Children’s mattresses – test & comprehensive purchase advice

Find out what is crucial when buying a mattress for your child: the right size, how to avoid harmful substances & the best recommendations in comparison.

The market for children’s mattresses is as extensive as it is confusing.

  • It is all the more important to know what to look out for and which mattresses are actually recommended for children.
  • In order to answer these questions, I have dealt with the topic in detail and read and learned a lot about children’s mattresses.

In the following article I will address the following points, among others:

I hope this post will help you find a suitable mattress for your child.

Before starting the guide, you will find the TOP 5 children’s mattresses from the comparison here:

Amazon advertising links / images from the Amazon Product Advertising API

At the end of the text there is also a more detailed description of these children’s mattresses, which in my opinion are very recommendable .

Why a special children’s mattress is important

There are three main reasons why you should take your time when looking to buy a suitable mattress for your child.

Depending on how old your child is, they sleep between 10 and 16 hours a day. That is significantly more time than teenagers or adults spend in bed.

In addition, a child’s weight and height change very quickly. A mattress for a child weighing 15 kilograms should meet different requirements than a mattress for a child three times as heavy.

Since children are growing, you should also make sure that the influence of pollutants is as low as possible. For this reason, non-toxic mattresses are extremely important for children.

The three most important reasons for a special children’s mattress

In summary, these are the most important reasons for buying a special mattress for your child:

  • Children sleep many hours a day
  • Children grow and get heavier
  • Pollutants can damage the child’s development

What a mattress for children should do

As with mattresses for adults, it is important that a children’s mattress provides support for the body while sleeping and helps the spine to assume a healthy position.

Mattresses that are too soft allow the body to sag, while mattresses that are too hard deform the spine.

The healthy position of the spine while sleeping is extremely important, especially for growing children. In this way, you can easily prevent postural problems or back problems later on.

Harmful substances have no place in children’s mattresses

Since most modern mattresses are made of plastic, it is extremely important to ensure that they do not contain any harmful substances.

Cheap plastics often give off an unpleasant odor that children can breathe all night long.

Various seals of approval prove that children’s mattresses are free of harmful substances. When buying, make sure that the mattress you want to buy meets these standards!

Well-known quality seals for mattresses come, for example, from Stiftung Warentest or the company Öko-Test.

The right size for a children’s mattress

It is very important to choose the right size for a children’s mattress. Logically, this depends on the size of the child.

Typical mattress sizes for children are:

Children’s mattress 70 x 140

Since these mattresses are very narrow and short, you should only use them for babies and toddlers.

70 x 140 is a widely used standard size for (small) children’s mattresses.

 

Note: There is also still smaller sizes for children mattresses, such as 40 x 90 or 50 x 100, this you should use it only for babies, toddlers or travel cot.

Tip: You can find a detailed report on “ The perfect mattress for the cot ” by following the link.

Children’s mattress 80 x 160

This size is an intermediate solution between a toddler mattress and a normal size mattress. It is usually ideal for children between the ages of 3 and 6. Mattresses of these sizes are less common.

Children’s mattress 90 x 200

This is the standard size for single mattresses, for both cots and adults. So if you are looking for a mattress of this size you can choose from a very large selection.

Since most single beds are 90 × 200 in size, this is the most common size for children’s mattresses.

Rule of thumb : A mattress is suitable if it gives the child at least ten centimeters of play above and below.

If your child is growing, you can of course plan more space accordingly so that you don’t have to buy a new mattress after 1-2 years.

How to choose the right material for the children’s mattress

As with all mattresses, there are also different materials for children’s mattresses.

  • Classic innerspring mattresses are most commonly used, and foam, cold foam and latex are also used.
  • The most expensive are children’s mattresses made of latex or cold foam, but these also offer the best properties.

Tip: Make sure that cheap mattresses are free of harmful substances.

Viscose foam mattresses in particular have recently become very popular due to their good support. These are also available for children with 5 to 7 support zones.

How long can children’s mattresses last?

The durability of each mattress depends on the material, quality and use of the same. There is therefore no fixed shelf life.

With children’s mattresses, you should always make sure that they are suitable for the size and weight of your child.

Experts therefore recommend replacing children’s mattresses at least every 3-5 years in order to meet the different growth phases of the child.

Tip: It is better to buy a new, inexpensive mattress that is suitable for the child every three years than to buy an expensive mattress that you will not replace for years.

A mattress protector extends the life of children’s mattresses

The use of a mattress protector is very practical for children’s mattresses. This prevents moisture from getting into the mattress.

Regardless of whether a bottle falls over in the evening or a few drops escape the child, with a mattress protector you can ensure that your mattress remains intact.

