Support your kids

Going mattress shopping for your kids? Keep these buying points in mind.

TEXT Andrew Y

The right mattress is important for a growing child. It’s one that provides ample back and neck support, allows him/her to move around with ease, and accommodates his/ her changing body. Kids who enjoy a good night’s sleep, night after night, are more likely to be physically and mentally healthier.

Size matters

Instead of starting your toddler out with a small mattress and bed and upsizing both when he’s older, it’s wise to invest in a good-quality single mattress and bed that he can grow into, from the time he’s three or four until he’s about 12 or 13. Then, you can replace the mattress and bed once he enters his teens, when he may prefer a bigger double bed.

In Singapore, most single-bed frames measure 90cm by 190cm. Children grow quickly, so if you invest in a single mattress when they’re little, they should grow into it quite comfortably over the next several years.

Choose the best support

Supportive mattress varieties include pocketspring, memory foam and latex. Each of these feels different – with a pocket-spring, each spring is individually wrapped and works in isolation, reacting only to the pressure applied to that area (tip: the higher the spring count, the more supportive the mattress, and the lower the coil gauge numbers, the firmer the mattress). A memoryfoam mattress is dense and conforms to the body, and might be suitable for restless children who wake up often during the night. A latex mattress has a bouncier feel, is low-maintenance, durable, and resistant to dust, mites and mould. It’s also recommended for warmer climates like ours as it prevents overheating.

According to Norwaybased chiropractor Dr Havard Bergby, an innerspring mattress is a better choice than a foam or latex mattress because it offers greater support. A child’s body is constantly changing and an innerspring mattress is more accommodating and provides better support as the child grows.

The difference between an innerspring mattress and a pocket-spring one is that the former offers more generalised support and is interlocked rather than individually encased, but both are firm, which helps promote the natural development of a child’s spine.