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Child sleeps on a mattress on the floor

445 replies

Ovenpizzasarerank · 04/09/2026 18:58

Went for dinner and a playdate with my Ds new friend. Mum is very nice, child lovely. Ds called me upstairs to show me his friends lego building and his bed was a mattress on the floor, is this normal? Mum very bohemian, house very messy and not well looked after-I am not judging and these things don't bother me, my house needs painting and some new furniture, so I get it, but is a mattress as a bed ok?

OP posts:
Ovenpizzasarerank · 05/09/2026 12:19

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 12:11

Yes thats what Im talking about, like a playground, a theme of spiderman or other play characters. I dont like it personally but lots of parents do this.

Well I don't personally love it, but my Ds does, I guess kids generally like that sort of thing, whether we consider it tasteful or not

OP posts:
Calliopespa · 05/09/2026 12:16

Ted27 · 05/09/2026 12:13

@Ovenpizzasarerank

But what is a 'proper' child's bedroom?

Ive had three foster children over the last 4 years. Each time I've personalised their bedroom for them. All if them wanted vastly different things, none of them wanted a 'theme".

I think that trend has faded.

To be honest. It probably got replaced through the 90s and 00's with children's furniture, so all scaled down a bit - the era of the cot bed! Oh and bunks.

I guess a room with a nod to childhood, such as teddies on the bed, a novelty lampshade, rug or similar. But it sounds as though this little guy had his model in there.

FedUpCelery · 05/09/2026 12:15

My kids had an IKEA Kura bunk bed, which meant the kid who didn't have the top bunk had a mattress on the floor as the bottom bunk.

BlumeUndTisch · 05/09/2026 12:15

It's fine.
We had matresses on the floor to play on in the childrens' playroom then they were younger. They often slept there with friends or cousins.

We aired them. Most likely the mum does that too.
No big deal.

MNLurker1345 · 05/09/2026 12:15

KilkennyCats · 05/09/2026 12:13

Well we don’t know if it was just “flung down” amid other types of filth and disorder; op is an unreliable narrator who was already shocked at the lack of Spiderman themed accessories.

No we don’t know. One is fine and one is not.

@Ovenpizzasarerank what was it in your opinion? You saw it and it concerned you.

KilkennyCats · 05/09/2026 12:13

MNLurker1345 · 05/09/2026 12:10

I know. I don’t get it. If the mattress on the floor is an actual bed, or modern concept of safe sleeping for a child, fair enough. But if the mattress is just flung down, because of lack of care, house being dirty, poverty or neglect it is not ok.

Well we don’t know if it was just “flung down” amid other types of filth and disorder; op is an unreliable narrator who was already shocked at the lack of Spiderman themed accessories.

Ted27 · 05/09/2026 12:13

@Ovenpizzasarerank

But what is a 'proper' child's bedroom?

Ive had three foster children over the last 4 years. Each time I've personalised their bedroom for them. All if them wanted vastly different things, none of them wanted a 'theme".

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 12:13

BabblingBiddy · 05/09/2026 12:04

I had a Winnie The Pooh bedroom in the 80s.

Exactly.

mindutopia · 05/09/2026 12:12

My dc currently sleep on mattresses on the floor. So do I as a matter of fact! We’re having emergency building works done and we had to clear furniture out of that side of the house very quickly. No time or space for the beds. I could only carry the mattresses. We’ve literally slept on the floor of my home office for 6 months. No children being neglected here. They will have a house that isn’t going to collapse on them when this is all done though, which will be a bonus.

All other things being fine, a floor bed and a normal messy lived in house is perfectly okay.

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 12:11

Ovenpizzasarerank · 05/09/2026 12:02

No I just mean for example you might see Spiderman covers and curtains/lampshade, books , toys, a desk, carpet/rug, just a comfortable, pleasant kids bedroom-is this not usual? Feel lke i'm going mad here

Yes thats what Im talking about, like a playground, a theme of spiderman or other play characters. I dont like it personally but lots of parents do this.

ProudBlackMomma · 05/09/2026 12:11

Not ok. Sounds like neglect. Trust your instincts OP.

Calliopespa · 05/09/2026 12:11

BabblingBiddy · 05/09/2026 12:04

I had a Winnie The Pooh bedroom in the 80s.

Yes, I think back then it was considered quite tasteful - and Dragons of Walton Street extended it even to the furniture.

It then got picked up by more high streety brands and maybe lost the cachet.

My mum was a bit non-plussed when I didn't want it for my dc as it was quite the thing with my friends in the 80's! 😂 She' have been even more non-plussed if we had no bed frames! But fashions do change.

MNLurker1345 · 05/09/2026 12:10

MummyOre · 04/09/2026 19:03

Honestly, how anyone could think a mattress on the floor is acceptable for a young child, is beyond me...

I know. I don’t get it. If the mattress on the floor is an actual bed, or modern concept of safe sleeping for a child, fair enough. But if the mattress is just flung down, because of lack of care, house being dirty, poverty or neglect it is not ok.

