Best Mattresses for Kids

All parents want the best for their kids, don’t we? Shouldn’t that include a good sleeping experience? Whether it’s a toddler who has outgrown their crib mattress or a pre-teen who is complaining about their uncomfortable old mattress, we can point you toward some great options for your kiddos. 

What factors should you consider when you choose a mattress for your child? Rapid growth and proper support for growing pains for one. We can help there too. We understand that the considerations for a kid’s mattress will differ from those for an adult’s mattress and that’s why we will review these considerations as well.

Without further adieu, here are the options we’ve hand-picked for our mattress review and the important factors to consider when choosing a mattress.

The Best Mattresses for Kids

MATTRESS NERD’S TOP 8 PICKS

When choosing a mattress for a child, it’s important to weigh options based on price and quality. At Mattress Nerd, we recommend the following brands:

• Nectar
• Casper
• Brooklyn Bedding
• Allswell
• Tuft & Needle
• Nest
• Zinus
• Amazon Rivet

What makes them good options? They have built up a solid reputation in the field, for starters. They make quality mattresses in various sizes and with various benefits. Users who have spent time sleeping in mattresses from these companies have a lot of good things to say about them.

Let’s look at little closer at each of them.

Four unique layers of quilted foam culminate for a great night’s sleep with the Nectar memory foam mattress. Its Tencel cooling cover helps to circulate air and regulate temperature to keep your child comfortable as their body temperature rises throughout the night. It’s also bed-bug resistant. 

Beyond that is a layer of gel memory foam that allows for superior contouring and circulation. In the center is a high-density foam that distributes weight throughout the mattress for support and stability. Finally, there is a base layer of foam engineered for great airflow to keep your child cool and supported all night long.

The Nectar mattress CertiPUR-US® certified and comes with a 365-night trial and lifetime warranty.

Coming from one of the most trusted mattress brands available, you have the reassurance of knowing you’ve bought a high-quality product at an excellent price point. Its construction combines pressure point relief that doesn’t overheat and because of its dark color, spills will be easy to hide.

The Casper Essential is built with a 3-layer foam construction that includes an open-cell, hypoallergenic latex that will keep you cool and comfortable. In addition, a combination of softer foam and high-density foam help provide the support needed as your child grows. It is an excellent value option in the category of latex mattresses.

The Casper Essential is CertiPUR-US and OEKO-TEX certified, and it comes with a 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty.

The Bowery mattress is created with three layers of proprietary foam, each with a different job to do. The comfort layer of Energex foam will provide a relaxing cushion with enough responsiveness for your child to move around as needed. A second transition layer of polyfoam provides more stability as you approach the third layer of high-density foam that gives the bed a good foundation and allows for proper weight distribution.

The Bowery’s build marries pressure point relief and cooling gel so your child is cool and comforted while also supporting them properly while they sleep. And best of all, Brooklyn Bedding has their own factory where they build all their mattresses and because of that, they can offer a high-quality, hand-crafted product at a value price point. 

The Bowery is CertiPUR-US® certified and comes with a 120-night trial and a 10-year warranty.

The Allswell is built with a layer of memory foam quilted into the surface fabric for added comfort while the pocketed coils move independently so motion transfer is minimized. This is especially useful if your kids end up in the same bed from time to time. Airflow is better in the Allswell because of its hybrid design, so your child will sleep coolly and comfortably.

The Allswell is a medium-firm option with thicker coils around the sides of the bed for edge support and thinner coils near the center to provide pressure point relief. It works well for people of all sizes, so it’s a great option for parents looking for a mattress for their child to grow with. 

The Allswell mattress comes with free shipping, a 100-night trial, and free returns.

The Nod by Tuft & Needle is designed with two powerful layers of polyfoam. The first is the comfort layer, which absorbs and cradles the body for comfort and pressure point relief. The second is the support layer which gives the bed stability and weight distribution so that the mattress responds better to movement and you don’t feel as though you are “stuck in the mud” while sleeping. 

It’s simple, yet accommodating design makes it a win for all sleeping positions. This is good news for parents with young children whose sleep patterns are just starting to develop and may very well change in time.

The Nod is CertiPUR-US® certified and comes with a 10-year warranty and a 100-night sleep trial plus free returns.

The Big Kids Bed is another sturdy multi-layer memory foam bed a value price point. There is a top layer of Energex foam that has better responsiveness than traditional viscoelastic foam but still keeps the conforming properties that help relieve pressure points for young sleepers. The secondary layer of edge support base foam provides stability for your child and durability for the life of the mattress. 

