Memory Foam Mattresses for Children

Is a memory foam bed right for your child? That depends; although memory foam is very comfortable and supportive for adults, for very small children it can actually be dangerous. That's because the sleeping surface may not be firm enough, and young children can suffocate.

There's also some question as to whether or not memory foam is supportive enough of very young children's spines. Although adults have finished growing and memory foam provides the perfect amount of support for pressure points so that they can get comfortable sleep, for kids' beds, memory foam may not be the best choice. Again, that's especially true for very young children, especially babies, for whom suffocation may be a real danger.

A better bet for children, at least until they are in their late teens and have finished growing, is to simply use a foam topper on a regular inner spring mattress for the proper support but with the comfort of a memory foam mattress nonetheless. This provides the best of both worlds. It provides some of the comfort of memory foam, without worrying about possible posture or skeletal problems that may result from having young children sleep on a memory foam bed.

The other issue with memory foam and young children especially is the chemical smell or exposure that can happen with memory foam. Memory from is completely safe as long as you let it "air out" and fully expand for about 48 hours before you use it, but young children can be especially sensitive to any smells, even if there's really no chemical residue or danger. For that reason, again, a memory foam topper is usually a better bet for children, rather than a full memory foam mattress.

Finally, another advantage to a memory foam topper as opposed to a full memory foam mattress for young children especially is that because memory foam toppers are very inexpensive, they can be replaced easily should they become soiled. Young children, for example, can have a problem with bedwetting, and it's not necessarily smart to buy a very expensive $2000 memory foam mattress for a young child who won't be able to use it for long because it's been soiled beyond cleaning. Memory foam toppers, by contrast, can easily be replaced if they become soiled.

The bottom line? For very young children, up to about two years of age, don't use memory foam at all. It's too "formfitting," and could cause problems with suffocation. For children beyond the age of two, it's okay to use a thin memory foam topper on regular mattress if need be for comfort, but don't bother if the child has no problem with his or her ordinary mattress. That's especially worth consideration, given that very young children usually have a problem with bedwetting at least occasionally. Older children beyond this stage can certainly benefit from a memory foam topper if they find it comfortable to sleep on as compared to a regular mattress used by itself.

Finally, for children beginning about the older teen years (after growing has completely finished), a memory foam kids bed may be a very good option, but keep in mind that these mattresses are very expensive when of good quality, and usually cost about $2000. Because of that, you may want to consider simply using memory foam toppers throughout your child's growing years it's up to you.

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