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 12:08

19lottie82 · 05/09/2026 11:49

It encourages mould growth on the mattress.

It really doesnt. Are people who own flat based divans airing their mattresses every day?

Ovenpizzasarerank · 05/09/2026 12:07

KilkennyCats · 05/09/2026 12:06

A proper child’s bedroom doesn’t have to have a matching theme, op. Give over.
Do you consider living rooms that aren’t fully furnished from the same collection in the Next catalogue to be improper, also?

No of course it doesn't have to, but I think it should have more than a matress, curtains and some toys or it would be nice at least

OP posts:
villadicance · 05/09/2026 12:06

My child had a lovely bed. He insisted on sleeping on the floor next to it. I got him a floor bed. He sleeps on the floor next to that.

People are weirdly judgemental about it, babysitters tend to be horrified. But what is the big deal with this really?

I also slept on a mattress on the floor for a couple of years as a young adult because it suited me at the time. Zero mould when I moved the mattress afterwards. I think that's an issue that is over blown

KilkennyCats · 05/09/2026 12:06

Ovenpizzasarerank · 05/09/2026 11:57

A proper childs bedroom I mean

A proper child’s bedroom doesn’t have to have a matching theme, op. Give over.
Do you consider living rooms that aren’t fully furnished from the same collection in the Next catalogue to be improper, also?

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 12:06

Keymoment · 05/09/2026 07:42

Well, I think a themed bedroom or some matching is a bit odd. I can’t quite picture what you mean. I’ve never seen a themed bedroom. Certainly my dc didn’t have them. And what do you mean by “ some matching”? Like a light shade in the same pattern as a duvet cover? That seems completely over the top. Never seen that, either.

It started in the 80s, its quite a modern thing, dont you remember girls who had the whole Pierrot design, bedding, lamps, make up boxes the whole shebang.

BabblingBiddy · 05/09/2026 12:04

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 11:57

Well thats quite a modern thing, kids rooms having a 'theme' like its a playground or something

Its not my cup of tea but I know people tend to do that.

I had a Winnie The Pooh bedroom in the 80s.

Calliopespa · 05/09/2026 12:03

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 11:57

Well thats quite a modern thing, kids rooms having a 'theme' like its a playground or something

Its not my cup of tea but I know people tend to do that.

I had a Laura Ashley room when I was little: pretty wallpaper with an all-over floral design that was then repeated in a patchwork quilt with other co-ordinating fabrics, and a teddy who had the paws of his feet covered in it. You could also buy matching lampshades and tissue boxes!

I thought it was beautiful, 😂and several of my friends had similar, though with different Laura Ashley fabrics. Does anyone else remember this trend back when Laura Asley was actually Laura Ashley's designs (as in the lady herself)?

The White Company did a similar sort of thing for years, with towels, bedding, plush toys and even pyjamas that co-ordinated, though they have softened the approach a little in recent years.

To be honest, it can look quite nice, though certainly I would not call it a requirement to avoid neglect!

Ovenpizzasarerank · 05/09/2026 12:02

likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 11:57

Well thats quite a modern thing, kids rooms having a 'theme' like its a playground or something

Its not my cup of tea but I know people tend to do that.

No I just mean for example you might see Spiderman covers and curtains/lampshade, books , toys, a desk, carpet/rug, just a comfortable, pleasant kids bedroom-is this not usual? Feel lke i'm going mad here

OP posts:
likelysuspect · 05/09/2026 12:02

TheBlueKoala · 05/09/2026 05:42

It's not the absence of structure that's problematic but the absence of sheets and duvet. A simple mattress on the floor with nothing is unhygienic and sign of neglect.

The absence of a duvet is not a sign of anything, there was a throw on it.

The absence of a sheet may be a sign of something, but not if, like me, she's taken the sheets off and is putting a new sheet on later. My mattresses are currently sheetless because Im doing washing today and tomorrow. The beds that have no one on them will probably be renewed tomorrow. Our bed will hae the sheet put on later tonight when I get round to it.

Sheetless all day!!! Horrific

Sartre · 05/09/2026 12:01

Maybe the bed frame broke and she hasn’t been able to replace it. I’d expect her to say that though when you went to look, so you knew and didn’t judge as you are here. I know it’s common in East Asian countries to sleep closer to the floor on futons but obviously not just a bed mattress on the floor… It’s the lack of sheet for me though, the thought makes me feel really ill.

Maddy70 · 05/09/2026 11:59

beaglescurleduplikebagels · 04/09/2026 19:00

No, it's not okay. Mattresses lying on the floor get mouldy.

How? Your sofa doesn't get mouldy ?

Ovenpizzasarerank · 05/09/2026 11:57

Keymoment · 05/09/2026 07:42

Well, I think a themed bedroom or some matching is a bit odd. I can’t quite picture what you mean. I’ve never seen a themed bedroom. Certainly my dc didn’t have them. And what do you mean by “ some matching”? Like a light shade in the same pattern as a duvet cover? That seems completely over the top. Never seen that, either.

A proper childs bedroom I mean

OP posts: