- What does a child need to improve the quality of their sleep?
- Is a memory foam, latex, or rubber mattress better for a child aged 0 to 5? Here are the best natural mattresses for children
- The best choice: natural mattresses for children
- Mattresses for children and teenagers aged 6 to 13
- The size of a child's mattress
- Pillows for children and teenagers
Sleep plays a slightly different role for a child than it does for an adult, and it is fundamental for a baby's healthy growth and psychophysical well-being. We often address and worry about the orthopedic aspect, which is extremely important, but let’s not forget that peaceful, uninterrupted sleep can promote the proper functioning of all physiological processes.
1- The room must be clean; avoid using upholstered furniture as much as possible, as it could trap dust and therefore mites, or treat them often with a specialized vacuum cleaner;
2- Protect them from light. Darkness at night is fundamental for peaceful sleep, but also for the skin, which regenerates in the dark. This natural recharging is at its peak in children and is lost progressively. In fact, adults who use night creams are trying to make up for this age-related deficiency;
1. A child needs a mattress that is neither too firm nor too soft;
Is a latex mattress the best for a child?
The best mattresses for children
We won't recommend the lowest-priced mattresses on Amazon, but rather mattresses containing only natural elements and fibers—no plastics or polyester. It is the best investment for your child’s health; for their first years of life, a direct contact with natural materials rather than mattresses and pillows made from petroleum synthetics, glues, and solvents.
| Baby 100% natural latex mattress | Anti-suffocation and naturally anti-mite | Cotton cover with hypoallergenic padding to prevent mite formation |
| Gabrielli 100% Horsehair | Only horsehair padding and cotton cover | The best for breathability and body moisture absorption |
| Gabrielli Kapok | The "vegetable silk" | 100% kapok padding, soft and cool |
Latex, Memory, or Spring mattress? Which is better?
A rubber mattress for a child? No thanks. But it's very difficult, because this way we rule out 99% of the mattresses on the market; because besides memory foam or latex mattresses—which are clearly synthetic and could hide the use of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)—even spring mattresses have a rubber frame that contains the springs, so there is no escaping rubber, not to mention children's mattress covers made of polyester or treated with chemicals.
The only way to protect yourself is to avoid these mattresses and orient your choice toward natural mattresses padded with noble fibers like cotton and kapok. Kapok is preferable because it is more breathable and reliable in terms of safety, being naturally anti-suffocation.
See the natural mattresses page to choose the best mattress: natural mattresses
The best mattresses for children in terms of value for money are:
Certified Italian quality
100% natural, eco-sustainable mattress
The best mattress for children? For my daughter, I chose a natural mattress, handcrafted—not a mattress stored in some warehouse waiting to be bought, but one made specifically for her. The naturalness of the raw material keeps me safe from any surprises regarding various foams and rubbers, for which I will never have certainty about their origin or contents.
What mattress did I choose? A kapok mattress, the "vegetable silk" with incomparable thermoregulation and breathability properties. It can be made in any size, precisely because it is handcrafted and made to order.
Single mattress for a child's bed
Not just a simple mattress protector, but a waterproof, anti-wetting sheet
Avoid the annoying rubber sheet, which is noisy and non-breathable. Use a waterproof sheet with cotton on top and a waterproof but breathable Neotherm membrane underneath. See details
Is a Memory foam mattress suitable for a child?
The function of memory foam is to support the body by self-molding. A memory foam mattress is never entirely memory foam, but a combination of layers that work in synergy. Is a memory foam mattress good for children? For adults, certainly, but for children up to 8 years old, we advise against it, because children sweat a lot and memory foam, being heat-sensitive, tends to retain heat. It is different for older children and teenagers from 8 years old and up, where if the memory layer is only a few cm thick, it can increase the comfort of the mattress, providing benefits to the child/teenager (see an example).
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The best baby mattresses and pillows presented by Miglior Materasso
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How is a baby's anti-suffocation mattress made?
The anti-suffocation mattress, like the pillow, is made with materials that ensure breathability. Open-cell latex (like open-cell foam) means exactly this. Mattresses made in other ways are hot because they retain heat and moisture, in addition to being dangerous because they are not anti-suffocation!
Mattresses for Children and Teenagers
From the age of five or six (a reference age, which is obviously just an example), which might correspond to the transition from a 60x120 cm crib to a single bed of 80x190 or 200 cm (see the mattress for teenagers), we start to ask ourselves what is the best mattress to support an important growth phase from a child to a teenager, and subsequently from a teenager to an adult.
