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?

Mattress on the floor nicely made up with cleanish sheet and duvet? Could be ok, my toddler was on a mattress for a while as he transitioned from cot to bed, however I propped it up each day to let things air out! Mattress with no sheet etc, that’s not great.

My son was very long and went from a cot to a mattress on the floor with a wooden cabin sort of Frame. I think 8 is a bit old tbh. You could ask her ‘oh that’s cool for his bedroom’ and see what she responds. Maybe he falls out? 8 seems a bit old but hey everyone is different I’m not sure it’s really neglect. The missing sheet is grim though

Sorry I miss read this post originally and was going to have a go...but you are spot on. I doubt that many people on here have ever been poor, the kid has friends over, a Lego collection. She prioritised his happiness over "things". He's got somewhere warm and safe to sleep.

For adults? What do you mean, what does it mean if an adult doesn't have a sheet on bed?

Not just about the bed, but I didn't ask more. I think he means like his bedroom or other neighbour friends, usually a theme or some matching, toys, books and so on

There were toys, though? Lego models.
I actually think it’s very odd that your ds called you upstairs to a bedroom in someone else’s home and you went.
That’s quite rude.

No, friend wanted to show around and Ds wants the same lego kit so wanted to show. He wasn't being rude

I said it was rude of you, not him.

A mattress on the floor for an 8 year old child is absolutely not ok. Mattresses need air circulation, sheets, pillows etc. A bare mattress on the floor is giving crack den. This to me demonstrates very poor domestic arrangements.

Sensible post.

If the child is loved, safe, comfortable, fed and educated, what is the issue?

Why? I sat there a bit awkward and mum said to take a look as he'd spent ages on the model. I took that as the go ahead. I don't think I was rude, it doesn't bother me if people go upstairs in my house, that might just be me though

Do you know that this is the way the child's bed always is? My DD had a short spell of sleeping on a mattress on the floor, she had broken the bed jumping on it and it wasn't safe to be left in the room so it got taken to the recycling centre straight away and it was a couple of weeks before we got a new one. If someone had come by for a play date in that time they might have assumed she always slept on a mattress on the floor, and she still had night time accidents then so it would be possible that dirty sheets had been removed and not yet had fresh ones put on, so I can see how it could easily happen without it being concerning. If you don't have any other concerns then I wouldn't worry too much.

It's okay on MN though if it's a nice MC 'Bohemian' family. I can only imagine the outrage if it was a council house.

My DS sleeps in all sorts of funny places. He builds dens around the house and makes up beds on the floor in the living room, play room etc. Throughout the summer he usually sleeps in a tent in the garden. And he doesn't usually have sheets or matching bed sets in these set ups. He does actually have a bed with sheets on if he wants to sleep in it but if he asked to get rid and sleep in the floor I'd probably agree to it, at least temporarily to try it out.

Yep

The lack of sheet/duvet points to poverty & a degree of neglect. A basic metal bed frame that allows a mattress to breathe can be bought for £36 in the range. Sheets can be bought really chealy in argos

Could be that something had been spilt in the bed earlier and the sheet was drying to be put on before bedtime.
Could be that the frame had broken and needs replacing and they haven't got the money.
If the child themselves doesn't look neglected and seems happy then this isn't ringing any alarm bells in my eyes. As someone else said although futons are on a small wooden platform, there are also tatumi mattresses which are directly on the floor so no different. At least the child has a mattress.

You don’t know if the sheet had been taken off to be washed, or he had a new one going on.

I’m in an Airbnb right now with a floor bed. They’re all the rage. Stop judging her!

Plenty of 'proper beds' eg divans and cabin beds have a solid base and dont allow airflow.inder the mattress

Is she a bit skint? My sister did this with my nieces she couldn't afford the beds. She should put a sheet and mattress protector on though I find that a bit grim having no sheet. As long as he seems well cared for some people are more relaxed about things. I always clean the house before ppl come and I'm not the best for clean freak, I prefer friends when they have a more lived in house, makes me feel better about not being so perfect.

Maybe she was going to change the bed and put a sheet on later. I changed my daughters bed today and did the duvet and pillows, got distracted and didn’t put a sheet on till right before bed.

You say the child seems well taken care of, stop being so judgey.

I recently moved so had the mattress on the floor for a day or two either side. It was definitely more comfortable on the floor, but I’ve put up the wooden frame because it’s conventional and I’m going to have my ancient mother to stay, so need to have a bed that she can sit on/not have to get off the floor. I found it far more supportive when not on the frame.

Are you sure it's just a mattress on the floor? My daughter had a "floor bed" for years, and it was a mattress on top of a low bed base so the air did circulate underneath. But it did look like just a mattress!

It could be in the wash. We supposedly have 2 bedding sets per bed, but I'll be damned if I can find them all.

We are obviously all used to different things. Among my friends and family this would be considered a bit chaotic! Whether it was my grandads council house or my sisters tiny flat, bedding would just be stored in the airing cupboard. How do you lose a bedding set?!

Lots of divan beds have holes built in for ventilation or quite porous fabric over the frame which allows air through