Best Mattresses for Kids (2025)

The Helix Kids mattress is a great first pick if you’re looking to transition from a crib mattress to a big-kid bed. It’s also a top choice for growing kids because it’s flippable, featuring a firmer side for children aged 2-7 and a slightly softer side for those aged eight and up. Its hybrid design should also lend it plenty of durability for years to come, since it earned an impressive 4.7/5 for edge support, a sign of its sturdy construction. 

Our testers rated the eight and up side of the mattress at around a 6.5/10 on our firmness scale, which is medium-firm. “Not too firm but a little soft,” said our 10-year-old tester Conrad. Though Conrad preferred the mattress on his back, lightweight tester Riley Otis added that this mattress could be a good pick for side sleepers.

“There’s some cushioning up top that’s preventing pressure from forming at the joints, and enough lift to keep the spine straight and neutral,” she said. The side for younger kids (2-7) should have a firmer feel and may not offer as much pressure relief, but it should give them the support they need: Riley and Conrad’s combined results led to an overall pressure relief score of 4.3/5.

Riley was most impressed by how well the bed’s edges held up when bearing her weight. “Although I sank down a bit, I didn’t feel like I was going to slip off the bed, so I think kids will be able to sit on the side of the bed and feel very stable and secure,” she said. She also felt comfortable lying down at the perimeter of the bed, only noticing some instability on her side. “I don’t think most kids will have an issue, but it was something I noticed as an adult,” she added.

If your child sleeps hot, they shouldn’t have any issues with the Helix Kids mattress. Riley performed a cooling test by recording the surface temperature of the bed in two instances: first, before anyone got on the bed, and a second time after resting on it for a few minutes. She recorded an increase of about 8.5 degrees, which is a sign of decent cooling. 

“While this mattress isn’t cool-to-the-touch, I didn’t feel uncomfortably warm,“ she said. “Lying there, I never felt the mattress noticeably heating up beneath me—it felt temperature neutral the whole time.”

If your child is looking for something that sleeps extra cool, they might like the Nectar Kids, which performed a bit better in this test. For more about this bed, read our full Helix Kids mattress review.

Memory foam beds are a great option for the budget-conscious parent or guardian, since these beds often marry quality and affordability. It’s especially the case for the Nectar Kids, which gives you two mattresses in one, thanks to its dual-sided firmness. 

While it offers plenty of the cushioning comfort foam beds are known for, it also earned an impressive 4.8/5 for cooling, an area in which these heat-trapping beds tend to fall behind. The Nectar Kids performed well across the board in our tests, leading to an impressive overall rating of 4.6/5.

This mattress has two sides, one for kids aged 3 to 7, and another for those eight and up. Our testers found that the 3-7 side came in at a firmer 8/10 on our firmness scale, while the 8+ side was a smidge softer at 7.5/10. “Younger children will appreciate the firm support that helps keep the spine super straight,” said lightweight tester Riley Otis, who gave the firmer side a try in the absence of a young tester. She noted that younger children who sleep on their side may want to switch to the other side sooner than those in other sleeping positions.

Our in-house tester tried out the 8-10 side and agreed with Riley’s sentiments. “I think kids will find good pressure relief on this side,” she said. “The foam is pretty slow-moving, so it really conformed to my body as I lay there.” Both sides earned a combined pressure relief score of 4.1/5, with the bulk of the relief found on the softer side, which is more suitable for older kids.

There wasn’t a noticeable difference in cooling between each side of the mattress, with both performing exceptionally well in our tests. While neither of our testers called it cool-to-the-touch, their thermal gun recorded a mere 5-degree increase at the surface after both had a quick lie-down on the bed—lower than our average of 5 degrees. “I didn’t feel overheated, but more temperature neutral,” Riley said.

Edge support is an important consideration if your child sleeps at the very edge of the bed or sits on it to tie their shoes. It is also a crucial feature for adults sitting on the side of the bed for story time. Thankfully, the 3-7 side of the Nectar Kids has some rock-solid edge support, which Riley found out for herself. “It feels exactly as supportive as the center of the bed, and I don’t feel like I’m about to slide off,” she said.

However, our in-house tester found there was quite a bit more sinkage on the 8-and-up side, likely from its softer comfort layers. “I pretty much sink through the comfort layer and onto the thick base,” she said. While the base layer provides some support, sleepers looking for rock-solid edge support might prefer the Bear Cub.

Our Nectar Kids mattress review is coming soon.

Twin mattresses are a great way to save space in your child’s bedroom and maximize your budget. The aptly named Bear Cub mattress comes in twin and full sizes, but also two color options, pink and blue, for even more cute customization. In our tests, it earned perfect scores for pressure relief and edge support, leading to a total overall score of 4.8/5. It’s a sturdy hybrid that should suit young ones in all sleeping positions.

