kids mattress

Hi,

First of all, I want to tell you that your mattress forum is great and you are amazing to provide all this information and guidance to help us choose the right mattresses. Thank you for all you do.

I also learnt it on the hard way. Bought originally a terrible mattress back in September, returned it and through your mattress forum I ended up buying a coil mattress with latex pillowtop from Mark at Midwest Bedding, Omaha.

I am here now as I need to buy a new mattress for my 3.5 year old daughter. She is mainly a back sleeper.

First of I am unsure if I should go for all latex or not. Back in the fall I was convinced with latex, but when I went to the store I actually tried them I have found them too soft, I felt I sank in too much… 8" talalay latex mattress from Midwest bedding. I also tried in Lebeda but did not feel that one right, either.
does it mean that latex is not for me? or this specific latex mattress is different for some reason? Is there a way some manufacturer make latex mattress firmer?

so, I do not know if I should go ahead with latex for my daughter or try instead a good orthopedic type coilspring reversible mattress for half price without memory foam or latex or anything… and this option I am hesitant as I found it too firm…

Than, I am also unsure if I should order it online or get it through locally… I tried to look up some of your suggestions from a previous post (https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/latex-mattress-for-children) but I could not find the link to sleepez, or to mygreenmattress…

I would appreciate your feedback. thanks.

Hi torsi9,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Latex comes in a very wide range of firmness levels from ultra soft to ultra firm so it may be that the latex you tried was softer than you prefer. It also has a somewhat different feel because even in the firmer versions it is very elastic and contours better to your body profile than polyfoam and to some people this can “translate” into a perception of softness (which can be very subjective).

Post #2 here includes links to some of the better forum posts about children and mattresses and they also include links to mattresses that would be well worth considering.

A thinner layer of firmer latex can be one of the better choices for a child.

I fixed the SleepEz link which I had linked to the Oeko-Tex site in error. It’s amazing that you were the first to point this out when the post is almost 2 years old :). Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

My Green Mattress recently changed their website and now has several versions of the Pure Echo and since they also changed the URL I’ve also corrected that link as well. Thank you once again.

With a child’s mattress an online purchase can make more sense because they can’t test the mattress and provide you with meaningful feedback anyway but this would depend on your comfort level with an online purchase, your conversations with the online retailers and manufacturers you are considering, and on how your online options compared with what you have available locally.

Phoenix

Thank you for your quick reply.

I checked those online products and made me unsure. First of all I realized that I have to pay more attention to have a chemical free bed than i originally thought… Secondly, the affordability. $300 for twin coilspring locally, $600 latex locally or coilspring online, $800-900 latex online… I really wanted to get this done locally but i also want to make sure it is safe…

Was wondering if the latex from midwest bedding would be a good choice…
in this forum (https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/the-serta-icomfort-mattress-what-s-the-buzz reply 522) you do recommend it for adults… i am wondering if it would fit for kids as well as i feel it isnt as natural as the online suggestions but it is considerably cheaper…

Midwest bedding also has some good value coilspring mattresses. However, I have no idea again ‘how natural’ they are… In the Fall when i visited the store I was not concerned about having a ‘memoryfoam free bed’. I will try to give them a phone call tomorrow…

Hi torsi9,

Each person (or parent) may have a different opinion about the importance of using more natural materials in their childrens’ mattress and there are many people who are comfortable with using an innerspring with polyfoam in the comfort layers but I would tend to avoid memory foam with younger children especially … both because some people can react to it and because memory foam may be too soft for younger children. If you are OK with polyfoam then I would make sure it’s made in North America or is CertiPur certified.

I would probably be somewhat cautious with a $300 innerspring mattress because it may not use good quality materials although you could confirm this for certain by making sure you know the details about what is inside the mattress.

You would likely have some good options at Midwest Bedding and I think it would be well worth talking to Mark about what he carries that would be suitable for your child. The mattress you were mentioning would be fine for most people although it may be more latex and thicker than she really needs. I would also make sure it’s on the firmer side so it would be more suitable for a child (children do better with firmer mattresses than adults). Even a basic innerspring mattress on the lower end of the budget scale and on the firmer side with some good quality polyfoam (or latex) in the comfort layers (or even two sided) would be “safe enough” for most people.

More natural materials are certainly a great option (and the Pure Echo with an innerspring and cotton and wool is about $500 in twin sizes and there are other online options that are less than $600 as well in the online members list) but not everyone can comfortably afford higher quality materials and not everyone puts the same importance on natural materials so “less natural” materials can also make a good choice as long as they have some reasonable assurance of “safety” and they are suitable for the needs of a child.

Phoenix

My experience with kids and latex is that 3" of latex is comfortable until about 100 lbs, depending on body shape and whether the parents lay on the mattress.

My kids (20-60 lbs.) sleep on 3" of latex with two batts of wool wrapped around it. It’s not the best night of sleep for me as they like their mattresses on the floor, but it’s better than the floor. They sleep through the night quite comfortably.

There is also an expandable knit ticking made to hide an extra 3" or so of fabric in the side wall, like a carry on suitcase. That way when another piece of latex or any other fill seems fitting, you don’t have to buy a new case, you merely unzip the second zipper and up pops your extra room.

Deborah

Hi diynaturalbedding,

That’s a great idea and I’ve never seen one of these before … thanks for letting us know it exists and is available :slight_smile:

I’ve added it to the component supplies post here as well.

Phoenix

Thanks. For those who like to sew, we’re releasing the pattern any day now.

Deborah