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 absolutely no idea it was bad to sleep on a mattress on the floor. Spent 2 years at Uni doing that. The worst bit was the springs from the mattress bruising me, but if it had been a decent mattress it would have been amazing!

The no bedding is a concern and is actually on social services assesment check lists for both adults and children (I know this as just been through one recently and had no bedding on and had to show them it was drying!), even co sleeping they need their own bedding on their own bed.

Floor bed / mattress not a concern as long as it's in a safe place

This is a misconception. Montessori has been co-opted in recent years as a marketing tool.

Actual Montessori floor beds are just mattresses on the floor. Maria Montessori developed her method in a poor area of Rome, specifically with children from underprivileged backgrounds who were not expected to be able to learn. The simplicity of the method ties in well with modern minimalism and packaged together can be sold at a hefty price tag, but the original Montessori bed is a mattress on the floor.

That being said, it should have sheets and ideally lifted onto its side and leant against the wall during the day to air out and prevent mould.

This. Mattresses need air beneath them. My son went through a phase of having his mattress on the floor and it eventually rotted and became very damp. We had to throw it away.

MC Montessori bollocks, fine for your kids to sleep on a mattress. WC in a council house, no bed,neglectful, call SS.

Only if your house is damp.

I've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for the past nine years and infinitely prefer it, as a bed, to a mattress on a frame.

OP has updated to say the child is looked after.

Op YANBU. The child is 8, it won't support them as well as having a bed base, and then a bare mattress on top of that. I find that very neglectful. It makes me wonder what other things are like, does the mother have a proper bed?

What about a divan?

Yeah my cousins kids were raised like this. House was always a pit and quite dirty but the kids were well fed and cleaned up when they needed to. They are now all high achieving well adjusted adults. Parents were both total hippies.
I always thought they prioritised the right things, ie: mental health and wellbeing over housework, especially as my mum was a bit of a 50’s stepford wife and presentation of the perfect family, marriage etc and the opinions of others outweighed everything.

FWIW I had a mattress on the floor for years as I couldn’t afford a bed frame. Only levelled up once I was 8 months pregnant as kept getting stranded !

Pretty common for children transitioning between a cot and a bed. Not for to fall out and no short lived toddler bed needed

There's nothing wrong with it and mattresses on the floor don't go mouldy unless there's already a mould problem in the room. I always used to roll out of bed as a child, so I slept on a mattress on the floor. Much safer than risking a head injury.

DS has slept on a mattress on the floor since we got rid of the bunk bed. He prefers it that way - he likes being able to roll out of bed, and the mattress is extremely comfortable. I check every now and then to see if he would like a bed, but he always says that likes the current set up. The room is sunny and well ventilated and the mattress has never been damp or mouldy.

A mattress shouldn't go mouldy on the floor. If it does then the house isn't properly heated and ventilated!

DD2 went through a phase of removing her mattress from her bed and pulling it onto the floor and going to sleep on it, so for a while we just left it there. She eventually decided she wanted it back in the bed but who knows what the future will bring!

Don't be such a snob - had it been a futon - same shit, only with a wooden crate underneath, you would not have said a word.

That’s unhealthy. You need a clean sheet on a mattress.

Child is 8.

They don't. My ds had a spell of wanting just a mattress on his carpeted floor, no mould at all.

Your child really thinks the bedroom wasn’t “normal” because there wasn’t a bed frame?
Most kids wouldn’t have thought to comment, how strange.

My friend used to do this. Only their house was near (as in clean but lived in). She used to share her room with her kids, she had a mattress for the kids and when the youngest was abit older they got their own beds. I think it may be related to safety - less likely to fall?

How old is the child?

Maybe it’s uncommon, but then again I haven’t seen a lot of people’s rooms.

Shocked at how many people think it’s normal and acceptable. No sheet ffs. What’s wrong with people.

I don't agree, the child is 8. Of course they would notice.

Correct. It may only be a temporary situation due to finances, but she needs to raise that mattress off the floor so that air circulates. Even a pallet will do it!