Most kids need nine to 12 hours of sleep a day (whether they get it or not is another matter), so finding the best mattress for your child is one of the most important purchases you can make. A good night’s sleep is essential for a child’s physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, and it all starts with a comfortable age-appropriate mattress – but where to start?
There’s a lot to consider when buying a mattress for your child, and safety is at the top of the list. Every kids’ mattress should feature a BS7177 fire safety label – that’s non-negotiable. If you plan on having the mattress on a bunk bed or cabin bed, you also need to make sure it sits at least 16cm below the top of the safety barrier.
I spoke to Simon Williams from the National Bed Federation for his expert insight on everything from firmness, safety credentials to look for and what to consider when buying a mattress for a child with allergies. “Generally speaking, it’s best to choose a medium firmness,” says Williams. “It’s important that the mattress supports them properly without being too firm or too soft. A simple method to test this is to ask the child to lie on the mattress on their back. If you then try to slide your hand under their back in the lumbar region, it should slide in with a little bit of resistance. If it’s difficult to slide your hand under them, the mattress is too soft. If your hand slide under them too easily, it’s too firm,” he explains.
If your child suffers from allergies, Williams says: “Foam mattresses are generally considered a better choice for people with common allergies (allergic rhinitis, for example). If your child has sensitive skin, you should be able to check the textile composition of the mattress's outer cover. This information, legally, must be on a label attached to the product or its packaging. Natural fibres such as cotton, bamboo, wool or linen would be better than synthetic fabrics.”
I considered Williams’s advice at every stage of the testing process to find the best mattresses for kids. Owing to the fact that babies and toddlers have particular safety needs when it comes to mattresses (the firmer the better), for my guide, I focused on mattresses suitable for children aged four and older.
The best kids’ mattresses for 2025 are:
- Best overall – Panda London hybrid bamboo mattress: £649, Pandalondon.com
- Best budget buy – Stompa S flex airflow pocket: £183.20, Johnlewis.co.uk
- Best premium option – Naturalmat the natural teen mattress: £780, Naturalmat.co.uk
- Best breathable option – Jay-be quest Q2 extreme comfort: £250, Jaybe.com
How I tested
I had no problem rounding up a team of helpers to test out numerous mattresses in their bedrooms. Ranging from six to 16, my testers had the not-so-difficult job of chilling out and sleeping on a range of mattresses to help pick the best. The kids and I considered comfort, support, temperature regulation, care, value for money and delivery and setup. I’ve gone into greater detail on my testing criteria at the end of the article.
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Panda London hybrid bamboo mattress
Best: Kids’ mattress overall
Sizes: UK Single, EU Single, UK Small Double, UK Double, EU Double, UK King, EU King, UK Super King, EU Emperor
Mattress type: Hybrid
Guarantee: 10 years
Sleep trial: 100-night trial
Rotate or turn: Rotate
Why we love it
- Excellent support
- Washable removable cover
- Temperature regulating
- Very comfortable
Take note
- Expensive
- Too thick to use with bunk bed
This high-end hybrid mattress certainly means business, featuring six layers, including foam, 960 pocket springs, comfort base and super-soft bamboo cover. It arrived tightly rolled up but puffed up incredibly quickly – It took just a few hours to transform into a sumptuously thick mattress, and I didn’t notice any odours as it settled. The handles on the underside of made carrying and moving it into place very easy.
The mattress offered the perfect medium firmness for my six-year-old tester, and it was immediately and consistently comfortable – in fact, I was quite reluctant to leave the comfort of the Panda mattress after bedtime stories were finished. My tester has ‘The Princess and the Pea’ levels of sensitivity, so naturally she loved the smooth top layer and absence of any tufted buttons.
Bamboo is such a perfect temperature regulating fabric, particularly for little kids who can often overheat during deep sleep. My tester is quite a sweaty sleeper, but I’ve noticed a dramatic improvement since we started trialling this mattress. The bamboo-infused Biocell Foam™ is highly breathable, as well as being odour-resistant and, paired with the removable (and machine washable) bamboo cover, it really does help keep little snoozers at the perfect temperature. I’m very impressed.
I appreciate it’s a high price point for a children’s mattress, but with a generous 10-year guarantee I think it’s such a worthwhile investment. While it’s too thick to use on a bunk bed, I feel it’s durable, high quality and the perfect mattress to see your kids through those ‘never stops growing’ years.
