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The Insider Pick:
The better the kids sleep, the better the parents sleep. So help your little sleeper slumber well by getting him or her a great mattress.
The Naturepedic Verse Organic Kids Mattress is our top pick because it's comfortable, durable, and guaranteed not to exacerbate allergies, illnesses, or any sensitivities.
The United States National Institute of Health, better known as NIH, recommends that the average adult get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. For your kids, NIH advises even more slumber. Children ages three to five should get at least 10 and as many as 13 hours of sleep each night, while kids aged six through 13 should get nine to eleven hours whenever possible. Taken as an average, that means children between the toddler and teenage years should aim for 10.75 hours of sleep on an average night.
In theory, then, your child will be spending about 3,923 hours on his or her mattress each and every year. And as many mattresses last for seven, eight, or even ten or more years, the numbers only add up as time goes by. So go ahead and get the kid a good mattress.
Our guide to the best mattresses for kids includes everything from lower cost but decent quality choices to top-of-the-line options that are guaranteed to serve well and last for years. I've included a travel mattress that's comfortable enough for extended use and a gel-topped memory foam mattress for the truly discerning young sleeper.
If I've learned one thing from my first four-plus years of being a parent, it's that good sleep really is important for everyone in the family. While no mattress is going to guarantee a child sleeps blissfully for 13 hours each and every night, you can be certain that a poor mattress is going to cause sleeping issues. So choose a good one and make every night more restful and every day more peaceful.
Here are the best kids' mattresses you can buy:
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
SEE ALSO: The best mattresses you can buy
The best kids mattress overall
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Why you'll love it: The Naturepedic Verse Organic Kids Mattress is free of formaldehyde, phthalates, vinyl, and multiple other potentially harmful compounds. Plus, it's extremely comfortable.
Yes, this is a $900 twin-sized kids mattress, and yes, that's the same price as many decent queen- and even king-sized mattresses.
But remember those numbers we discussed earlier? The 3,923 hours a year your kid may well spend on the thing? Well, assuming you kept the Naturepedic Verse Organic Kids Mattress for the full 10 years that its warranty covers, and assuming for the sake of argument that your family never travels and your kid never sleeps anywhere else, that would mean a grand total of 39,230 hours spent sleeping on this mattress.
Or another way to look at it is a cost of this mattress: If you keep it for 10 years, it costs 24 cents per day. Isn't your kid's great night of sleep worth that?
Here's what the Naturepedic Verse Organic Kids Mattress has going for it: 100% organic cotton, encased seven-inch coils that provide support while minimizing motion transfer, and a padded top that maximizes comfort and helps regulate body temperature. Also, it's made in America in case that's important to you.
The mattress does not contain formaldehyde, polyurethane foam, vinyl, phthalates, PFCs, glue, GMO-sourced components, or PVCs.
Also, in the interest of disclosure, our son's first crib/toddler mattress was indeed a Naturepedic, and everyone in the family approved.
Amazon buyers are all in agreement that this is a great mattress for kids. A mother named Brita called it "a safe investment for my child," while a dad named Steve said he could "sleep in peace" knowing this kids mattress was free of substances that could be "harmful to your health."
A writer with HackToSleep called this top-quality, durable mattress one that will "last your child well into young adulthood." In a review, Green Child Magazine said it offered "firm support ideal for growing children."
Pros: 100% organic and free of chemicals, comfortable and supportive, lasts for years
Cons: Very expensive
The best baby and toddler mattress
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Why you'll love it: Your child could comfortably sleep on the Simmons BeautyRest ComforPedic Convertible Crib Mattress from her very first nights home from the hospital through her fourth year.
Here's a little secret you might not know: Toddler beds are the exact same size as standard cribs. Therefore toddler mattresses? Yep, they're the same size as crib mattresses. In fact, often enough one mattress serves just fine for both. Such is the case with the Simmons BeautyRest ComforPedic Convertible Crib Mattress, which has a firmer side designed for use with infants and a softer side for use as your child grows older.
At 52-inches by 27.5-inches, the Simmons BeautyRest ComforPedic Convertible Crib Mattress is the perfect size for standard cribs and toddler beds. But it's large enough to accommodate kids several years past the toddler phase, and at six inches of depth, it will provide comfort and support even as the child grows heavier, too. Most kids don't pass 50 inches in height until age eight, for reference, though you probably shouldn't try to keep them on this small of a mattress for that long.
The Simmons BeautyRest ComforPedic Convertible Crib Mattress is GreenGuard certified to be non-toxic and chemical-free, so you can trust the brand when it comes to a child's safety. At just $130, the mattress is still a worthwhile investment even if you do replace it shortly after the toddler years.
One mother, who shares that she knows a thing or two about bedding for kids since she has six children, says: "Knowing this mattress is made without the use of chemicals puts my mind at ease every time I lay my little one to sleep."
A write up on The Baby Bed called the Simmons BeautyRest Convertible Crib Mattress safe and supportive and labeled it a "best selling crib mattress." A Safety review said that the softer side of the mattress "keeps toddlers comfortable all night long."
Pros: Suitable for infancy through early childhood, dual-sided design, certified nontoxic
Cons: Kids will outgrow it by elementary years
The best travel kids mattress
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Why you'll love it: The AeroBed for Kids Inflatable Mattress inflates in minutes and is large enough for kids well into their elementary years, but small enough to roll up and stow in the car when deflated.
Whether you're a grandparent with grandkids who visit from time to time or the parent in a family that loves to travel and wants your kid to sleep in comfort on the road, the AeroBed for Kids Inflatable Mattress is a great choice for temporary bedding for a little sleeper.
When fully inflated, the mattress measures 50-inches long by 25-inches wide, and one side is recessed in the center to create a narrow wall around the perimeter. This lowered area helps prevent smaller kids from rolling out of the bed, but it does also reduce the amount of comfortable sleeping area. Fortunately, there's an easy solution: Just flip the thing over.
My son has spent many nights on an AeroBed for Kids mattress when we have traveled, and once a soft blanket was laid across the top of the PVC surface and then covered with a fitted sheet, he loved the bedding. I will say, though, that he found the mattress material less than cozy before we added the additional padding.
That said, for $80 and a quick fix from a throw blanket, this thing has proved a fine investment. It's durable, it's easy to inflate using the included AC air pump, and it packs down small when the travel is done.
Most buyer reviews echo one left by a grandmother who called the AeroBed for Kids "quick and easy to inflate" and perfect for younger kids. Another owner appreciated the raised walls that meant they didn't "worry about [their child] falling off of it."
A Travel Crib Reviews posting praised the AeroBed for Kids' "rapid inflation" and said it was "very portable once deflated." And a Cloud Surfing Kids review called it the "most comfortable air mattress" they had tested.
Pros: Inflates quickly, packs down small for travel or storage, raised walls prevent rolling out
Cons: PVC surface may need padding for comfort, does not work with standard sheets
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