Hi bermannyc,
Post #2 here and the topics it links to have more information about mattresses and children 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 for children which may also be worth considering.
The Naturepedic Cotton Deluxe is certainly a high quality mattress that uses mostly natural materials and would be a firmer choice that would be both a suitable and a durable choice for a child. It uses an organic cotton cover quilted with PLA polyester fiber which is sourced from potato starch and is also biodegradeable. PLA It has a feel that is somewhat similar to wool. The comfort layers are organic cotton and the innersprings are an offset linked coil so there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress. It is also available as either a one sided or a two sided mattress.
Cotton is generally firmer and less resilient than a foam material such as latex and will also get firmer as it compresses over time unlike foam materials which become softer. Offset coils will also have more motion transfer than pocket coils or foam support cores but for a child’s mattress this normally wouldn’t be an issue. I would also make some careful value comparisons because this mattress is also in a higher budget range than other mattresses that also use natural materials that would also be suitable for a child. You can see some general comments about innerspring/cotton mattresses in post #2 here.
Yes … it would certainly be a suitable and durable choice for a children’s mattress. If you are considering a natural fiber/innerspring mattress It may also be worth considering the Pure Echo here which uses a pocket coil instead of an offset coil and also uses organic cotton batting and is quilted with natural wool (instead of PLA polyester fiber) and is also in a medium firm comfort range. It is also available in one and two sided versions.
The choice of materials or the type of mattress that you choose would be a preference issue rather than a better/worse issue. Any mattress that uses materials that you are comfortable with and that is in a medium to medium firm range would be suitable for a child. There are some latex/innerspring hybrids that are listed in post #2 here that may be worth considering and if you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.
Phoenix