What mattress to buy
Is it necessary to buy a mattress at the age of six thinking also about when they will be over 13 or perhaps 15? Or will I necessarily have to buy a mattress for every growth phase? What mattress should I buy for a growing child or a teenager whose body is transforming from a child to an adult?
The child's growth phase from 6 to 13 years allows us to make considerations about weight; in fact, in this age range, we don't have large weight differences, but the real transformation, as we know, comes during adolescence.
The first consideration is that a child from 5 or 6 to 10 or 11 will have a low weight that will not stress the mattress as happens with adults, but in many cases, children "live" on the bed. They study, watch TV, play. Stresses that could deform the mattress. The FIRST SUGGESTION is therefore to prefer a mattress made of rubber and foam (see example) over a spring mattress, which is more delicate, especially on the sides.
Before asking the question of what mattress to buy for the child, we must decide if we prefer to take an excellent mattress to support the teenager's growth from age 5 or 6 up to adolescence (16, 18, 20 years?) or prefer a decent mattress while keeping costs down because we consider it a transitional mattress and will change it at age 14. In the first case, choose a quality mattress of a certain height, at least 18 cm; whether it is removable or not matters little, as it is best to protect it with a breathable waterproof mattress cover, even if we are no longer afraid of bedwetting; it is better if it is a hypoallergenic mattress.
Children's mattress sizes
The three steps are cradle/pram, crib, and standard single mattress 80x190 or 200 cm.
The standard size of a child's mattress for a crib is 60x120, 125, or 130 cm. We are talking about the crib, not the mattress for the cradle, which is usually smaller, about 50x90 cm, but can vary depending on the manufacturer and usually has a non-rectangular, oval shape. These two phases are quickly overcome; generally, by 4 years of age, the crib is abandoned for the "big bed." Pillows must also be purchased in suitable sizes, and very low, between 2 cm (for the cradle) and 6 cm, for the crib.
Then there is the pram mattress with dimensions of about 30x70x3 cm; it also depends on the manufacturer.
If you are already at the stage of the big bed, i.e., with a standard single mattress that can vary from 80 to 90 cm in width and 190 or 200 cm in length, try to evaluate the height well. If it is a bed with side rails or a trundle bed, you might need a mattress 14 cm to 20 cm high at most. In this case, if the child is still small, you must find a pillow with a "big" width and length, i.e., about 45x72 cm, but with reduced heights of 6 cm, 8 cm, or 10 cm maximum; but in the latter case, it must be very soft, like the Planet 10 Simmons latex pillows (continue below for more details).
The child's pillow? Is it useful?
Specialists confirm that in the first months of life, a pillow is not needed for a newborn, but the use of a 2 cm high anti-suffocation pillow is still recommended to promote safe breathing.
The anti-suffocation characteristic is indispensable (see above); the child's pillow should be chosen based on age. All pillows should have a label applied by the manufacturer (the pillows chosen and proposed on our site show the recommended age range in the features.
The best children's pillows are those that are non-deformable, meaning not filled with fiber or wool/cotton, but with an internal slab. For children, latex, memory foam, and foam pillows are recommended, but all strictly open-cell (already mentioned above). A 2 cm high pillow is indicated for the first twelve months of life; then, for a child from one to 3 years old, a 4 cm high pillow is suitable. It may seem high, but under the weight of the head, it lowers and adapts. The latex baby pillow can be purchased on our site:
Child's pillow for a single bed 80x190 or larger
If your child is already on a bed for an adult, i.e., with a single size of 80 or 90 cm in width and 190 or 200 cm in length, a pillow with a standard width and length is more suitable, i.e., about 72x42 cm, but with a height appropriate for the small build of the child and a density (which determines the rigidity) appropriate for the weight of the head and cervical area. Here are the Pirelli and Simmons latex pillows that can be purchased on this site at a discounted price, with these characteristics:
A good quality memory foam pillow for children, highly appreciated, which we suggest is Memo Breeze with special shaping which creates a double height that makes it usable in multiple phases of the baby's growth and Greenfirst anti-dust mite cover.
Is your child already in a large 80x190 or 90x190 cm bed? Then they need a low pillow with an appropriate height, but with standard width dimensions between 70 cm and 75 cm and a length of 40 or 42 cm, such as the Anti-suffocation Memory foam pillow:
The best pillows for children are also equipped with an anti-mite cover (such as the pillow with Greenfirst pillowcase, a natural anti-mite treatment).
