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?

My son had a mattress on the floor until he was about 2 because I slept with him in his room or he slept in my daughter's double bed with us both

It's fine, I slept that way for a couple of years as a kid when my bed frame broke and my parents couldn't afford to replace it. It's just as comfortable as one with a frame and kids don't have issues getting on/off like adults.

Yes child looked after

I have friends like this. They are lovely people and yet I am often aware that if they lived in a council flat and not a large home it would probably be classed as neglect.

PS you will get loads of posters doing all sorts of mental gymnastics to excuse neglectful and dirty parenting btw …

That was my thought…

Your updates certainly aren’t great, no sheet etc, along with the general mess, it’s pretty poor parenting imo.

Literally no-one here knows whether she's airing the mattress every day.

She could well tip it up on its side every morning to air both the mattress and the floor.

No this isn’t right at all. Typical Mumsnet first few posts making you think YABU.

I just thought it didn't seem that nice, not being awful, but not that nice for him not to have a bed with duvet set. It may have been in the wash. Ds said he liked his friends bedroom but it wasn't really like a normal bedroom, not in a mean way, just the way kids say things when they sense something is different.

What do you think the problem is? Because whether it’s common or not isn’t a safeguarding issue…

My autistic child used to insist on sleeping on the floor without a mattress - he had a very expensive mattress that was very firm…but apparently not enough.

uncommon - yes. Met his needs? Yes. Safeguarding issue - no

Have you posted this in the hopes of having a good gang-hoik of the judgey pants?

a lot of people who do floor beds either stand the mattress up to ventilate, or have slats underneath for airflow. Not saying that that’s what happens here but floor beds don’t have to equal mould

Montessori innit , actually recommended, as long as it’s aired , which im sure it is.

Maybe the child has sensory issues and doesn’t like sheets. Maybe the sheet and duvet had been removed for washing. You only saw it once and it could be a one off. If the child seems happy and well looked after I wouldn’t worry.

One of my children is sleeping on the floor. He has quite a nice double sleigh bed but kept randomly falling out. The mattress is currently on the slats within the frame ( for air flow), doesnt want it put back up.

My son has a double bed, yet chooses to sleep on his old cot mattress on the floor. I wanna get rid of it!

The bedding may, may, be an issue.

However for those saying theres no airflow between the bottom of the mattress and the floor, thats the same as if the mattress is on a divan. Its a solid base, not slatted base (although I think some divans do have slats, not all)

All our beds are slatted bases on metal frames, I hate divans, but lots of people like them

Easy to say once OP has added the very important context of no bedding etc. Plus the age. From the Op it’s fine, with the added info it’s not.

Giving a general picture. Some friends houses i go to are very minimalist, not a thing out of place, very clean, not as much character, some are messy, disorganised, crammed full of things-this was like that. It's not a judgement either way, I liked the relaxed take me as I am attitude.

Floor beds are very standard. B and Q and Dunelm sell them, so pretty mainstream. But a lack of sheets I do think is a bit concerning.

It's not the same as there's still airflow between the mattress and the solid divan - on the floor there isn't.

Bit odd to have no bedding, but maybe he's a wriggler (like my granddaughter) and falls out otherwise.

My children slept on a mattress of the floor for at least the first 5 or 6 years. And yes, you are being judgemental.

I don't know why people are saying that a mattress on the floor gets mouldy, I slept on one for several years when I was first married and it was fine when we finally put it on a bed frame.

I also don't understand why people are saying that the air needs to circulate underneath them, because solid base divans are perfectly common and there's no more circulation then than on the floor.

No sheets would be a red flag though.

My son is 14 and is sleeping on a matress on the floor. He does have ASD but he just prefers it.