Teen wants to sleep on a huge beanbag

[Sleepybanana]

My 15 year old is complaining her bed is uncomfy (it’s not) and saying that she prefers the big chair and footstool combo. She wants us to buy her a huge round beanbag type thing and looking online they seem fairly cheap (we would keep her current bed in another room in case she changes her mind)

my worries are that it

1. wouldn’t be warm enough and
2. wouldn’t be great for her back
3. be easy to burst etc

has anyone ever done this? Did it work out okay? And any recommendations would be appreciated.

Just tell her it’s bad for her back and in the same way that you won’t be telling her she can stop cleaning her teeth or start eating only chips, she will be sleeping in bed, not on a beanbag.

We have an 18yo who has had sleep issues all her life. We've had periods on a beanbag, on the floor, tried a few different mattresses and duvet weights, different pillows, light levels....she was on melatonin for a long time to help as well.

There were definitely periods where she slept when she was on the beanbag or on the floor rather than in a bed. And for us, sleep was the most important thing - as in actually sleeping, not how she got there. Because when she actually slept, she was far better able to manage everything else (ASD/ADHD). And it definitely was worse when hormones started flying for a while.

As she's an only, we had the space and funds to facilitate this - and Ikea is useful for trying different types of bed/mattress, and to buy relatively cheaply.

A big beanbag can be useful for lounging into as a seat once it's no longer needed for sleeping. Especially for teens.

And sleeping on the floor or beanbag were sometimes under her duvet and sometimes in a sleeping bag (washable).

Can she articulate why she doesn't want to sleep in the bed anymore?

I’ve slept on one of the big beanbags and it was probably the best sleep of my life! But that was for one night, I doubt it would work long term.

Can you try a gel mattress topper first? The thick ones conform to the body so she might find that more comfortable.

Id also look at a weighted blanket for her. Sounds like she likes the feeling on being enclosed when she sleeps, so that might help a lot.

She's 15! Let her do what she wants and suffer the consequences. At least she's not on drugs or preparing like some other active threads atm

Some battles aren't worth fighting. She's 15 she knows everything.

Let her save up for the bean bag and let her go for it! At least you won't be the one who's out of pocket when she decides it's not as comfortable as she thought.

Classic teen BS.

Don’t buy her a giant beanbag!

Maybe her mattress isn't comfortable? Can you buy a new one?

No, that is absolutely ridiculous and would (rightly so) raise eyebrows with anyone round visiting. If social services found out that a child was sleeping on a bean bag then it would be a massive red flag, I don’t know why you’re even considering this

If she’s genuinely finding her bed uncomfortable to the point she wants to sleep on a bean bag then you need to look into getting her a new mattress. You might find it comfy and think that there’s nothing wrong with it but mattresses are a very individual thing. Also as a PP said I’d check her for scoliosis and hypermobility - my daughter has both and before she was diagnosed had started to have back pain and found her old mattress very uncomfortable. We got her an Emma mattress which suits her much better

'A massive red flag' - hardly! SS can't even cope with kids who are getting battered black and blue I hardly think a healthy and happy 15 year old choosing to sleep on a beanbag is a dramatic indicator of abuse.

We had a large outdoor bean bag for indoors, DD slept on it when she was younger and used to get a bad cough as she could sleep more upright/propped up than in her bed which stopped her coughing.
It worked in the short term but she found it noisy if she moved.

No, in this situation it’s not but it would certainly raise questions. If your child is that uncomfortable in their bed then they need a new one, not a beanbag

It doesn't apply in this case so I don't even know why it was brought up. OP's dd is being a daft teen and she'd probably be sick of the beanbag after a fortnight. I'm sure her actual bed is perfectly adequate.

My point is that it’s an absolutely ridiculous idea - which the OP already knows if she’s posting on MN about it. If she’s considering the idea of buying a beanbag to use instead of a bed then just buy the child a more comfortable mattress for goodness sake

Try a new mattress topper before slashing out on a new mattress if theres nothing wrong with it. I bought a new bed for £££ and although the mattress felt fine to start with I soon started finding it uncomfortable but a new mattress topper worked atreat.

If you can afford it, do it. In all honestly you're gonna have battles with her about important stuff over coming years, give her this.

No this is not advised at all. They are not mattresses for a reason.

Well of course it's is a ridiculous idea. What's also ridiculous is the OP forking out for a new mattress when the dd has a perfectly comfortable one already.

If you can afford it then just do it, I couldn't get worked up about this.

Don't make a big deal out of it, so if/when she decides it's not comfy she can go back to her regular bed without judgement.

It sounds like shes found a trend and shes decided its an essential in her life.
In reality its horribly impractical.

ask her how she is going to pay for it.

Good lord OP - pick your battles!
if you can afford it and can store the bed, why not?

Work on making her bed more comfortable and appealing. What about a good quality mattress topper

I would definitely say no. Teenagers are still developing and need a very good mattress.

Polystyrene is terrible for the environment.

Has anyone else got the same advert as me? I'm slightly disturbed it's popped up on this thread. It's for sheets, but not your usual poly cotton.

Sorry to derail OP