Hello,
I am looking into purchasing a twin latex mattress (DUNLOP) for an almost 3 year old toddler. I have contacted SleepOnLatex (SOL) and looked at the DIY Natural Bedding website with regards to their latex toppers and mattress.
SOL offerings that I have concentrated on are:
Firm - ILD 44, density 95 KG/m^3
Medium - ILD 30, density 80 KG/m^3
SOL recommends going with their firm topper for kids.
DIY offerings that I have compared with:
Medium - ILD 26 - 30, density 75 KG/m^3
Hard - ILD 43 - 48, density 95 Kg/m^3
DIY’s experience is that children prefer medium.
I am trying to decide between the firmness and whether I should go with a 6" slab or take an incremental approach - beginning with a 3" latex and then adding another 3 " when the child is a bit older. The old layer if it remains in good condition could then become the support layer.
The questions that keep having are:
If I were to go with SOL’s recommendation - Is their Firm way to hard and should I go with the medium instead?
I could start with a 3" SOL Firm, but have wool on it to soften the feel and then add a medium 3", or even a 2"M/1" S combination down the line.
There is a great deal of information in post #2 here and the topics it links to about mattresses and children including a link to some general firmness guidelines for children in post #2 here. It also includes a number of links to the better forum posts and topics about mattresses and children as well which have more information about many good options which may be well worth considering.
3" may be too thin and I would suggest 6" of latex in either one or two layers and then you can add a softer topper when they get older and develop more adult proportions if and when they need a softer comfort layer in their “sleeping system”.
95 kg/m3 is in an extra firm range and is firmer than I would suggest for a top layer for a 3 year old toddler. It would be OK as a 3" base layer with a softer 3" layer on top of it but even there it may be firmer than you really need (depending on their size and body type as they reach their full adult weight and proportions).
A wool quilted cover can also be a good idea because of wool’s natural ability to regulate temperature. There is also some good evidence that sleeping on wool can slow down the heart rate and lead to deeper sleep. This is probably from a combination of its ability to control moisture and humidity and temperature.