Children’s Mattresses and your perfect guide to them

Want to make sure your kids get a great night’s sleep? From hypo-allergenic to memory foam, here’s a complete buyer’s guide to choosing the right mattress for a child’s bed…

When it comes to choosing a bed, most of us give as much thought to our mattresses as we do to the bed frame and style – with good reason. Choosing the right mattress can make all the difference between sleeping soundly and tossing and turning all night. So, we ask all the right questions. Is it comfortable? Does it provide enough support? Will I wake up feeling rested and refreshed? We all know what it feels like to spend a night on a mattress that doesn’t feel right – too hard, too soft… remember the problems that Goldilocks had?

But it’s equally important to ask the same questions – and one or two more – when we’re buying a mattress or mattresses for children’s beds. A good night’s sleep is so important for children. Lack of sleep can cause over-activity, inattention, irritability and increased risk of injury.  Children are growing fast and they need their sleep, especially when they start school; it helps to reduce any anxieties or stress they may have – caused by anything from playground fall-outs to pre-SATS nerves – and can improve their ability to concentrate.

Choose the right mattress and there’s an added bonus:  if your young ones sleep well, the chances are that you will too.

What’s in a mattress – how to choose the right type for your child

No matter how active they are during the day, children and young people still spend a lot of time in bed: 10 to 12 hours each night is recommended for infants and toddlers; about 10 hours for children aged five to 11, and eight to nine hours for adolescents and teenagers. Here at the Children’s Furniture Company, you’ll find an excellent range of hard-wearing mattresses (and mattress protectors) to suit children’s differing needs and sleeping styles. Our mattresses come in five main types for standard single beds, including bunk beds, or trundle beds – which means that will see your child through from early years to their teens:

Open coil sprung

A good choice for many children and tough enough to withstand plenty of hard wear! They’re made of linked springs with the mattress filling above the springs and in the gaps between springs. Coil sprung mattresses give your child medium support, which is ideal – too firm a mattress is not great for growing bones.  Our coil sprung mattresses are hand-tufted, covered in cream damask, have reinforced rod edges for extra toughness and flag stitch handles for easy turning. The Superior version is slightly deeper than the Classic. (Our hypo-allergenic, memory foam and trundle bed mattresses are also coil sprung.)

Hypo-allergenic

If your child suffers from asthma or allergies, this is the perfect mattress. Our hypo-allergenic mattress is a 13-gauge, open coil sprung for medium support, micro-quilted for extra comfort, and specially treated to deter mites and other allergens.

Memory foam

If your little one struggles to get to sleep at night or is a restless sleeper, a memory foam mattress could make all the difference. Our Memory Plus mattress has 50mm of memory foam over a coil sprung base, with a soft micro-quilted cover. It moulds to your child’s body as they sleep, giving them the most comforting of hugs – all night long. And you might appreciate the fact that memory foam mattresses don’t need turning. However, memory foam might not be ideal for a child who sleeps on his or her front as they will tend to sink into the mattress, which could cause breathing problems. If this is how your child sleeps, a coil or pocket sprung mattress, would give them more support.

Memory foam children’s mattress
 

Pocket sprung

A touch of luxury but the right choice if your child needs a bed that combines good support with deep comfort and more freedom of movement than memory foam.  Pocket sprung mattresses are made of individual springs – would you believe 1000? – in individual pockets that work independently and support all your child’s body contours. It has a soft cotton cover and, at 228mm, is the deepest of our mattresses.

Trundle

Our trundle mattress offers the same high quality as our Classic and Superior coil-sprung mattresses but is slightly shallower to suit our trundle bed, or a top bunk bed if space is tight. It fits a standard single bed too. But the trundle mattress doesn’t stint on comfort, so a good night’s sleep is still assured.

How long can I expect a child’s mattress to last?

Even with a fair bit of rough and tumble, a good mattress should give your child 10 years’ wear, another reason to treat it as an investment. Cheaper, thinner mattresses may not break the budget but they’re not so durable or comfortable and there’s no guarantee that your child will sleep as well on one as they would or one that’s designed to support their particular needs or sleeping styles.  

Looking after children’s mattresses

If you’ve invested in a really good mattress, you’ll want to keep it in top condition as long as possible. But, kids being kids…

Here at the Children’s Furniture Company, we offer two ranges of mattress protectors – Protect-A-Bed and Hippychick, all of which fit a standard single bed or trundle bed and are:

• waterproof
• washable
• anti-allergy.

Protect-A-Bed mattress covers have a terry towelling top and a smooth, rustle-free cover for a peaceful night’s sleep. It’s cool to sleep on – light years away from those old-fashioned plastic mattress protectors.

For extra protection, you might want to think about a rustle-free duvet protector too. These are discreet, breathable and 100% waterproof. They’re anti-allergy and made from high quality Jersey fabric, which is lightweight and soft to touch.

The Hippychick range is available in brushed cotton or Tencel* in white, pink, lemon and blue and also includes protectors for cot bed mattresses in the same choice of colours.

*Tencel is a naturally hygienic fibre made from 100% biodegradable wood pulp cellulose with impeccable eco-credentials. It’s cool, soft and more absorbent than cotton. If you child tends to get very hot in bed, Tencel’s unique ability to absorb moisture means that he or she will stay cool throughout the night, no matter how warm the weather. It also helps to prevent bacteria growth, which deters mould and mites; a polyurethane layer provides an extra protective layer  against mites, which are the major cause of asthma and hay fever.


At The Children’s Furniture Company we believe that kids’ furniture should be practical but with a sprinkle of magic. Browse our full range of children’s mattresses and bedding here.