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?

Messy is not the same as dirty or neglectful.

My house is a mess at the moment. Big pile of ironing, sinkful of washing up, rugs could do with a quick hoover and the hall floor needs to see a mop, post and papers on the dining table.
But its not dirty.

My son breaks every bed he's ever had. He bounces on them until they break so he has a mattress on the floor. He does have a sheet on it and blankets. No pillow or duvet because he doesn't like them.
My son's severely autistic but I hope even if he wasn't no-one would judge me for not having a bedframe. Maybe he does have a sheet but mum washed it and hadn't put a clean one on yet. Maybe he prefers the throw to a duvet, especially when it's warm.

There isn't. The base of solid divans is often a sheet of hardboard. There no more air circulation than on a wood floor and there's probably more on a carpet.

But child perfect manners and I know they're cared for

I mean most of us could say that about people we visit 🤷‍♂️

You seemed to be implying it had something to do with her son sleeping without a bedframe.

Maybe the child falls out of bed, but not having a sheet isn’t very hygienic. I wonder if the mum has a bed frame and sheet. Also it can go mouldy under the mattress pretty quickly, it happened when a friend came to stay at mine for two months between houses

It might just be he falls out of bed a lot. The lack of sheets would concern me but not necessarily the lack of duvet as the nights are still hot. I'd probably look at the bigger picture and draw conclusions from that.

Not at all. I was just wondering why he might not have a bed, obviously not going to ask her.

This is the Montessori approach. It’s quite common these days.

@Ovenpizzasarerank

If you know he is cared for then why are you questioning something that has numerous explanations, should explanations be required.
And he does have a bed

He broke it.

He doesn't want one.

He falls out of bed.

She's saving up for one.

Can you not think of any reasons of your own?

People can say its fine all theuy want
But one of the first things SS would check for should they ever have resson is does the child have adequate bed and bedding.

Well mess is sibjective
As long as clean enough.

No sheet is not good because the mattress will obviously be filthy (assuming the child sleeps there and not with a parent)

Sleeping on a mattress on the floor (I’ve had my toddler on a mattress which i propped up in the day) is not inherently a problem.

We have a floor bed in DD’s room cos we coslept, and then so she could easily climb in and out of it. She likes it. It’s just a practical thing that has become trendy too - look up Montessori floor bed. We all 3 sleep in interchangeable combinations in our double bed and hers. Our house isn’t dirty or mouldy, it’s extremely clean! Air doesn’t circulate under a mattress on a divan bed very well either, really..

The lack of sheet is weird, though. Although maybe it was just being washed and the bed hadn’t been remade.

Unless the OP is going for another drip-feed, I'm sure she would've said if the mattress was filthy.

Plus we don't know the mum didn't grab the sheet and stick it in the wash.

Plus we've just had one of the hottest Summers on record, so a duvet set could well be making an appearance soon.

Ds always slept on a mattress until he was 2.5yo, and often until he was about 9 or 10.
Reasons were firstly he climbed straight out of his cot so it was safer, and secondly because he was still in our room due to lack of space, and we were trying to sell the house, so a mattress we could put away during viewings was much better. Once we'd moved into our new house, he got his own room and bed, but if he woke would prefer to come through to our room. Normally he'd get into our bed, but we did put a mattress on the floor that he sometimes used.

Dd1 slept on a mattress from age 9-12yo. She had a bed. She had the high bed she'd fallen in love with and adored at 8yo. Then she was ill and got panicky about sleeping that high, so spent what I was expecting to be a couple of nights on a mattress on the floor, and decided that was more comfortable, despite my offers and suggestions for better. We got her into a chair bed at 12yo, but she still refused a bed. When she came back after uni she decided she would have a bed, and spent about 6 months trying different beds until she found one she liked. In that time she chose to sleep on the floor.

There can be lots of reasons, maybe to do with cost, maybe to do with child preference, maybe safety or maybe the old bed broke last week and the new one hasn't arrived yet.

We had no problems with mould on any of the mattresses.

Yes true, I meant if the child sleeps on a sheet-less bed that would be unusual.

either way, the OP says the child is cared for and well socialised so I’d not personally be concerned about where they slept

My child had a mattress on the floor for about 5 years. There was ventilation underneath in that part of the room as it was varnished floorboards (rest of the room had a rug).

Social services class inadequate bedding as a marker of neglect.

Not on its own they don't.

And given the heatwaves we've been having, I'm not sure it would be classed as inadequate bedding.

This!

Its one of the first things they check.

I guess you have no idea why it was on the floor. Maybe he prefers it, maybe they are about to decorate, maybe his bed broke, maybe they are waiting for a delivery, maybe he wet the bed last night and the sheet was taken off. It wouldn’t shock me in a kids room tbh, unless it was dirty and no flooring then it’s not a big deal.

My son has a severe LD, is autistic and has ADHD. He sleeps on a mattress on the floor which was actually suggested by occupational health. His disability social worker and support nurse are all happy with the set up. The idea is to have a safe room for him. It gets turned up to be aired frequently when at school and never had a problem with mould. He has no sheets or duvet on through the day as that's how he likes it. His bed gets made up for sleeping.