Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Original poster

Mattress on floor- no bed frame

52 replies

noseovertailforyouth · 13/02/2024 13:02

What would you think of this?

Child broke bed nearly year ago. Keeps asking for parents to buy new one.

Parents sleep in a bed.

Still no bed frame for child. Is this okay?

Under the impression it would at least need to be on slats for ventilation due to mould risks etc.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
climbershell · 13/02/2024 14:31

Doesn't need to be on slats, just lift it onto its side, against the wall at the start of the day. Mine was on a mattress directly on the floor from 10 months until 14 months, the mattress was fine

PutMyFootIn · 13/02/2024 14:32

No. It's most certainly not ok.

Phonedown · 13/02/2024 14:36

If the carpet is not being cleaned regularly then the child could have a dust allergy from sleeping so close to the floor.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Home improvement
ItsAStupidQuestion · 13/02/2024 14:44

trooc · 13/02/2024 14:11

What is your interest here?

Nobody is going to say this is fine so if you are looking for agreement that the child should have a bed you have it.

What you can't do is control how other people live. If you have wider concerns then pass them on, if not what are you posting for, other than a bit of a bitch and to be 'right'

Sounds like it's the OP's child staying with their other parent at their house. If so, I would not be happy that my child is sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

Apologies if this is not the case OP.

PutMyFootIn · 13/02/2024 14:46

OP is that the case? That this is your child staying with the other parent. If so, I'd be buying a bedframe myself. No way on this earth would any kid of mine be going without a proper bed for a year regardless of whose responsibility it is to pay for. I'd rather pay £8 for a 50 pound sack of spuds and eat those all week and buy a second hand bed frame than my kid sleep on the floor.

Mazuslongtoenail · 13/02/2024 14:48

I had a mattress on the floor for years as a teenager. It was part of the bohemian decor and meant I could have shelves further down the wall. It never had any mould issues.

So it depends on the reasoning imo, it’s not automatically neglect / something sinister.

trooc · 13/02/2024 14:50

@ItsAStupidQuestion

Sounds like it's the OP's child staying with their other parent at their house

Oh I see, that didn't even cross my mind Blush

ItsAStupidQuestion · 13/02/2024 14:52

trooc · 13/02/2024 14:50

@ItsAStupidQuestion

Sounds like it's the OP's child staying with their other parent at their house

Oh I see, that didn't even cross my mind Blush

I'm not sure obviously, just thinking of a reason why the OP might be concerned.

MamPadi · 13/02/2024 15:05

Well yes the mattress should be raised off the floor long term for ventilation and comfort. A cheap second hand bed frame would be better than the mattress on the floor for that long, if it's not been replaced due to finances for example

ForAquaBee · 13/02/2024 15:11

Popular YouTube family The Norris Nuts let their children sleep on just mattresses for years on end and they have all turned out to be relatively stable. So I see no issue with the matter, maybe mind your own business instead of posting about other’s situations.

helpfulperson · 13/02/2024 15:13

Is it not a common feature of a montessori upbringing?

ItsAStupidQuestion · 13/02/2024 15:13

ForAquaBee · 13/02/2024 15:11

Popular YouTube family The Norris Nuts let their children sleep on just mattresses for years on end and they have all turned out to be relatively stable. So I see no issue with the matter, maybe mind your own business instead of posting about other’s situations.

Maybe you could consider that the child might be OP's child, and that it could well be their business.

ForAquaBee · 13/02/2024 15:14

In the OP, they speak about the parents in the third person. Obviously 🙄

ItsAStupidQuestion · 13/02/2024 15:17

ForAquaBee · 13/02/2024 15:14

In the OP, they speak about the parents in the third person. Obviously 🙄

And they could be referring to the child's parent plus a partner, keeping details to a minimum.

No need to be so judgmental and downright nasty when people are asking for opinions.

Shithole101 · 13/02/2024 15:18

@noseovertailforyouth This thread feels confusing. What is the whole situation?

My thoughts in general. Are it's not the end of the world to sleep on a mattress on the floor. As long as the mattress is aired during the day. If it's a long term thing and child sleeping like that every night then it's not good. But if they are struggling Maybe living in poverty. Then maybe they are trying their best .