My colleague Sosha Lewis was responsible for testing out this mattress and rated it at a 6.5/10 on our firmness scale. “This is marketed towards kids, but it is just fine for adults,” she said as she tried out each sleeping position, finding comfort in each. 

She was even able to find some relief from pressure as she lay on her back and side. “I liked how the foam gave me some good pressure relief and the coils kept me aligned,” Sosha said. She added that she wouldn’t mind sleeping on this mattress for an extended period of time as a guest.

Sosha was also pleasantly surprised by how well the edges held up when she sat and lay down along them. “The edge support was pretty great, especially considering I weigh substantially more than the target audience,” she said. This means that parents should be able to sit at the edge of the bed for storytime or other pursuits without sliding off or causing damage to the mattress. “Little kids should have no issues at all,” Sosha added.

The Bear Cub also performed admirably in our cooling test, which Sosha considered no small feat because of how hot the studio was that day. “I definitely wouldn’t say it’s cool to the touch,” she said, “but, even as hot as it was when I was testing, I didn’t notice the bed heating up.” She rated the bed’s temperature-regulating ability at a respectable 4/5, which should satisfy most kids who sleep hot.

Unlike many other mattresses on this list, the Bear Cub isn’t flippable. It’s also only available in two sizes, twin and full. If you’re looking for a flippable bed that also comes in twin XL, check out the Saatva Youth.

Our Bear Cub mattress review is still in the works.

Hybrid mattresses are made up of soft comfort layers and coils for balanced support. They’re great if you’re looking for a bed that’ll last your child many years. The Nolah Nurture is a hybrid mattress with a flippable construction, offering a soft side and firm side for your child’s ever-shifting preferences. Both sides offered plenty of pressure relief (scoring 4.5/5) and a sturdy perimeter (earning 5/5 for edge support), and helped the mattress earn its overall rating of 4.7/5.

My colleague Sosha Lewis was responsible for testing the mattresses, and though not a child herself, she evaluated how the mattress would work for younger sleepers. Between the soft and firm sides, she only noticed a slight difference, rating the older kids’ side at 6.5/10 and the younger kids side at 7/10. “I was surprised by how well this bed supported me on the firm and soft side,” she said. “I was expecting to bottom out on the coils layer, but I didn’t.”

Sosha was also surprised by how much pressure relief she felt on the bed’s surface. On her side, she felt a bit of pressure around her shoulders, but added, “I think that kids would find this bed pretty comfortable on either the soft or firm side.” She was also a “pretty big fan” of the mattress while sleeping on her back, so back-sleeping children should be more than comfortable in this position.

The Nolah Nurture’s edge support also impressed Sosha as she sat and lay down along the perimeter of the bed. Even when switching over to the softer side, the edge support remained unflagging. “I felt very supported lying along the edge of this bed on both sides, and I am an average-weight adult,” she said. “So I think kids would have no worries at all about falling out of this bed.”

Kids who run hot should also be able to find some modicum of comfort on the Nolah Natural. When Sosha performed the cooling test for this bed, the studio was pretty darn hot. She used a thermal gun to measure the surface temperature of the bed before and after getting in it for a few minutes, which shows how much heat the bed holds onto. Even with the added temperature in the room, she recorded only a 6.5-degree increase. 

“I was comfortable on this bed and think the coils do a good job of dissipating heat,” she said. “The bed wasn’t cool to the touch, but it definitely didn’t feel like it was heating up.” She ultimately rated the bed’s cooling ability at 4/5.

One possible drawback with this mattress is its price tag. While it can last your child many years, some budget shoppers may not want to pay close to $700 for a twin-size mattress. If you’re looking to stretch your dollar, check out the BB Kids mattress.

You can read more about this bed in our full Nolah Nurture mattress review.

If your child wants a big-kid bed that gives them more space to stretch out, you might want to opt for a full-size mattress. This size is slightly smaller than a queen but notably bigger than a twin or twin XL—a perfect pick for sleepovers, spreading out, or future use in a guest room. 

Our pick for the best full-size mattress comes from one of our favorite brands, Saatva. The Saatva Youth is yet another flippable mattress with a firm and soft side, designed for kids aged 3 to 12. But the best thing about this bed is the policies that come with it; you get a year-long trial, lifetime warranty, and free white glove delivery with this mattress—features that earned it a 5/5 customer service rating. 

Unlike most other mattresses on this list, the Saatva Youth recommends the firmer side of their mattress for older kids, and the softer side for younger kids—rather than the other way around that we see with most flippable mattress for kids. To avoid confusion, I’ll simply refer to each side as the “firm” and “soft” side. Some kids may want to go against the grain in their mattress preferences anyway; what’s important is their comfort.

Our 10-year-old tester Conrad took the softer side of this mattress for a spin to see how well the bed relieved pressure. On his side, he said that he didn’t feel any pressure buildup in his hips or shoulders. “I think kids who are side sleepers will feel comfortable on this bed,” he said. On his back, he said that the mattress felt “firm but still comfortable.”

