Child sleeps on a mattress on the floor

[Ovenpizzasarerank]

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?

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!

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

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.

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?

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Exactly.

@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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Not necessarily a theme just quite nicely decorated/filled, nof just mattress or curtains I mean

It was enough to make you think something wasn’t right so you should report it. I’d call the school on Monday and ask to speak to the safeguarding lead. This on its own will not be a cause for action, but the school may have other observations or reports that build a picture.

Well, I did have a Pierrot duvet cover, I remember ! But I didn’t have a matching lamp, or makeup box or anything else. That style of theming must be way out of date now. My DC have green and white striped duvet covers. There’s nothing else “matching” at all and definitely no theme going on. I don’t think there are even matching pillow cases, but can’t quite remember.

You can't really do any thing right today.
Reported for a mattress.

Lol, yes please do OP

Schools are reaching out for more work to do. They're very bored.