My son will be turning three this summer and it will be time for his first “big boy bed.” I am very concerned regarding the chemicals used to make mattresses flame retardant. I believe the crib mattress he currently uses is organic and I’d like to buy him a full size matress of decent quality that will last, is chemical free and will generally be healthy and supportive for him.
I have been looking into the Naturepedic 2 in 1 organic Cotton mattress. Does anyone have experiences/knowledge about this particular mattress?
Post #2 here includes links to most of the better threads around the forum that discuss mattresses and children and they include links to many good options for children as well.
The materials in this mattress are good quality (a firm good quality innerspring, organic cotton, and a waterproof polyethylene cover on one side). Naturepedic is also one of the very few manufacturers who have had their factory certified to organic standards (see post #2 here about organic certifications). They also tend to be in a more premium price range compared to other similar mattresses so I would make some careful value comparisons.
Some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in and around Southern NH are included in post #4 here.
Thanks for all of the info Phoenix. I have started looking into the organics and found them to be very expensive. The Naturepedic 2 in 1 Cotton mattress is $1500 with the foundation. Despite the fact that this mattress is one of the cheapest organic mattresses I could find in researching them, I’m a fraid it’s out of our price range. We have a one year old daughter also and she will be needing an a mattress in another year or two and we can’t do for one what we’re not gooing to do for the other. $3000 for mattresses for our children is just not doable.
My main concern with regard to purchasing my childrens’ matresses is not actually support but rather mitigating their exposure to the chemicals used in most mattresses.
I have read that latex mattresses do not offgas very much if at all. I’ve looked into latex mattresses but found they are very expensive as well.
I’ve also read several articles on polyethelene mattress wraps which are supposed to prevent offgassing. We’ve been considering buying a cheap innerspring Serta from Sam’s Club and using one of these wraps. Any thoughts on this?
If money were no object we’d buy both of our children the top of the line but since it is we are forced to balance our children’s health and well being with financial concerns in making the decision as to which mattress we go with. I am sure many of you have been in the same boat and would appreciate it if you could take this into consideration when replying.
What is the budget range you are comfortable with and what size mattress are you considering?
I personally wouldn’t do either … buying a cheap Serta or wrapping a mattress in polyethylene. The cheap Serta is probably worth less than you pay for it compared to other mattresses in the same price range. While the polyethylene wrap will prevent any VOC’s … the mattress may not have a significant amount of harmful VOC’s in the first place and they will also prevent the mattress from breathing. I would personally prefer to have materials in a mattress that are already “safe” and have been tested for harmful substances or VOC’s in the first place (synthetic or natural or organic).
I would also be aware that “organic” and “safe” are two different issues and there are many non organic mattresses that are completely safe and you have many good options for considerably less than $1500. Post #2 here and the posts and sources of information it links to is a good starting point for those who are researching the conflicting and misleading information concerning “organic” mattresses and mattress safety and who are trying to answer the question of “how safe is safe enough for me?”.
The first thing I would do is decide on which materials you are comfortable or uncomfortable with having in a mattress … and make sure you are clear on why (in either case) … so that you aren’t basing your purchase decisions on the misinformation or “fear tactics” that are so common on the web.