Reading tip: Here you will find recommended viscoelastic mattress toppers in the test .

In addition, the protective covers offer a much more hygienic sleeping environment through regular washing.

What does a children’s mattress cost?

The children’s mattress market is so diverse that there is something for every budget.

You can buy simple mattresses for children for 25 or 30 euros, but there are hardly any upper costs.

A very high quality mattress for children measuring 90 x 200 can easily cost several hundred euros. However, consider whether this investment is worthwhile.

When looking for a children’s mattress, I recommend consulting relevant websites that have carried out a current test of children’s mattresses.

Tip: To save you a lengthy search, I have selected 5 recommended models below .

Since there are always new models and materials, you should read these tests as soon as possible before buying.

What you should consider with used children’s mattresses

In general, experts advise against letting children sleep on mattresses already used by other children.

 

It doesn’t matter whether these are siblings, friends or completely strangers.

  • Countless bacteria nestle in the mattresses that can harm the child.
  • In addition, mattresses lose their supporting properties with use and over time.

For these reasons, it is always better to buy a cheap new mattress than to use a used one.

TOP 5 purchase recommendations for children’s mattresses

Since there is no one mattress that works equally well for all children, you should take the time to compare different models. In this way you will surely find exactly the mattress that suits your child relatively quickly.

In this chapter I have put together some of the currently recommended mattresses for children for you. You will find models for every budget and made of different materials.

In addition, I consulted the eco-test on children’s mattresses and the Stiftung Warentest for mattresses for children in order to be able to present you with some of the test winners among children’s mattresses.

The eco-winner: Maja children’s mattress

In the renowned eco-test for children’s mattresses, the Maja children’s mattress was able to leave many of its competitors behind with the test result “Very Good”.

The foam mattress impresses with its pollutant-free materials and a surrounding step edge. The size of this children’s mattress is 70 x 140 centimeters.

Great 90 x 200 children’s mattress made of cold foam from Materasso

If your child has already grown strongly, you can use this mattress.

  • It has a washable cover and has tons of positive reviews on Amazon.
  • The degree of hardness is just right. Your child is neither sagging nor uncomfortably tough.

By the way: This mattress is available in many different sizes – from small to very large. In contrast to most of our competitors, there are even special dimensions.

The price-performance winner: Sun Garden

For a low price, this cold foam mattress in the size 70 x 140 offers an ideal introduction to comfortable sleep. Pollutant-free according to Ökotex Norm 100.

Premium & suitable for allergy sufferers: Träumeland mattress full moon

This mattress model offers a great basis for a healthy sleep. The children’s mattress 90 x 200 is 15 centimeters high and so free of harmful substances that it is also suitable for allergy sufferers.

Cold foam inside ensures a good hold. The two sides have different degrees of hardness and can be turned as the child grows and gains weight.

Tested all-round model: Ravensburger children’s mattress

At a fair price, this mattress offers your child the best sleeping pleasure.

The size 70 × 140 makes the mattress usable for every conventional cot.

It is also free of harmful substances in accordance with Ökotex Standard 100 and received the highest rating (“Very Good”) in the ÖKO TEST magazine. Many very positive customer ratings round off the good overall impression.

What you should also consider when buying

At this point I would like to address a few more important questions that come up again and again when choosing a suitable mattress:

* Care of a child’s mattress

If you ensure adequate ventilation of the children’s mattress and also use a protective cover for mattresses, your mattress will perform well for several years without further care.

* Where to buy cheap children’s mattresses

I recommend that you always find out more from specialist retailers. A visit to a mattress store brings a lot of information and you can be sure that you will not miss any of the latest trends.

  • You can still buy online, where you can usually find cheaper prices.
  • In addition to specialist shops, there are also other shops where you can find good mattresses at affordable prices.

Ikea children’s mattresses are just one example.

General information on buying mattresses

You can find many more general tips on buying the right mattress for everyone in other articles on Sleeping Better .

There other important points such as the correct ventilation of a mattress and the interaction between bed, slatted frame and mattress are described in detail.

More tips for your sleep

You are also welcome to browse the other sections and find out which measures you can take to improve your sleep:

  1. The bedroom category provides helpful tips on how to best furnish your bedroom .
  2. In the next section you will find more information on common sleep problems and sleep disorders .
  3. We explain current studies (understandable for everyone) in the category of sleep research .
  4. General tips & strategies for a healthy night’s sleep can be found here: Sleep better .

Please recommend this page if you liked this buying guide to children’s mattresses!

Jump back to the children’s mattress recommendations .

I created Sleep Knowledge to share my interests and experiences on healthy sleeping with others. On this page I am therefore dealing with interesting questions about the optimal night’s sleep & everything else that goes with it.

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