Mattress help for older child and guests

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi-

I really would like some advice. I am looking for a mattress for my 11 year old which I plan to also use as a guest bed. He has never been a good sleeper (perhaps it is the cheap mattress!). He is a sensitive child when it comes to chemicals… nothing life threatening but tends to be more reactive than most kids. I live in NJ and spoke with Shovlin Mattress Factory. They recommended their Summit model (which is there lowest end inner spring) for our purposes. The salesperson said it was still of better quality than traditional store premium mattresses. What do you really need for children – should they be the same quality as for adults – because they never are!? Shovlin uses chemical fire retardants and there seems to be nothing “eco” about the mattress. What are your thoughts about the chemicals in mattress production? I am close to Urban Natural in E. Hanover who carry Berkeley Erg. so I could take a look there too. My other issue is I am seriously pressed for time. I have guests coming to stay with me a few days before Thanksgiving so need to make a decision in the next couple of days. I care about the quality of my son’s mattress for growth and development as well as health. I don’t want to over think the health concern – the mattress he’s been sleeping on for years I purchased at a kid’s furniture store. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Want to pick a mattress for me? :slight_smile:

2

Hi sbm,

The issues surrounding chemicals in mattresses are very complex and somewhat confusing and there is a great deal of exaggeration on both sides of all the issues involved but post #2 here and the posts it links to has more information about organic, natural, green, “chemical free”, or safe materials and would be the first place I would start to help you decide on the types of materials that you are comfortable with and to help you answer “how safe is safe enough for me?”. Once you have a better sense about which specific materials and components you are comfortable with having in your mattress then choosing a mattress that fits your “safety” criteria will become much simpler.

Not only would they be using higher quality materials … the mattress is two sided as well.

Infants and younger children typically need firmer mattresses than adults (their spine is more flexible and they don’t have the body curves that come later as they develop) and because their bodies are lighter and they don’t need the same quality materials (lighter body types don’t compress the materials as much) which “transates” into lower cost mattresses being suitable. As they grow older into the pre-teen years then their own preferences would begin to play a larger role … although I would still be very cautious about mattresses are too soft for anyone that is still growing and needs good support/alignment. Post #2 here also has more information and links to the better forum topics that discuss mattresses and children.

As you probably know from your reading here … I can only help with “how” to choose … not “what” to choose … but if you follow the steps in the tutorial post then you will have the best chance of success. I would be very cautious about making a “rushed” choice because it can easily lead to making an unsuitable choice and can lead to buyers remorse much too quickly after a purchase. There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can also help you make more meaningful comparisons between your “finalists”.

Phoenix

3

Thank you, Phoenix! I’ve narrowed down to the following so I’m hoping you can weigh in:

Berkely Ergonomics- Euro model – •1" natural Talalay latex foam cushioning atop an added wool layer
•Independently pocketed German flexible steel coils
•Organic cotton and organic Merino wool cover
•One ‘medium’ firmness only
•Eco-certified components - made from natural materials free of harmful chemicals and off-gassing

  • one sided

I would have shipping costs and tax adding about $160 to mattress/foundation cost.

My Green Mattress- Pure Echo 2 sided- two options
one includes a talalay latex topper, the other without
460-coil count spring system is double-heat treated for better spring memory. Our natural filling materials, of organic cotton and natural wool (although I’ll be getting a Queen so coil count likely different)

Another thought would be to purchase the mattress without the talalay component but buy the blended talalay 2" topper for guests and to “grow into”. Cost of doing this would be between the two mattresses.

SleepEZ- 8" special
•One 2" layer of 100% natural “Talalay”
•Two 3" layers of 100% natural “Dunlop” latex
•Encased in a 4-way zipper stretched cotton cover

Spindle- Abscond- 10"
Outer fabric made with Organic Cotton
Wool batting acts as a natural flame retardant
3 - 3" Layers of Natural Dunlop Latex

Here is the price comparison:

#1 - My Green Mattress – 2 sided, no latex
#2 - My Green Mattress – 2 sided, no latex plus 2" blended topper = #1 + $189
#3 - My Green Mattress – 2 sided, with latex = #1 + $266
#4 - SleepEZ – #1 + $477
#5 - Spindle – #1 + $528
#6 – Berkely Ergonomics = #1 + $535

Is there anything about the design of the Berkely mattress that would make the construction superior over My Green Mattress to warrant the additional cost for 1 sided vs. 2 sided?

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

For children, any advantage for growth and comfort to go all latex?

4

Hi sbm,

You are certainly looking at some very good options and none of the mattresses you are considering have any lower quality materials or weak links in their designs.

The Berkeley Ergonomics mattress uses a European pocket coil which is a more contouring, motion isolating, and costly spring system while I believe that the Pure Echo uses an innerspring that has helical coils (they don’t specify the specific type on the site). There is more about the different types of coils in this article. There is also more about the pros and cons of a two sided mattress in post #3 here but if you flip and turn a two sided mattress on a regular basis it will be more durable and have a longer useful life than an equivalent one sided mattress.

This would certainly be a good option because it would give you a choice between a firmer mattress and a softer mattress so your guests (and your son) would have some firmness choices. You would have the same option with the SleepEz special and the Spindle Abscond where you could choose the thinner 6" version for each of them and then add a topper either for guests that prefer a softer mattress or for when your son’s sleeping experience or comments indicated that he needed it.

There is more about the differences between an innerspring and a latex support core in post #28 here but it’s really a matter of preference.

Assuming that you have had a more detailed conversation on the phone with each of them so they can share their thoughts and insights about each of your choices (which is one of the most important parts of any online purchase) … then you are down to a final choice between “good and good” and if there are no clear winners between them based on your conversations then your final choice (see post #2 here) will really be a matter of “best judgement” based on your preferences and budget and on all the objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

There are certainly no unsuitable or “bad” choices in your list of finalists :slight_smile:

Phoenix

5

Thanks so much for all of your feedback! Do you think it would be overkill to purchase the Pure Echo 2 sided with latex as well as the blended 2" topper? Would that be too soft for an 11 year old? I’m hoping to provide the most comfortable sleep possible in the hopes that he can make it to 7am one day! :slight_smile:

6

Hi sbm,

If it’s comfortably inside your budget range and you believe that your son would sleep better on it then I don’t think so no but I would make sure that you have a good conversation with My Green Mattress because they will be much more familiar with the feel and performance of their mattresses and the options they have available and which one would likely be most suitable for your son and they would be a much better source of guidance about comfort choices for their mattresses than I am.

Phoenix

7

Hi sbm,

May I know what you ended up buying? I’m considering to buy latex matress for my baby from sleepez. Looking forward to hearing from you.