Buy now £649, Pandalondon.com
Stompa S flex airflow pocket
Best: Budget kids’ mattress
Sizes: UK single, EU single, small double, UK double
Mattress type: Hybrid
Guarantee: Five years
Sleep trial: No
Rotate or turn: Rotate
Why we love it
- Ideal for bunk bed use
- Removable washable cover
- Good value
Take note
- Odour lingers for a few days
If you’re after the bespoke support of a hybrid mattress for your child, but can’t stretch to the likes of the Simba, this is an excellent budget buy at just over £200. Arriving neatly rolled and tightly wrapped, I was impressed with how lightweight and easy to manoeuvre the mattress was – perfect if you need to carry it up numerous flights of stairs to reach your home.
While I found the mattress expanded slightly after unboxing, it remained relatively compact at just under 16cm in depth – perfect for use with bunk beds or high sleepers. After 10 hours I felt it had reach full ‘puffiness’, although I did notice a slight odour remained for a few days before disappearing.
Despite its modest price tag, the Stompa S was rated as super comfortable by our 10-year-old tester. The soft cushioned top layer and pocket spring system provided a fantastic level of support. What we loved the most though was the active airflow tech, which promised to regulate the temperature of little sleepers while wicking away moisture for a cool night’s sleep. Our tester is usually a sweaty sleeper who likes to bundle up, but we noticed a significant difference when using the Stompa S over his usual mattress. He remained cooler and slept a lot better.
The fact it has a removable and washable cover just makes us love this mattress even more.
Buy now £183.2, Johnlewis.co.uk
Woolroom junior mattress
Best: Kids’ sprung mattress
Sizes: UK Single and EU Single
Mattress type: Pocket sprung
Guarantee: Five years
Sleep trial: No
Rotate or turn: Turn
Why we love it
- Chemical-free
- Sustainably made
- Great edge-to-edge support
- Can be used on bunk beds
Take note
- Tricky to manoeuvre
- Only suitable for children up to the age of 12
Made using natural fibres, all sourced within 35 miles of the Manchester workshop, this is a great sustainable and chemical-free choice, with a small carbon footprint. Designed for children aged between four and 12, the mattress is packed with traceable British wool fibres and a pocket sprung core to help alleviate pressure points and promote optimal spinal alignment. In testing, we definitely found this mattress gave great support and felt reassuringly firm yet undeniably comfy to sleep on. In fact, my first thought was “I want one of these mattresses” (good news, adult singles and doubles are available).
Wool is the star of the show here, offering excellent temperature-regulating properties. It’s breathable and does a great job of wicking moisture away for an undisturbed night’s sleep. It’s also naturally flame retardant and antimicrobial, so suitable for children with allergies.
My tester loved this mattress, and I was a big fan of the edge-to-edge support it provided. If I’m being picky, I would have liked handles on the side to help move it around and flip, but overall it’s a great quality mattress that is designed to last.
Buy now £314.3, Thewoolroom.com
Slumberland flip 2 in 1 mattress
Best: Kids’ mattress with adjustable firmness
Sizes: Single, Double, Small Double
Mattress type: Pocket sprung
Guarantee: Eight years
Sleep trial: 40-night trial
Rotate or turn: Turn
Why we love it
- Grows with child
- Choice of firmness
- Very comfortable
Take note
- Not suitable for bunk beds
- Pricey
My nine-year-old has never paid much attention to his mattress before, but he immediately noticed the difference when we swapped to the Slumberdown 2-in-1, declaring it “the comfiest mattress ever”. It’s a genius concept designed to accommodate growing kids, with one side of the mattress a medium firmness aimed at pre-teens, and the other slightly firmer, aimed at children aged 15 years and up. Essentially, you get two mattresses in one, simply by flipping it over. I was unsure as to whether the double-sided nature of the mattress would affect comfort or support, but both sides are excellent quality.
While we tried out both sides, my nine-year-old tester favoured the softer side (ideal for his age group). This provided fantastic edge-to-edge support – the reinforced edge features firmer outer rows of pocket springs, perfect for stopping younger kids rolling out of bed, as well helping to prevent sagging when teens use the edge to sit on while gaming. Genius!
The high resilience foam did a good job of supporting our sleeping tester, while comfortably moulding to his body, and I found the Temperature+ treated fabric (designed to keep the body at the optimal temperature of 37 degrees) kept him sweat-free at night. I also like the addition of a pro-bio planet-friendly treatment to prevent dust mites, allergens and bad smells (music to any teen parent’s ears).
