AP's bed is not comfortable enough...

OP.

You didnt come on hear to get flamed and I do think that some posters have been a little harsh.

Having employed many Ap's and nannies over the years I know how annoying it is when they start demanding extra's for their accommodation not giving any thought to the cost of life as it were.

BUT. I do agree that she must have a comfortable bed and whilst I admit that I spent £1400 on a bed for DH and I last year and only £350 on a new bed for the nanny 3 months ago if she said it was uncomfortable I would change it straight away.

An uncomfortable bed is a form of torture and as others have said this isnt a spare bed that it slept on occasionally . Its her bed everynight.

Dont faff about on any duvet ideas. just buy her a new mattress and a mattress topper .

Bliss and I am off to sink into mine now !

And for anyone who isn't getting on with thier AP and wants her to leave...make sure her matress is rubbish.

Having just come home from a weeks holiday and a very hard and uncomfortable bed, it was absolute bliss to sleep in a comfy bed again, I'd actually been looking forward to gettng home for a good nights sleep even though I enjoyed all other aspects of the holiday. So I say that you should definitely replace the mattress - she will hopefully be with you for longer than a week

We slept on a bed I bought in a small bed shop in Seven Sisters, north london, for £75 for just about 10 years. Even though I had thrown the matress down from the 5th floor after just a years use when I moved, AND this caused the springs to well... spring!

I bougth a 5 cm thick foam materess and kept on top. Perfect!

I think you will be fine if you add a foam matress on top of what you have got. Honestly, try it!

LynetteScavo, your post made me smile,
" DH thinks it cost about £70"
....how much was it actually then?

i also think you should buy a new one
£130 really is pretty cheap for a mattress.

Was in exactly the same situation this summer, bought a new mattress straight away. No she is not expecting 5* treatment, she is expecting the same treatment as the rest of the family - au pair = on a par with.

We bought this mattress for DD2s bed and it's really comfy

The double is £80.

agree with others that of course the mattress for an ap should be the same as for yourselves.

I think £130 is pretty cheap for a mattress and if she can feel the springs you must replace it. Poor girl.

I doubt a topper will help, if it was the buttons fine, but not with springs.

You are being unreasonable. I can remember telling my parents that my bed was uncomfortable and that I could feel the springs, but they didn't get me a new one for financial reasons. It was awful. I can't describe how it impacted my quality of life. I found myself contorting to get into a position that was the least uncomfortable, and I was a lightweight child! My parents aren't normally that arsey, so I don't know what got into them.

Anyway, the point is that you need to get her a new mattress. This isn't a spare bed that she is sleeping on once, it's her bed that she has to sleep on night after night! Having a quick lie down isn't going to replicate that.

We used to sleep on a cheap memory foam mattress from a discount bed place, by the way, and it was perfectly fine, so you don't have to spend a fortune.

If you can afford an au pair then you can afford to provide her with the same standard of bed as your own. You need to take her to a bed shop and let her try out the mattresses to make sure the next one is comfortable.

If you expect your AP to be well rested and able to look after your children you need to be providing her with a good night's sleep.

The IKEA mattresses are very comfy, IMO.

TBH - I think you should provide the same standard of bed for your AP as you would your own child. When we replaced our Argos ones we went to dreams and bought a foam one. DH thinks it cost about £70. It's V' comfy, and has lasted well so far (3 years)

Bung a duvet in between the sheet and mattress as a stop gap. Don't buy a mattress with springs, they are awful unless you are a lightweight child.

I would expect to pay the same amount for a bed for an AP as for anyone else, what an odd question. Do they not deserve a decent bed to sleep in?

Here's a mattress for less than your topper and it has no springs- so solves that problem. They are v. comfortable too.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90102080

(Ikea - if link doesn't work)

We bought DS a bed from Argos, and after 2 and a half years it needed a new matress. I think it's time for you to buy a new (springless) matress.

People spend a large amount of their lives in bed, (1/3 ?) so it's improtant to have a decent matress and pillow.

I agree - it shouldn't be a spare room quality mattress - as it's in use night after night month after month - for 2.5 years so far... I think it should be one YOU are happy to sleep on night after night. You either do that by buying a new, but cheap, mattress per au pair. Or you invest in a good quality one and make sure AP's are briefed on undersheets and mattress protectors...

why are you comparing a bed for an ap with a bed in a spare room?? she is there permanetly not for a week. turning over might help but she probably tried that. something like this might help but not sure www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/60163094.
i have slept on uncomfortable mattresses as an ap and it made my life miserable and gave me backaches - just because i felt i cant tell my bosses.

You can buy mattresses without springs.

As for the 'it's not a five star hotel' comment, reading something like that would make me very angry if I was an au pair. How incredibly disrespectful.

A comfortable bed is vital to a good night's sleep and everyone deserves a good night's sleep.

i think YA a bit U.

my mum has a guest bed she insists is lovely and comfortable. i think it's like sleeping on an old prison slab!

if she can feel springs i think you should replace it.

or swap it with your mattress if it's so great

Buy her a new mattress. Feeling the springs though is very uncomfortable. She needs to be able to sleep properly to do her work properly.

Of course, she may just be a bit 'princess and the pea'ish...

I think the point about spare beds is that they aren't slept in regularly so you can get away with less IYSWIM.

This isn't a spare bed.