What is the Best Mattress for Children?
As a parent, you may agonize over every decision you make for your children. From the choice of pediatrician to the schools they attend and even the things we purchase for them.
The primary objective you have as parent is to raise happy, healthy children. It seems like such a simple proposition. But, every parent knows there are so many big and small things that go wrong, despite your best intentions.
When it comes to buying mattress, it is important to not only find a mattress that is safe for your children to sleep on, but to find a mattress that will offer room for your children to grow. These are a few things you should look for when you’re looking for the best mattress for your children.
Made with Natural or Organic Materials
Natural materials mean more than you may realize when it comes to something as vital as mattresses.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that children between the ages of one and two sleep as many as 11 to 14 hours every day. Preschool children between the ages of three and five should get between 10 and 13 hours of sleep daily. School aged children, up to the age of 13 are recommended to get between 9 and 11 hours of sleep, while even teens still need eight to ten hours of sleep daily.
What does this mean? It means your children are going to spend plenty of hours in bed each day so it’s important to choose a mattress that is not made with materials that will harm them.
Buying a mattress that is made with natural and/or organic materials in your mattress ensures that your child will sleep on a safe mattress.
Mattresses that Aren’t Recommended for Children
Mattresses that contain harmful chemicals and things like polybrominated diphenyl ethers PBDEs and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) should be avoided for children. Here’s why:
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE)
Federal law in the United States requires the use of flame retardants in mattresses. Unfortunately, most mattress manufacturers choose flame retardants that are inexpensive and made with PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers).
Why are PBDEs such bad news? PBDE exposure has been linked to a wide range of health problems that specifically affect children, including thyroid hormone disruption, memory impairments, learning impairments, behavioral problems, delayed onset of puberty, fetal malformations, hearing problems, decreased sperm count, cancer, and more. Unfortunately, research has shown that children tend to be more susceptible to the impact of PBDEs and at much lower levels of exposure than adults – even when exposed in the womb.
With that in mind, one of the first things you want to do is eliminate any mattresses made with PBDE fire retardants from your search. The risks to your children are simply too great. But that’s not the only danger lurking in mattresses these days you need to be concerned about.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile organic compounds are gasses that are emitted from solids and liquids in the home including paints, stains, furniture, and more. Inside the home, they contribute to an abundance of indoor air quality issues (they are primary culprits when it comes to off-gassing), and they can have adverse short and long-term health repercussions.
Mattresses that are Certified for No or Low VOCs and Chemical Emissions
Choosing a mattress for your children that have received the GreenGuard Gold certification for low VOCs and chemical emissions is an important first step toward finding a healthy mattress for your children that will allow you to rest easier at night as well.
PlushBeds offers a wide range of natural and organic mattresses that have the coveted GreenGuard Gold certification, indicating that they have met the organization’s rigorous testing standards for chemical emissions.
Among the mattresses offered at PlushBeds are natural and organic latex mattresses as well as a nice selection of memory foam mattresses that all have the GreenGuard Gold Certification for low emissions and PBDE-free flame retardants, so you can buy with confidence that you are making a healthy investment in your child’s continued good health.
Demand a Healthy Amount of Durability from Your Child’s Mattress
Children are rough on everything! When it comes to mattresses and beds, they sleep on them, jump on them, get sick in them, and they spend a lot of time growing in them. From young children playing imaginative pirate games where the bed is home base to teenage girls diving onto them, you need a mattress that is built to withstand more than one growing pain and live to tell the tale.
In other words, flimsy mattresses will not work. Natural latex mattresses from PlushBeds are built to last – and to maintain their shape – for up to 25 years. They are certainly built to withstand a few childhood playdates and more, along the way.
You also need to find a twin mattress for kids that is resistant to bacteria, mold, and mildew in order to create a safe haven where your child can sleep and dream, night after night. Natural latex mattresses are excellent choices for this. Natural latex foam is naturally resistant to a variety of bacteria, mold, mildew, dust mites, and more.
The added benefit is that the actual shape of the mattresses, with holes throughout for exceptional airflow, adds another layer of protection from these common problems. In other words, a natural latex mattress is a perfect choice, and it’s durable enough to withstand the many challenges that children commonly present for mattresses.