Lightweight adult tester Riley Otis handled the firmer side of this mattress. “Side sleeping isn’t great for me as an adult, but I think young children will benefit from the firm support that promotes good posture while offering a bit of cushion at the hips and shoulders,” she said. “Back sleeping on this side feels best for me,” Riley said. This side felt like a 7/10 on our firmness scale, just a touch firmer than the softer side, which we rated at 6.5/10. Riley’s and Conrad’s results led to a 4.3/5 score for overall pressure relief.

Edge support on both sides of this mattress showed no signs of flagging. “Parents should have no problem sitting there with their kids to read them a story or tuck them in at night,” Riley said. “I also feel supported when lying down, and not at risk of falling off the bed regardless of my position.” She added that the firmer side was perhaps a touch more supportive than the softer side, but not enough to warrant a major difference. We ultimately rated edge support at 4.7/5.

Finally, my colleague Kenny Timper performed the cooling test for this mattress on both sides. Between the two, he didn’t notice any discernible difference. “It doesn’t really feel cool or breathable, but I didn’t feel like I was overheating either,” he said. “I would say it warms up a little bit and is mostly cozy.” He rated the overall cooling at 4/5, but was hesitant to recommend it to kids who sleep truly hot. These tykes might prefer the Leesa Kids.

For more about this bed, read our full Saatva Youth review.

If you’re looking for a simple mattress that’ll get the job done at a reasonable price, you’ll love the Brooklyn Bedding Kids mattress. This bed starts at just $265 for a twin mattress, and that’s before any sales or coupons. However,  don’t mistake it for a cheap product—it has a firm, robust feel that’ll bring the support. We were most impressed by the bed’s edge support (4.7/5), a sign that it won’t start sagging prematurely on you. 

The Brooklyn Bedding kids mattress is a very firm all-foam bed, with our in-house tester having trouble deciding whether it was a 7.5 or 8/10 on our firmness scale. Even our 10-year-old tester Conrad noted the firmness during the pressure relief tests, exclaiming, “Wow! This is a hard bed.” 

Lying on his side, he said, “My shoulder feels a little uncomfortable, but my hips feel good.” He felt better on his back, able to get some sinkage in his lower half, but still noted that the mattress’s firmer feel wasn’t for him. If your child sleeps on their stomach or wants a super-supportive and lifted surface, they should love the feel of this bed.

The firmer feel of this bed really came in clutch when it came to edge support. “Overall, this mattress has great edge support,” our in-house tester said. “It would be great for smaller children who have moved to a toddler bed.” There was a bit more sinkage when our tester was sitting on the edge of the mattress, but virtually none when she was lying down. She therefore rated the overall edge support at 4.7/5.

Where the BB Kids lagged behind was in the cooling department. The bed is made up of two dense foam layers, which unfortunately only seemed to trap heat as our tester lay on the bed’s surface. “I felt like I got hotter the longer I lay there,” she said. “I don’t feel like there was cooling fabric anywhere in the mattress, since the top layer is very soft and wool-like.” She doesn’t recommend it to hot sleepers. 

If you’re looking for an all-foam bed that keeps surprisingly cool, you might like the Nectar Kids instead. Otherwise, read more in our full Brooklyn Bedding Kids mattress review.

Most kids’ beds are free from harmful chemicals, if you want an organic mattress, you should opt forthe Birch Kids Natural. Just like other Birch mattresses, the Birch Kids has an all-natural construction, featuring organic materials like cotton and wool, as well as sustainably sourced latex. 

However, the latex hybrid children’s model is also flippable. This design provides two comfort options: a firmer side for kids 7 and under, and a softer side for those over 8. Both sides offered a bouncy, sturdy feel that allowed for plenty of pressure relief (scoring 4.5/5) and robust edge support (5/5).

In the absence of any young testers, my colleague Sosha Lewis tackled the testing for this mattress. She found that the side for older kids fell at a 6.5/10 on our firmness scale, a versatile medium-firm. The side for younger kids was a smidge firmer at 7/10. 

“The little kid side is pretty firm, but I didn’t find it uncomfortable as an adult,” she said. She thought it did well for back and side sleeping, and was able to get pressure relief in both of these positions. When it came to resting on her back, she preferred the older kids’ side of the mattress. “The foam contoured around my back and the springs kept me aligned,” she said, adding that it was “pretty comfy.”

After testing out how well the perimeter held up on this bed, Sosha lamented, “I wish adult beds had as good of edge support as kids.” The mattress was able to hold her weight without dipping, regardless of whether she sat down or lay down on the edge of the mattress. “I have no concerns about rolling out,” she said. “Kiddos should be snug as a bug on this mattress.”

