So, we just bought a new mattress from a somewhat local manufacturer that I am very happy with!
We are also looking for a full size mattress for our 4 year old. The sales person had mentioned that we should get her a firm mattress because kids are having issues with proper spinal development due to sleeping on softer mattresses. She actually recommended the cheapest mattresses that they sell. It’s the kind that if an adult sits on the side, the adult sinks way down and the sides kind of go up around you a little. I’m not convinced.
I just started reading some of the mattress for kids threads on here. I am in a rush because I want this mattress right away as the current bed is being used by a guest at the moment. In any event, I will also sleep in this bed from time to time, as has become our routine, so the cheapy mattress is not going to work for me. I would love to purchase from the same shop, but am at a loss as to what to buy and of course, I don’t want to compromise my child’s spinal development!!
Has there been discussion about required mattress firmness for proper spinal development? Any thoughts in this regard?
I get this question quite a bit at my store. With the epiphyseal and postural formation going on for a little one, it is important to provide them with an appropriate sleep surface.
Unfortunately, most of the mattresses geared toward children are wholly inadequate for them. Most of what I’ve studied and read promotes sticking in the middle of the bell curve of comfort - neither too hard nor too soft for surface comfort, with good underlying support. I know kids tend to love the super soft mattresses, but I would lead them back away from ultra plush products in general.
Many of these inexpensive “kids mattresses” use the older Bonnell 252 system or some really unsupportive Marshall spring units. I prefer to recommend something along the lines of a stronger Bonnell unit (312/336/364) or a lower profile VertiCoil 460/504 - just to name a few examples. On top of that, look for solid sheets of durable foam. I know in the entry ranges of price you’re not going to find 2.5 lb. density foam, but I’d want at least 1.2-1.5 lb. to start. There certainly are many other styles and configurations available, so use these numbers as a bit of a baseline guide.
Granted, children have less mass than adults, but the same rules of decent support, quality construction and a good quality of foam apply to a mattress for kids just like it does to a mattress for adults.
I would completely agree with Jeff that children tend to do much better with firmer mattresses (medium firm or better) that in many cases would be firmer than many adults would be comfortable with and I would tend to avoid softer mattresses for children.
Post #2 here and the posts it links to have more information about mattresses and children including a link to some general guidelines for children in post #2 here.
I would also agree with Jeff that I would avoid the lowest quality promotional or “throwaway” mattresses for children. If you buy a reasonable quality mattress in a firmer range (which are generally available in lower budget ranges) then if they need some additional pressure relief as their body starts to develop into the more “curvy” shape of an adult your mattress would still be a suitable “base” for a good quality topper and you won’t have to buy a completely new mattress when they are older.
In many cases a mattress that would be “comfortable” for an adult that prefers thicker or softer comfort layers wouldn’t be the best choice for a child.
I am now on board to look for medium firm. What are your thoughts on the Sleep Dimensions from here – Are there components that you would change? Or what about the Touch of Luxury, changing out the topper part?
I suffer from being less able to make decisions with more information. Should I be looking for a more natural mattress? On-line only? Or should I just get her the latex mattress from Restopedic – I believe it is Talalay. I recall trying that mattress and finding it too firm for myself.
As it is, right now, she is sleeping on the Nature’s Wonder from Restopedic (still co-sleeping), which is probably too soft for her, but I am sure not a “green” mattress.
[quote=“MattressToGo”]
On top of that, look for solid sheets of durable foam. I know in the entry ranges of price you’re not going to find 2.5 lb. density foam, but I’d want at least 1.2-1.5 lb. to start. There certainly are many other styles and configurations available, so use these numbers as a bit of a baseline guide.
/quote]
Jeff - It looks like they have 1.5 lb foam in the ones I was looking at, but they do have 2.5 lb in another mattress. Should I specifically ask about the 2.5 lb? Oh, and I am not really interested in an entry level mattress. They have a small selection of mattresses there, which I like (due to too many options overwhelming me), and the sales person just suggested the less expensive ones. I just want to get what is “best,” and I don’t know what that is, but still would like to purchase from this store, if possible.
Outside of making sure that the mattress isn’t too soft for a child … the type of materials you prefer or whether you choose to buy locally or online would be a personal preference based on the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
You can see some comments about Restopedic in this topic and this topic and this topic and a forum search on Restopedic (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments and feedback about them as well… They tend to use higher quality materials than most of their competitors in similar budget ranges and they certainly make some very high quality/value mattresses.
I don’t have any personal experience with any of their mattresses so they would be the best source of guidance about which of their mattresses would be a suitable firmness choice for a child but I wouldn’t have any concerns about the quality or durability of the materials in any of their mattresses.
The choice of materials and components would be a preference choice but if you are comfortable with a more traditional innerspring mattress with polyfoam comfort layers I would probably tend to lean towards one of their lower budget two sided innerspring mattresses that are in the firmer range and then when your child gets older and their body starts to develop if they need some additional comfort or pressure relief it would be a good “base mattress” for adding a topper.
Thank you for the Restopedic links. I had actually searched Restopedic on here before we went there. I was glad to read a bit more about them beforehand. We purchased the Nature’s Wonder for ourselves and, so far, are very happy with it. It’s only been a week, but still, no concerns thus far. It is a vast improvement over our former latex mattress which had developed a severe hump in the middle – I should start a new topic about that. Perhaps we didn’t rotate enough? At Restopedic, they assured us that even if 5 or so years down the road, if we wanted to modify/re-vamp the top layer, that they could do that for us (for a fee of course, but better than replacing an entire mattress again.) That type of service, the relatively quick delivery, locally sourced materials, are some of the factors which make me want to return there for more.
Thank you for your advice. When you say “if I am comfortable with” traditional innerspring and polyfoam materials, I assume the reason why I wouldn’t be comfortable is because of the chemicals in the foam? Or, do I misunderstand?
I will take a closer look at some of the other kid mattress threads to see if I can get a handle on what more preferable options there may be in that regard.
Yes you understood correctly. Most parents would be fine in terms of safety with a mattress that used US made polyfoam or that was CertiPUR certified but just like people have different beliefs or preferences about the food they eat (some people only eat organic food and others eat only vegan etc) … some people may prefer to avoid certain materials in their mattress even if the testing for harmful substances and VOC’s indicates that it would be a “safe” material for most people.
There are some good options in the children’s topics but you are also looking at some very good quality/value options at Restopedic as well.