While it’s not the most eco-friendly mattress in my roundup, I like that it’s made using 75 per cent recycled PET plastic and includes a protective layer made from a minimum of 91 per cent recycled fibres.
Buy now £400, Bensonsforbeds.co.uk
Naturalmat the natural teen mattress
Best: Premium kids’ mattress
Sizes: Single and Double
Mattress type: Natural fibre
Guarantee: 10 years
Sleep trial: 45-day trial
Rotate or turn: Turn
Why we love it
- Free from chemicals
- Breathable
- Temperature regulating
- Suitable for children with allergies
Take note
- Expensive
Made by hand in Devon, this is one of the best non-toxic, organic and fully natural mattresses I’ve ever tested. Arriving full-size, the quality was instantly obvious after unboxing and the faint wool smell vanished within an hour. Designed specifically for older children and teens in mind, it’s a luxurious investment buy that feels made to last.
It was an overwhelming hit with our testers – grown-ups included – who all rated the firm yet slightly springy support. One of my testers isn’t usually a fan of tufting buttons, but we found these to be very well covered and you cannot feel them at all, even without a mattress topper.
The mattress is filled with organic coir fibres from coconut husks, sandwiches between natural latex, cotton and wool layers. The result? Next-level comfort that made it hard for our tester to get out of bed. It offers brilliant breathability, and the cotton-wool cover is naturally fireproof, as well as bedbug and dust mite resistant, making this ideal for children with allergies.
It's one of the priciest mattresses in my roundup, but for good reason. The artisan quality shines through here and this is one durable mattress that will last you a good 10 years. A very close contender for my best buy!
Buy now £780, Naturalmat.co.uk
Simba hybrid kids mattress
Best: Hybrid kids’ mattress
Sizes: Single
Mattress type: Hybrid
Guarantee: 10 years
Sleep trial: 200-night trial
Rotate or turn: Rotate
Why we love it
- Suitable for bunk bed use
- Responsive support
- Temperature regulating
Take note
- Pricey
Simba is renowned for its high-tech, high-spec hybrid mattresses, and all of that fancy innovation has been tweaked to suit younger sleepers in this rather impressive children’s hybrid design.
Five layers of foam and pocket springs – there’s 970 titanium alloy springs spread across the single size mattress – including a very soft sleep surface make this a really luxurious choice for growing kids. My 12-year-old tester absolutely raved about it and we found it firm to the touch, while providing responsive and adaptive support as our tester moved around in their sleep.
The open structure foam base includes heat diffusing graphite, and we certainly found it to offer a good level of breathability and temperature regulation. It also adds another level of comfort, making this mattress grown-up friendly, too.
Buy now £399, Simbasleep.com
REM-Fit remy kidz eco mattress
Best: Eco-friendly kids’ mattress
Sizes: Single
Mattress type: Foam
Guarantee: 15 years
Sleep trial: 100-night trial
Rotate or turn: Rotate
Why we love it
- Made using recycled materials
- Bunk bed friendly
- Responsive support
Take note
- Not as plush as some other mattresses
Made using 75 per cent upcycled foams and featuring a soft, zip-off cover made from 100 per cent upcycled ocean plastics, this is perfect if you’re after an eco-friendly kids’ mattress that doesn’t cost a fortune.
Arriving rolled and vacuum-packed, we found it took a couple of days to fully puff up and the faint plasticky smell disappeared after a day. At 15cm it’s the thinnest out of all the mattresses we tested, but we didn’t feel this affected comfort in any way.
The three foam layers include a reflex foam layer for responsive bounce-back support, as well as a memory foam upper for a cocooning, body moulding comfort. My seven-year-old tester loved the smooth cover (”no bumpy bits”) and I loved that it could be removed and machine washed when needed. The head-to-toe support and medium firm tension make this a great all-rounder, particularly for bunk beds or high sleepers.
Buy now £299.99, Rem-fit.co.uk
Jay-be quest Q2 extreme comfort
Best: Kids’ mattress for breathability
Sizes: Single
Mattress type: Pocket sprung
Guarantee: 10 years
Sleep trial: No
Rotate or turn: Rotate
Why we love it
- Breathable
- Responsive support
- Hypoallergenic
- Good value
Take note
- Takes a while to fully expand
This good value offering from Jay-Be is foam free and free of potentially harmful chemicals. It also features a soft, knitted fabric top layer, made from hypoallergenic material.
