Important Considerations When Choosing a Baby or Crib Mattress

Many adults spend a lot of time, effort, and money choosing the right mattress to sleep on. If you get a good night’s sleep, it can make the rest of your life miserable. Many people will struggle to find the perfect mattress. What we often forget as parents is that a mattress can affect the sleep of our babies and children as well.

Honestly, it can be hard for parents to realize that their baby or child is having a problem with their current sleeping arrangement. Children tend to be able to sleep in any situation, whether it’s in a bed, in the back seat of a car, or even on the floor. You just won’t hear complaints from children too often about the quality of your mattress (and obviously you won’t hear them from a baby). But that doesn’t mean it’s not important. Parents should take the time and effort to make sure they find the right baby mattress for their baby and make sure their sleep is as good as yours.

Often the only consideration parents have when selecting a mattress is size. Obviously, they should choose one that will fit the crib or toddler of their choice, but there is much more to choosing a good baby mattress than size. Because you are faced with the possibility of potty accidents with babies, many mattresses have plastic-type linings. These make sense and will obviously extend the life of a mattress in the event of an accident. However, some surfaces are known to be uncomfortable to sleep on. You can often get the same or better results with sheets that have similar protection but are more comfortable.

Just like a normal mattress, thickness can influence comfort. An infant mattress that is too thin may have insufficient padding. However, one consideration when choosing a mattress for a crib is not to choose one that is too tall. This can lead to your child being able to climb out of the crib if the mattress is too high and the wall is too low.

Another safety factor is if the mattress size is not tight with the corners of the crib or bed. Babies and children are injured in beds when there is room for a limb to get caught between the mattress and the bed. It is important that your mattress does not create this situation. Often your crib or bed will have specific instructions on what size mattress to purchase, since safety is paramount.

One last consideration related to baby bedding is the sheets you buy. Again, safety is key here, as you want sheets that fit securely around the mattress not creating the chance of them slipping off. As babies and children move around a lot during the night, the sheets often come off and again create a situation where injuries can occur. Again, follow the instructions that come with your crib or mattress.