However, the mattress had some trouble in the cooling department. This test was handled by our in-house tester, who lay on the surface of the bed for a few minutes to get a feel for how easily it would warm up. “I could feel the mattress slightly warming up as I was lying here,” she said. She blamed the organic cotton cover. While hypoallergenic and natural, it didn’t offer the same sleek feel as a polyester cover. 

If this is a dealbreaker, the Nectar Kids mattress has a cool-feeling cover that’s also completely removable and machine-washable.

Our Birch Kids Natural review is in the works.

The Plank Firm mattress isn’t designed specifically for kids, but it’s definitely intended to be firm. Like many of the other mattresses on this list, it’s flippable, with two extra-firm sides coming in at 7.5/10 and 8/10 on our firmness scale. The result is a lifted feel that should work great for young sleepers who need extra support, such as those with larger frames or kiddos who prefer sleeping on their stomach. Despite the firm feel, our testers noted that the mattress offered a fair amount of pressure relief for back and side sleepers, scoring a 4/5 in our evaluation.

Given that this bed is so firm, we didn’t expect it to perform well on the pressure relief tests, which require the sleeper to sink comfortably into the mattress. However, my colleague Sosha Lewis, who tried out this mattress, was pleasantly surprised by its ability to relieve pressure. She was most comfortable on her back. “I think either side is good for back sleepers,” she said. “I liked how the foam contoured around my whole back.”

On her side, she had less success, but still found it comfortable. “There was enough contouring from the foam—especially on the less firm side—that I didn’t notice a lot of pressure build up,” she said. “I am concerned about how side-sleeping kids would feel on it, but hope that the foam would be enough.” If your child primarily sleeps on their back and stomach and complains about a too-soft bed, the Plank might be the best match for their needs.

Sosha tried out the twin-size version of this mattress for the full kid experience. “I am a full-size candy bar and this twin bed is for a fun-size candy bar,” she said as she sat on the edge of the mattress to judge its support. “With that said, I think kids will find plenty of edge support with the Plank. However, I am a little concerned about grown-ups who may be sitting on the side of the bed reading a nighttime story,” she said. She noted she felt more sinkage on the extra-firm side, ironically. 

Lying down on the perimeter, she felt comfortable on her back and stomach, but noted that side-sleeping was a different story. “It was a little better on the less firm side, but I still wouldn’t want to sleep on the edge on my side,” she explained. The mattress dipped a bit more under her hips and shoulders, where they dug into the bed. 

While the Plank Firm performed admirably in our cooling test, Sosha noted that the studio was unusually cold the day she tested it. “The mattress didn’t noticeably heat up, but it definitely isn’t a cooling mattress,” she said. “It was freezing in the studio, and the mattress remained neutral.” Hot sleepers may want to take a look at the Nectar Kids or Leesa Kids, two beds that performed well in this test.

If you want to find out more about this bed, read our full Plank Firm mattress review.

If your child wakes up drenched in sweat, they might like a cooling mattress like the Leesa Kids bed. Most all-foam beds like this one tend to trap heat and make a less-than-ideal choice for hot sleepers, but this isn’t the case with this mattress. It earned a 4/5 in our cooling tests, with our tester Sosha Lewis rather surprised that it felt cooler than expected. Aside from cooling, it performed respectably in all our other tests, so it’s a well-rounded mattress that should appeal to a variety of younger sleepers. 

Sosha used a thermal gun to measure the surface temperature of the mattress in two instances. First, before she had gotten on it, and again after she had rested on it for a few minutes. The recorded increase in temperature shows how much heat the bed holds onto or dissipates when a person is in it. For the Leesa Kids, she recorded a 6.3-degree increase. “It didn’t noticeably heat up as I was lying there,” Sosha added.

Sosha rated this mattress at a 7.5/10 on our firmness scale, which is pretty firm. Still, the mattress also offered some pressure relief, thanks to its cushy, aerated foams. While Sosha noted that she wasn’t the target audience, she could clearly see the appeal for younger kids, even those who sleep on their side. 

“I think little kids who sleep on their side will be just dandy,” she said. “Even though I didn’t get enough support, it’s soft and contouring enough.” She added that sleeping on her back was better, only finding the support on her lower back a bit lacking. But she reiterated that it likely won’t be an issue young sleepers encounter. Her results led to an ultimate pressure relief score of 4/5. (If you’re looking for a bed that can work for kids in the long-term and adults in the short-term, Sosha loved the Bear Cub mattress.)

Kids shouldn’t encounter any issues with the Leesa Kids’ edge support. Sosha was able to lie down in each sleeping position without feeling like she was going to slide off the mattress. She did notice quite a bit of sinkage when sitting on the edge, but reasoned that kids of a lighter weight wouldn’t have a problem. “Some parents may not care for the lack of support along the side of the bed,” she noted.

Our Leesa Kids review is in the works.