PutMyFootIn · 13/02/2024 15:31

helpfulperson · 13/02/2024 15:13

Is it not a common feature of a montessori upbringing?

No. It isn't.

Reugny · 13/02/2024 15:42

The child could have a cat allergy.

There could be anything causing the sniffles.

How did the child break the bed?

InTheRainOnATrain · 13/02/2024 15:51

helpfulperson · 13/02/2024 15:13

Is it not a common feature of a montessori upbringing?

I think you’re missing the point! Montessori is all about letting LOs make decisions for themselves so it’s about sleep independence and choosing to go to bed, rather than being imprisoned contained in a cot, and the floor part is just for safety since we’re taking 1-2YOs. Definitely not for 11YOs 🤣 You get cute ones that look like little play houses.

Ruffpuff · 13/02/2024 16:24

Oh wow, I feel terrible and stupid. I didn’t realise there was any such risk (mould, spores, etc.) from a mattress being on the floor!

My 5 year old has slept on a mattress on the floor the past few months. He had a few accidents on his mattress and I tried scrubbing it, but after a while it was horrible so I got him a new one, but it was a single and his old bed was junior sized. I’ve only just got around to buying a new bed frame due to cash flow issues.

Perhaps ignorance is the issue? 🙁 It certainly had been in my case. I would’ve used Klarna to get one sooner had I known.

Twotwix · 13/02/2024 16:37

Ruffpuff · 13/02/2024 16:24

Oh wow, I feel terrible and stupid. I didn’t realise there was any such risk (mould, spores, etc.) from a mattress being on the floor!

My 5 year old has slept on a mattress on the floor the past few months. He had a few accidents on his mattress and I tried scrubbing it, but after a while it was horrible so I got him a new one, but it was a single and his old bed was junior sized. I’ve only just got around to buying a new bed frame due to cash flow issues.

Perhaps ignorance is the issue? 🙁 It certainly had been in my case. I would’ve used Klarna to get one sooner had I known.

Don’t feel bad. Our culture is to sleep on the floor. Our entire family have done it for years and as long you lift it (which you will have to clean) it’s completely fine. We now have a bed but our youngest doesn’t as he is a sleep walker and we were told it’s safe to have him on the floor.

whoateallthecookies · 13/02/2024 16:38

DD slept on a mattress on the floor for years (until she was about 8) - because we had a second mattress for a parent to sleep with her when necessary, which needed to be at the same level, and we didn't want (or have space for) a superking bedframe - the door didn't fully open anyway with the two mattresses. We checked regularly, and there were absolutely no signs of mould, but we keep the house fairly well heated. She also tended to roll out of bed when we stayed elsewhere - she now has a high sleeper, which has a bar to stop her falling out.

It's not the same situation as OP describes, and it definitely wasn't a punishment, rather the opposite (to enable her to feel comfortable when sleeping). So no bedframe isn't an inherent problem, but the reasons for it might be.

MrBanana · 13/02/2024 16:48

My toddler has a toddler bed but prefers his cot mattress on the floor. Had never considered this a cause for concern.

CurlewKate · 13/02/2024 17:04

Why would a mattress (or a futon) on the floor of a warm dry house be damp and mouldy? And why would it be uncomfortable? I turned ours every time I changed the sheets and never had a problem.

I suspect some of this is just snobbery, frankly.

Phonedown · 13/02/2024 17:08

Because not everyone would think to turn their mattress. Because not everyone has a mattress that can be turned (memory foam topped ones). The child showing symptoms of respiratory inflammation and all possible causes/solutions should be investigated. The first thing I would do is get her up away from the carpet.

Octavia64 · 13/02/2024 17:13

My kids slept on a mattress (japanese style) on the floor for a year or so.

They were 3 and kept falling out of bed, so we bought a Japanese style roll up mattress and they slept on it.

They loved it and we loved it because they weren't screaming with blood on their head.

I suspect this is not the situation here, and yes mattresses need airing either through being moved or through a base of some kind

Bases can be quite expensive to get secondhand - I have got one recently and it was 200.