certification.
Most people that are looking for an “organic” mattress or materials are usually concerned more with “safety” than whether the materials have an actual organic certification and they usually aren’t aware that an organic certification isn’t the same thing as a safety certification. There is more information about the three different levels of organic certifications in post #2 here and some of the benefits of an organic certification in post #3 here and there is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications such as Oeko-tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold, C2C, and CertiPUR-US in post #2 here and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and there are also some comments in post #42 here that can help you decide whether an organic certification is important to you for environmental, social, or personal reasons or whether a “safety” certification is enough.
The only reliable way to to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOCs (regardless of whether they are organic or natural or synthetic) so that you have some assurance than the VOCs are below the testing limits for the certification. If the materials in a mattress or the mattress itself has a reliable “safety” certification then for most people they would certainly be “safe enough” … regardless of the type of material or the name of the manufacturer on the label.
All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will also have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold or C2C and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex (regardless of whether it is synthetic, natural, or blended) to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s (offgassing).
Any type or blend of latex will also be a very durable material relative to other types of foam such as memory foam or polyfoam as well.
In other words … with latex the benefits of an organic certification are often exaggerated or in many cases based on misleading or inaccurate information and are often just a justification to charge much more for a mattress compared to other similar mattresses that would be just as suitable and just as safe but are in much lower budget ranges.
This would certainly make a very durable and suitable choice for a child.
The snugsoft mattress pad wouldn’t be necessary although it would certainly be a great addition to a mattress that doesn’t have a wool quilted cover for those that like the benefits of sleeping on wool. I don’t believe that it’s waterproof or water resistant (you could check with Mattresses.net to confirm this) so it wouldn’t protect the mattress underneath it and if either of your children are prone to accidents or spills then it would probably be a good idea to use a water resistant or waterproof mattress protector underneath the snugsoft mattress pad to protect the mattress.
There is more about the pros and cons of different types of mattress protectors and some examples of each of them in post #89 here but if waterproof or water resistant is an important criteria for you in case of accidents or spills then I would either use a thinner “membrane” type of protector that is more waterproof or a water resistant wool quilted cotton protector or a wool puddle pad under the snugfleece mattress pad.
It would certainly be suitable for a child both in terms of firmness and durability and any type or blend of latex would also be “safe enough” for children as well.
I personally don’t see any compelling reason to push for a higher budget latex mattress for a child unless you wanted a two sided mattress with a wool quilted cover on each side (so you wouldn’t need the wool mattress pad) when the one you are looking at would be just as suitable and just as safe.
I’m guessing that the mattress you are referring to at SleepEZ is this one. If this is the case then they also have some lower budget options available as well such as this one which includes 6" of 100% natural Dunlop latex with a medium plush and a firm sleeping surface on each side and a cover that is quilted with polyfoam rather than wool or this one that includes two 3" layers of latex (you can choose either blended Talalay or 100% natural Dunlop) and has a cotton cover that is quilted with wool that would both be a very suitable choice for a child as well.
ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: sleepez.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/287
Phoenix