Trying to decide on which mattress for toddler

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi Phoenix,

I’ve read some of your kids mattress posts that were very helpful. I am looking for a good quality, reasonably priced, no/low chemical, wool free option for a toddler moving to a big bed. I’m leaning against innerspring.

I’ve narrowed it down to the following - any feedback would be helpful!

  1. Sleep EZ Roma - I like that this is latex and flippable. Not a huge fan that it has soy foam in it - do you know anything about off gassing from soy foam/potential hazards of kids sleeping on that?

  2. Brooklyn Bedding BME - would the polyfoam under the latex be a hazard to kids with off gassing? Do you know if having foam with latex makes a mattress sleep hot and not breathable? I’ve heard from reviews that the BME is an inch short on depth and length, is that true?

  3. Sleep EZ special - looks pretty clean with just latex and cotton cover - is that enough support for a child? Does sleeping without any quilted padding on a mattress make it hard as a rock?

Any thoughts/feedback on those 3 options? We have a Lullaby Earth (made by Naturepedic) crib mattress that we LOVE and is super clean with no harmful materials or smells. Have been very pleased with that and am looking for something clean that gives me peace of mind for big kid beds!

2

Hi eeks,

You may have read this already but just in case you haven’t … post #2 here and the topics it links to has much more information about mattresses and children and choosing materials that are “safe enough” for children and includes a number of links to the better forum posts and topics about mattress and children as well.

The only reliable way to to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOC’s so that you have some assurance than the VOC’s are below the testing limits for the certification (see post #2 here for more information about some of the more reliable “safety” certifications). If the materials in a mattress or the mattress itself has a reliable “safety” certification (which would be the case for almost all polyfoam that is made in North America) then for most people they would certainly be “safe enough”.

While it may be more information than you are looking for … there is a lot more information in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials that can help sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” that can help each person decide on the types of materials they are most comfortable having in their mattress or on the certifications that may be important to them. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.

All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, or Greenguard Gold and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s. The polyfoam in their quilting and in the base layer is also CertiPUR-US certified so fo most people it would also be “safe enough”.

While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.

Latex is the most breathable and “temperature neutral” of all the foam materials (polyfoam, memory foam, and latex foam) so a mattress that has latex comfort layers wouldn’t tend to sleep hot for most people.

No, their mattresses are all inside industry standard dimensions and tolerances (see post #2 here) although it can sometimes take a few days for the mattress to completely regain it’s full size.

For younger children any mattress that uses materials that are “durable enough” that you would also consider to be “safe enough” and are in a medium to medium firm range would generally be a suitable choice for a child. The choice between different mattresses that meet these criteria would really be more of a budget and preference choice than a “better/worse” choice. 8" of latex is certainly more than you would need for a child (6" would be fine).

Latex comes in a wide range of firmness levels so the firmness of any latex mattress would depend on the firmness of the latex layers inside it. Even the firmest latex (that is generally used in the deeper layers rather than the top layers) has some give and wouldn’t be “rock hard”.

The effect of a quilting layer will depend on the specifics of the quilting and on the materials underneath it. Quilting can either firm up softer layers or soften up firmer layers. There is more information about quilted covers vs thinner more stretchy covers in post #12 here and the posts it links to.

All of the mattresses you are considering would certainly make a suitable choice for a child in a suitable firmness level.

Phoenix

3

Thank you so much Phoenix and I will read those links you sent as well!

Do you happen to know what type of polyfoam Sleep EZ uses in the Roma? I read on Amazon it is soy foam, but when I called Jeremy today at Sleep EZ he said it is not soy but flex foam (not sure what that means?).

4

Also, would you say you have heard more parents choose one of those mattresses I wrote about more often? If it were your child, which would you tend to lean towards from those 3? :slight_smile:

5

Hi eeks,

There is more about “so called” soy foam and other “plant based” foams in post #2 here and they are just versions of polyfoam. Flex foam is just another name for polyfoam as well. There are thousands of different types of polyfoam with slight differences in their formulations, firmness, and properties but they are all just polyurethane foam (polyfoam for short).

I don’t have any way of knowing which one would be the most popular (and I personally wouldn’t choose a mattress based on its popularity anyway).

None of the mattresses you are considering have any lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress and assuming that you choose a “medium” or firmer they would all make a suitable choice for a child.

I or some of the more knowledgeable members of the site can certainly help you to narrow down your options, help you focus on better quality/value choices that are available to you either locally or online, help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress, act as a fact check, answer many of the specific questions you may have along the way that don’t involve what you will “feel” on a mattress, and help with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress, manufacturer, or combination of materials is “best for you” regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or whether anyone else (including me) would have the same criteria or circumstances or would make the same choice.

I’m not going through the actual process of buying a mattress for young children (my children are grown up) so I haven’t given enough thought to the pros and cons of all the many options that are available relative to my own personal preferences and budget with the actual “intent” to make a purchase to know what I would choose but I would probably tend to prefer a mattress that includes wool quilting or perhaps alternatively add a wool quilted mattress protector (probably with a waterproof membrane) because of wool’s ability to help with humidity and temperature regulation. Once again though … I would always keep in mind that my criteria may be very different from your own (just like you may choose to eat different foods than I do or have a different definition of what you would consider to be a “healthy” diet).

Once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” and none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design (which they don’t) and if there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your more detailed phone conversations about each of them, the firmness and suitability of each one, their prices, your preferences for different types of materials and components, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers and any costs involved (either initially or down the road if your child’s needs and preferences change), any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Phoenix

6

Polyurethane foam = polyfoam…got it!!! Duh, makes sense! I kept thinking what on earth is polyfoam am I missing something!

I know alot of people like wool but I am sensitive to it so I dont want it in my house - I am just sensitive to the smell. Which I guess goes to your point you dont have a mattress to recommend per se, its individual choice. While I would prefer a a mattress without polyfoam, its seems that feedback on both the Roma and BME seems that the VOCs and smell is mimimal to nothing and that is my concern with it - off gassing for a child. They seem like great values. Perhaps I lean towards Roma a bit more just because it seems there is a better latex/foam ration than the BME.

I’m just hoping that both would truly be “firm” enough for a toddler. Reviews on both seem to vary where people think the firm on each are rock hard and some think the firm is so soft…hard to know without sleeping on it!

Another quick thing - Since I am sensitive to wool - I am leaning towards buying a Sleep EZ latex mattress for myself and getting the cotton/rayon stretch knit cover. This gets rid of the wool but also gets rid of any quilting layer. Have you heard feedback on the comfort of this? Jeremy at Sleep EZ said they have many people who actually prefer sleeping right on the latex without quilting. And of course I would have a nice cushy mattress pad and sheets on top as well. But I’m used to sleeping on a firm innerspring and they always have quilting so I am wondering if no quilting is not good? It would be very a clean mattress though - just latex! Have you heard feedback on this?

Thanks again and many blessings for your depth of knowledge!

7

Hi eeks,

I would keep in mind that a mattress that is generally suitable for a toddler would probably be firmer than many adults would be comfortable with. A good manufacturer or retailer would be able to tell you if a mattress would be suitable for a child when you call and talk with them on the phone. The Roma has a softer and a firmer side so the firmer side would probably be fine and if they need a softer mattress as they grow into more adult proportions then you can flip the mattress to the softer side.

This is a preference choice rather than a “better/worse” choice and as Jeremy mentioned there are many people that prefer the “feel” of sleeping more directly on latex rather than the “feel” of a quilted cover over the latex.

There is more about the pros and cons of a quilted cover vs a thinner more stretchy knit cover in post #12 here and the posts it links to.

Phoenix