The best mattress for kids is a great investment for your child's future. Growing children need a good night's sleep to ensure their bones, joints and muscles grow in the right way, not to mention helping them concentrate better at school. An old and saggy mattress can stop that from happening, but the right mattress can ensure they get the quality sleep they need, night after night.
When your child graduates to their first proper bed, it's important to invest in a well designed and durable mattress that provides a good level of comfort and support. Other considerations include whether they suffer from allergies, if they tend to run hot or cold at night, and what kind of bed the mattress needs to fit, from single beds to bunk and cabin beds.
This guide is dedicated to the best mattresses for kids – we have a separate guide to the best cotbed mattresses specifically for toddlers, and you'll find plenty of options for UK Single / US Twin in our best mattress and best memory foam mattress guides, although these are not specifically designed for children. If you're not quite sure what kind of mattress you should be looking for for what age of child, our kids mattress size guide will help make things easier.
Whatever you’re looking for, we've rounded up the best kids' mattresses for 2024, including UK and US options. Each mattress has something different to offer, but all of them will help promote healthy growth and mental development during your kids' early years.
Beth is Home Editor for T3, covering style, living and wellness. Having previously held the role of Acting Wellness Editor, Beth has become an expert in all things sleep, offering T3 readers advice on how to get the best night's sleep possible. From what mattress suits your sleep position to the cosiest pillows and duvets for your bedroom, Beth is the go-to person on T3 for the latest sleep-related reviews, tips and recommendations.
Best mattress for kids UK 2024
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The best mattress for kids UK
This mattress from Silentnight features 600 pocket springs that offers good support for your child’s spinal development. Furthermore, the springs are zoned to provide support where it counts. The mattress is deeper than most kids’ mattresses too, at 23.5cm, so you can be sure your kid is going to be comfortable on it.
The Silentnight Healthy Growth 600 Mirapocket is foam and chemical-free, vegan-friendly, and uses hypoallergenic and breathable fibres for extra breathability. These fibres are made from recyclable plastic bottles, so they’re nicely eco-friendly too. This mattress has a five-year guarantee and comes in Single, Small Double and Double sizes. It’s single-sided, so you don’t need to turn it, although Silentnight does recommend you rotate it on a regular basis.
As the name suggests, this mattress from Dreams is designed to lie on your child’s 'first big bed'. With 392 individually wrapped pocket springs, it aims to provide a comfortable experience for your little ones, even if they wander over to the edge of the mattress. It comes with luxurious cover with hypoallergenic and heat regulating treatments to aid sleep, so it’s a good choice if your child tends to get overheated at night. And there’s a top panel with a waterproof layer underneath, which can be removed and washed at 60 degrees, to protect against accidents.
Another one of the best kids' mattresses designed for bunk beds, this slimline model is suitable for children from three years up. Combining springs that move side-to-side and back-to-front, plus two layers of foam, it’s a medium-firm mattress comfortable for both kids and adults. So it’s a good choice if you expect to occasionally share a top or bottom bunk with your child to help them sleep through the night. Plus, there’s a very generous 200-day trial so you can be sure you like it.
Made exclusively for John Lewis, this pocket spring mattress is filled with a Hampshire wool and cashmere blend that's soft, breathable, and designed to help dissipate heat to regulate your child's temperature through the night. There's no need to turn or rotate it (and no handles to help you do so if you decide you do want to) and the 100 per cent cotton cover has a luxurious feel. All in all, this is a high-quality kids' mattress at a surprisingly reasonable price.
This all-natural mattress features a core of 1,000 pocket springs, accompanied by a support pad of coir (a material made from coconuts) and additional wool comfort layers. Wool isn’t the cheapest material, but it’s great for kids because it’s naturally temperature-regulating, keeping them cool in summer, and warm in winter. It makes the mattress super-comfortable too.
Chemical free, this mattress’s cover is made of 100% organic cotton and all of its fibres are sourced and made within 35 miles of Manchester, giving it a low carbon footprint. Aimed at children up to 12 years old, it has a depth of 16cm and comes in Single and Single XL sizes; bespoke sizes are available on request. Note that you’ll need to turn it weely for the first few months, to allow the filling to settle, and then monthly after that.
Little Green Sheep is best known for its cot mattress, but it does a great mattress for older children too. Suitable for children from 12 months up to 12, this mattress is naturally chemical-free and hypoallergenic. Its core is created from thousands of coconut fibres, blended together with natural latex to act as thousands of tiny springs, providing support and reducing pressure points. The cover is made from a luxury Herringbone cotton, lined with an extra layer of wool, for extra breathability. This medium-firm, Single mattress comes with a five-year guarantee. Note that the cover is non-removable, and must be sponge cleaned only.
Best kids mattress US 2024
The best mattress for kids US
The clever Saatva Youth is two mattresses in one. One side is designed to be ideal for little sleepers aged 3-7, but flip it over and you've got the perfect mattress for children aged 8-12. The design includes a organic cotton cover (on both sides), high-density foam, and a sprung layer that's zoned to encourage proper spinal alignment. The cover isn't removable but there is a waterproof layer to stop spillages seeping all the way into the foam, and the cover also has a water-resistant finish, as well as being hypoallergenic, with an antimicrobial treatment.
We're fans of Saatva's adult mattresses (see our Saatva Classic mattress review) and the brand has a lot going for it to – all the mattresses are made to order in the US, using consciously sourced materials including recycled steel coils.
Super popular mattress brand Purple has brought the magic of its patented Purple Grid to a kid-friendly mattress. It's suitable for children up to 14 years old and 115lbs, and comes with a removable and machine-washable cover, which is ideal if accidents happen. The all-important Grid is made from Hyper-Elastic Polymer, and is hypoallergenic and CertiPUR-US and Clean Air GOLD certified.
This Twin-sized mattress includes a 2" Grid above two layers of comfort foam. It's softer than the adult version (with the aim of cradling your child's body while they sleep), but is designed to deliver the same pressure-free support and instant response. It also sleeps much cooler than memory foam, making a good choice if you child tends to overheat at night. There's a 100-night trial and free returns, so you have time to check it's right for your child, too.