Once unrolled, this mattress sprung into shape and expanded quickly, although we did find it took a couple of days to properly fill out and become more comfortable. It features deep e-pocket springs, which are designed to respond independently as your child moves around. We certainly found the mattress moulded well to our eight-year-old tester’s body.
The Quest Q2 extreme comfort lived up to its name, with our tester enjoying some great nights’ sleep while trying it out. I liked the addition of the advanced spacer layer to help with breathability, and temperature regulation, as well as the three fibre layers that upped the comfort factor even more. At 18cm it may be slightly too tall for bunk bed use – I’d suggest checking the height of your guard rail to make sure it’s at least 16cm taller than the mattress height.
Naturally fire resistant, without chemical treatment, the mattress is also 100 per cent recyclable and is sustainably made in the UK.
Buy now £250, Jaybe.com
Sealy hydra 2300
Best: Luxury mattress for teens
Sizes: Single, Double, King and Super King
Mattress type: Hybrid
Guarantee: Five years
Sleep trial: 60-night trial
Rotate or turn: Neither
Why we love it
- Exceptionally comfortable
- Plush
- Body contouring support
- Excellent edge-to-edge support
Take note
- Standard single sheets
- Very expensive
If you’re searching for a seriously luxurious mattress for your teen and budget is no option, this high-end design from Sealy is the dream. Our 16-year-old tester was blown away by the plush comfort of the hydra 2300, which at 32cm was literally double the thickness of his old mattress. Arriving full-size, it took two of us to get this up the stairs (a job made slightly trickier as there are no handles on the mattress).
Teens need plenty of support as they grow but can get away with a slightly softer level of firmness, and this mattress definitely hit the right balance between comfort and support. The 1400 pocket springs offered responsive support as our tester slept, while the 100 reinforced springs around the outer edge of the mattress are perfect for helping it keep its shape no matter what.
Endorsed by Allergy UK, the mattress is ideal for teens with allergies. It boasts some fancy tech to keep teens cool, offering excellent breathability, temperature regulation and moisture wicking, and our tester felt cool and comfortable at night as a result.
There’s no getting around the incredibly high price point, but if you’re after supreme comfort and gentle support for your growing teen, this really is next level. It’s durable, maintenance free (no need to flip or rotate the mattress, ever) and truly indulgent. The only downside according to our teen tester? “It makes it too hard to get out of bed in the morning.” Currently, the hydra 2300 is only available to shop in-store.
Buy now £1500, Sealy.co.uk
Your questions on children’s mattresses answered
What is the best children’s mattress?
I feel the Panda London Hybrid Bamboo Mattress is a worthy winner. Yes, you have to pay more for the benefits, but it’s an exceptional quality mattress with superb breathability and supreme comfort. With an impressive 10-year guarantee, I think it’s a solid investment for your child. If your budget can’t stretch that far, the Stompa S Flex Airflow Pocket Mattress offers brilliant support and comfort at a fantastic price.
What safety credentials should I look for when buying a child’s mattress?
“Always check to see if the mattress has the small BS7177 label sewn into the border. This signifies that the manufacturer has had the product specification tested to meet UK flammability regulations. For added peace of mind, buy a mattress made by an approved National Bed Federation (NBF) member. All NBF members are independently audited to ensure their products are safe, use only clean fillings and are what they claim to be,” explains Simon Williams from the National Bed Federation.
How much should I spend on a child’s mattress?
“Everyone’s budget is different, but as a general rule, you shouldn’t scrimp on buying a product that your child not only uses for eight hours a day, but one that is so vital to their growth and development. Kids do most of their growing at night (the body releases the largest amount of human growth hormone during deep sleep), so get the best mattress that you can afford,” says Williams.
How I selected the best kids’ mattresses:
With the help of my kids, we tested a range of different mattresses. I considered all of the expert advice that Simon Williams from the National Bed Federation shared. Collectively, my kids and I considered the following factors when testing:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
At IndyBest, we’re dedicated to bringing you honest, thorough and genuinely helpful product reviews. We won’t recommend anything unless we’ve put it through hands-on, real-world testing.
Sarah Dawson is a parenting and lifestyle writer, who has been testing out products for IndyBest since 2021. She has meticulously assessed everything from kids’ walking boots to phones designed for children, and will always consult her young testing assistants before beginning her verdict.
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