For your baby, you’ve certainly done everything you can to make sure he’s got everything he needs, from the choice of clothes, to toys, to the mattress that accompanies him during his sleep. And now, time passes so quickly that you’re at the stage where you need to renew your baby’s mattress.
When your child starts to express his wishes, you take them into account according to your possibilities. However, he will never complain about aches and pains in his back. You may unknowingly ignore the quality of his bedding. However, this remains a problem as your little one grows and needs constant comfort while sleeping. The challenge remains difficult to choose the ideal, unless you arm yourself with our advice on how to choose the best mattress for your child.
Mattresses: when to switch from a baby mattress to a children’s mattress?
Even though your child spends less time in bed than when he was a baby, he still needs a good night’s restorative sleep during the night and in the afternoon. Opinions differ when it comes to defining exactly at what age a child is no longer a baby. But to put it simply, when he can no longer fit in his cot and his feet start to stick out over the edge, then you’ll judge for yourself that it’s time to change his bedding.
It is during his childhood that he will be able to develop his intellectual capacities such as learning, memorization and the ability to concentrate. At the same time, his physique will also develop, but without a good sleep, all this may be compromised. Scientists have unanimously recognized the importance of sleep in growing children. Indeed, it is during deep slow sleep that growth hormones are secreted. The other phases of sleep also contribute to a child’s intellectual development.
A parenthesis is necessary to better understand a child’s sleep cycle. From the age of 4 years, the total sleep duration is reduced due to the absence of a nap (less than 12 hours). You may have noticed that your child no longer wants to fall asleep in the afternoon and prefers to play outside. That said, if he is very active during the day, he recovers some rest in the evening when he falls asleep. He will fall into a deep sleep during the first part of the night. It is only at this stage and only at this stage that growth hormone is secreted. Without deep sleep, there will be no secretion.
The role of this hormone is to promote not only the physical development of the child, but also the repair of worn cells and tissues. REM sleep will only occur 3 hours after this first phase. The purpose of REM sleep is to organize and reinforce the memorization of information that the child has acquired during the day. REM sleep will also reduce the tensions accumulated during the day. Head to laweekly.com for more info.
Of course, a child can fall asleep anywhere, on the sofa, on the table and sometimes even on the floor. However, that doesn’t mean you should neglect the quality of your mattress. Don’t be stingy in picking up the older child’s old mattress or worse, your old mattress for your child’s bedding. Don’t hesitate to invest in a mattress that will accompany him throughout his growth, until he’s 15 years old.
What size for a child’s mattress?
“Neither too big nor too small,” they say to define the ideal. But when you’re faced with a wide choice of mattress sizes, you’re lost. Don’t you agree with that? If the length of the mattress is not a problem (generally 190 cm for children), then the width is, since you will be faced with a mattress available in 70, 80, 90, 100 and 120 cm widths. Your choice will therefore depend on the size of the bed, but also on the surface area of your child’s room.
However, remember that your child may invite one or more friends over for a sleepover and that they will want to sleep on the “cot” or on the floor by chance. Also consider that by age 13, your child will become a teenager who deserves comfort during sleep just as much as you do. When it comes to comfort, the more space there is in the bed, the less discomfort your child will feel and it makes sense that their sleep will improve.
So, to make it easier for you, here’s the reasoning. If it is recommended to renew the bedding every 10 years, a 6-year-old child can enjoy an excellent 120 X 190 cm single mattress until the age of 16. Think ahead and offer the best for your little angel.