The Big Kids Bed is best for kids who are transitioning from a toddler bed as it has a maximum recommended weight of 120 pounds.

The Big Kids Bed is CertiPUR-US certified, and it comes with a 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty.

You might wonder how this unique pressure relief bed got its name. This is because the mattress materials are infused with a green tea extract and ActivCharcoal which helps to control odor and maintain freshness. It is also hypoallergenic and a favorite of parents who frequently deal with spills from little ones and body odor in teens.

The Zinus is a medium-firm mattress that combines great the motion isolation you’d expect from a mattress with memory and comfort foam layers, but due to the added high-density foam, it has better support than traditional memory foam mattresses.

The Zinus also has an affordable price point great for families on a budget and excellent motion isolation for little ones who have restless nights. 

The Zinus Green Tea is Certi-PUR US certified, so it isn’t adding dangerous VOCs (volatile organic compounds) to your children’s air quality.

Thanks to its three layers of Celliant technology foam and its LuraCor top layer, your little ones will have proper spinal alignment and pressure point relief combined with cloud-like comfort. While it works with all sleep positions, little ones who are stomach sleepers might find the mattress a bit too firm.

Celliant is a patented mineral blend that has shown to increase oxygen delivery to cells, so growing sleepers will recover properly during sleep and sleep soundly throughout the night. The base layer of adaptive foam distributes weight evenly so they will stay properly supported throughout the night.

The Amazon Rivet is CertiPUR-US certified, and it comes with a 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty.

Important Factors when Buying a Children’s Mattress

Size

Size is definitely a factor to consider, not only because children go through growth spurts but also because sleep positions and habits change for young children. It may seem like an easy decision to just purchase a regular twin mattress and be done with it, but don’t be so quick to make that judgment. If you think you might be better off with a slightly bigger size, keep in mind most mattress companies offer a ‘Twin XL’ and ‘Full’ size.

In their younger years, kids sometimes suffer from nightmares or being afraid of the dark and may want you to sleep with them. If this is a common occurrence, it might be better to go for a larger mattress. In addition, the same can be said for siblings. If they often sleep together frequently, it may be better to get a larger size. Additionally, consider how long they will be sleeping on this bed. It’s possible they’ll still be sleeping on the same mattress up until high school graduation. In that case, spending the extra $100 for a Twin XL or Full-size bed may be worth the investment.

Support

You might think support is more important for adults and seniors who are more likely to suffer from chronic pain, but children need proper support too, maybe even more so. Their bodies are changing and growing at a rapid rate, and this can frequently cause growing pains. Finding a mattress that offers pressure point relief, spinal alignment, and recovery will help reduce the likelihood and severity of the aches and pains they experience during growth spurts.

Allergies and VOCs

Another factor to keep in mind is any allergies your kids may have, including sensitive skin. If this is the case, be on the lookout for mattresses made of organic cotton, latex and hypoallergenic materials like the Zinus and Casper.

You will also want to keep an eye out for certifications against harmful substances that some mattresses emit or contain. Here are some important designations to keep an eye out for:

• CertiPUR-US is a foam certification which means it was created without ozone depleters, flame retardants, mercury, lead, and other heavy metals, formaldehyde, and phthalates. In addition, it means that the foam has passed an indoor air quality standard and has low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions.
• OEKO-Tex is certified fabrics and textiles found to be free of harmful chemicals and safe for human use. This organic certification means that textile and fabric products are grown according to strict guidelines on the use of petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides, and synthetic products.

Price

Lastly, you will want to be mindful of your budget. Luckily, mattress manufacturers know that the budget for a child’s mattress is typically much smaller than that of adults, and many well-known companies have designed value options. These types of mattresses are perfect for kids, especially if you are considering buying two for a bunk-bed, and anyone who wants a high-quality mattress at a lower price point. 

Conclusion

I hope you’ve found this review helpful on your path to finding the best mattress for kids. Most parents will choose a twin size or full-size mattress for kids, but that is up to you. If you have multiple children that like to sleep together, then you may choose a larger mattress. Other factors that might influence your decision are your budget and the amount of space you have to work with. 

Ultimately, you will need to choose an option that provides room to grow, is comfortable, and will stand the test of time. Also, you will want an option that provides good support to kids who may experience growing pains and growth spurts. Finally, take into account the firmness level of the mattress based on any established sleeping patterns. If your child is very young, this may not be an issue yet.