Mattresses for Children

When choosing a mattress for a child it is just as important if not more so than when choosing a mattress for an adult. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information available to you on this subject however, it is incredibly important to choose the correct mattress to support your growing child.

We as adults spend on average a third of our lives in bed for young children this figure is higher and is in fact 50% and for tweens it is 40%, hence why it is imperative to select the correct mattress which, provides adequate support and comfort.

There are various reasons for choosing the correct mattress.

Development

As we all know children grow continually until they reach adolescence. It is imperative during this time of growth that children's spines are correctly supported especially whilst they are asleep. It is during the period of sleep that the growth hormone is released so it is extremely important that children achieve an uninterrupted sleep so that a healthy growth rate is maintained. It is therefore, important that the mattress they sleep on allows this. Additionally you will want to avoid any problems later in life with back pain which, could be the result of an inadequate mattress.

Remember when choosing the mattress to allow room for your child to grow you will not want to be replacing a mattress on a frequent basis.

Learning

A good nights sleep is very important when it comes to learning. In research carried out in America it showed conclusive evidence that in order for our brains to assimilate things learned during the day it needed to sleep. Also discovered in this study was that students who stayed up all night revising for exams actually performed not as well as those students who studied during the day and slept at night.

Attentiveness

As with adults if children do not have adequate sleep during the night they will be less attentive the following day. If children do not have sufficient levels of concentration this can have an adverse effect on both their learning and overall behaviour at school and home. It is quite common to find in children's bedrooms televisions, games consoles and computers, studies have provided evidence that even these items being present in a room although not turned on can have a negative impact on the quality of sleep a person has. Children especially need an uninterrupted nights sleep in order so that they are totally refreshed and ready for the following days activities.

Wellbeing

We have all heard announcements from the medical profession relating to the high level of asthma, eczema and other allergic conditions amongst children. The cause of many of these symptoms is often down to their presence of the dust mite and their droppings in mattresses, pillows and bedding. Therefore, it is not recommended to accept or purchase a second hand / used mattress for your child, you should always purchase a new one. To further protect your children it might be worth looking at mattresses that are hypo allergenic being the memory foam and latex mattresses which, dispel the house dust mite. Other suggestions to assist in the control of the house dust mite is to air the mattress daily by pulling back the covers for a minimum of 30 minutes before making the bed. You should vacuum the mattress regularly to remove as much of the amassed dust as possible. With regard to the bedding this should be washed at a high temperature usually 60° on a regular basis, this will also assist in reducing the number of dust mites present.

Other Suggestions

It is important to get children to test the mattress just as you would do. It has to be comfortable for them and supportive to the back and neck.

It is also suggested that you purchase a mattress protector as children will inevitably have accidents either spillages or bed wetting. Another point to consider is whether or not it is fire retardant this will obviously buy valuable time in the event of an emergency.

Remember the better a child sleeps the night before the better mood he will be in when he wakes next morning, making it a better day for all.