What Mattress Is Good for Kids?

March 5, 2016 2:39 PM

My little girl is growing out of her crib and I need a mattress. Grandpa has lovingly made the little bee a cedar bed frame; it needs at least a 9" twin sized mattress. What do you recommend?

She's three, so going to a mattress store to test things out would be a field day, but probably yield little beyond jumping on a lot of beds. What do your kids sleep on? Is ordering one of those cheap mattress off Amazon going to ruin her? Is there any difference between that and the ultra baby sleeper beauty rest whatever from Land of Nod? Please fill me with your parenting wisdom regarding mattresses!

posted by danielle the bee to Shopping (12 answers total)

We have a pretty plain matress with an additional waterproofing layer under the sheets. If you are ending diapers soon be prepared to have extra sheets on hand to change late at night.

The sheets can be a big deal about getting to choose something. You might also consider some sort of barrier to prevent them from rolling out early on, or have a nice soft carpet on the sides in case they roll out.
posted by nickggully at 2:46 PM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We just went to the mattress store and asked for the cheapest firm mattress they had. This has worked out well for us.

And, yes. Make sure you have a few mattress protectors on hand.
posted by Betelgeuse at 2:52 PM on March 5, 2016

İkea mattress. Easy.
posted by k8t at 2:54 PM on March 5, 2016 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Get a firm mattress that is comfortable to you. I have spent a lot of time laying down next to my daughter in her twin bed and occasionally using it as an extra sleeping space. Kiddo comes into bed with us in the middle of the night? You just might find me, the mama, snoozing peacefully in her comfy twin come morning.

We went with an affordable IKEA foam mattress. The bed is designed to work without box springs which is great because it keeps her low to the ground. Then we got multiple fun sheets and multiple comforters/duvets. There was a period of time where bed wetting was really common and I did a lasagna type sheet setup – mattress - waterproof "pee pad" layer in the spot where she sleeps - sheet - pad - sheet - duvet. So, we could rip off the wet sheet and pad (and sometimes duvet) and after a change of PJs and comforting, it was back to bed on the bottom set. I felt like a parent superhero.
posted by amanda at 2:57 PM on March 5, 2016 [3 favorites]

Ikea mattress with waterproof protector. (Buy at least 2 protectors and multiple sheets.)
posted by heathrowga at 3:02 PM on March 5, 2016

Both of my kids sleep on a Naturepedic organic cotton twin mattress. The oldest has been on hers for 5 years and has only recently asked for a mattress topper on it (we had a tempurpedic so she got a taste for the memory foam). Overall I'd say that they are both happy.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 3:44 PM on March 5, 2016

I have a Naturepedic organic for my daughter and Like it, but I just got a Keetsa (cheapest model) for my son's room. Put a pure latex topper on it and I think I like it even better. IKEA are Ok and the price is right but I was willing to pay more for something more eco friendly.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 4:07 PM on March 5, 2016

Best answer: Kids weigh so little that they can sleep in perfect comfort on mattresses that would have an adult squirming around like the princess with a pea.

Get something that's comfortable for you to sit/lie on if that's part of your bedtime ritual, and if you're committed to eco friendly you can do that, but my oldest (5) is blissfully happy with the 4" foam mattress from IKEA. (His needed to be thin because he's on a top bunk and the rails needed a certain amount of clearance.)
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 4:17 PM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My guest bed is the cheapest IKEA spring mattress (Havsberg was what it was called, looks like the new model is HASVÅG), the one that comes rolled up and compressed, with a decent foam-not-memory 2" topper. Sometimes I go in there at night when I'm having trouble sleeping on my $900 mattress, and I prefer to nap on it. It feels insubstantial and jiggly like an air mattress without the topper so it really needs one, and if I'd wanted to spend more than $30 on a memory foam or latex topper it would probably be even nicer, but I'm still very happy with it.

Get through the incontinent years with it, and if it survives it's light enough to stow in the garage or closet and bring out as a guest bed or for sleepovers when she graduates to a proper mattress.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:19 PM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: As others have suggested, you don't want to invest a lot until your child is seriously dry through the night. And even then a cheap one will do. A mattress guy tried to talk me into a mattress for my 7 year old that would last through college... But why?
posted by k8t at 5:08 PM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Our mattress guy suggested a $99 mattress for the first few years. We bought it 5-6 years ago, two boys and jts recently upgraded to a good set for the youngest. Glad we had the cheap one for bed wetting years. I think it's great advice, buy a cheap mattress and replace when kid is done with bed wetting. We also had a non Ikea bed frame that would normally have a box. But we wanted a low bed, so I used a platform. From Ikea. to create a support for cheap mattress
posted by Ftsqg at 9:28 PM on March 5, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! There isn't an Ikea close to us, so we're getting the $99 Sam's Club twin and will reassess when we get through all the future bed wetting I have to look forward to. Still in night time pull ups for now, but I am already stocked up with matress protectors and extra sheets!
posted by danielle the bee at 11:45 AM on March 6, 2016