To help your child achieve that all-important rest, a comfortable and supportive mattress is essential. Whether you’re planning on transitioning your child up from their toddler-sized cotbed, or just want to upgrade a tired old mattress, we’ve rounded up the best mattresses for kids available to buy right now.

Best mattresses for kids at a glance:

Simba

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• Simba Hybrid Kids’ Mattress, £349 from Simba – buy here

Pros: Washable cover, 200-night trial and 10-year guarantee, made from recyclable materials

Cons: Expensive, no Euro size

Rating: 5 out of 5

Combining five layers of sleep-tech the Simba hybrid mattress brings together their unique titanium alloy Aerocoil springs and CertiPUR foam layers to create an exceptionally comfortable mattress.

Although designed with kids in mind, Simba says even adults can use this, making it ideal for older teens or little ones who need a little extra cuddle from mum or dad to get to sleep.

The textured top layer is particularly inviting and has the added bonus of being nice and breathable; our 10-year-old tester slept soundly through the night without overheating or sweating. This mattress also comes with a 10-year guarantee and a 200-night free trial – yep, they’re confident you’ll love it.

Sizes available: Single (90x190cm). Depth: 16cm. Ages recommended: 3 to adult. Type: Hybrid.

Stompa

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• Stompa S Flex Airflow Pocket Mattress, £279 from DFS – buy here

Pros: Washable cover, suitable for bunk beds

Cons: Medium rather than firm

Rating: 5 out of 5

This hybrid mattress from kids’ bed specialists Stompa came vacuum rolled in a surprisingly small box, which was easy to transport up to the bedroom. Once it had been unrolled and allowed to puff up for a few hours it was a little bouncier than we expected and our four-year-old tester loved jumping around on it. The cover on this mattress is smooth and soft and removable for easy washing.

At 16cm deep it’s one of the thinner mattresses on the list, which makes it ideal for bunk or cabin beds and it still feels very comfortable and supportive. When it came to bedtime, our tester fell asleep in under five minutes – job done.

Sizes available: Single (90x190cm) and Euro single (90x200cm). Depth: 16cm. Ages recommended: 4yrs+. Type: Hybrid.

Snuz

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• SnuzSurface Max Junior Mattress, £249.95 from Snüz – buy here

Pros: Waterproof and removable cover, Euro size available, five-year guarantee

Cons: Cover feels slightly plasticky.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Baby and child sleep specialists Snüz create products to ensure children (and their parents) get a decent night’s kip, so we were excited to test their single-size offering. This mattress has a lot of plus points; it’s reasonably priced, has a five-year guarantee along with a waterproof and washable cover, and it’s also available in Euro size.

We found that this mattress was pleasantly firm and comfortable. The waterproof cover is nice and breathable, although a little bit plasticky when compared to some of the other mattresses tested, but this wasn’t a problem when covered with a sheet.

Our five-year-old tester enjoyed throwing themselves onto it (natch), and when it came to sleep time they seemed comfortable and well-supported. This mattress is also a fun purple colour, which looks great when spotted through the top bunk bed slats! We also liked that it came vacuum-rolled, which made it easier to get upstairs too.

Sizes available: Single (90x190cm) and Euro single (90x200cm). Depth: 16cm. Ages recommended: 4-13yrs. Type: Pocket springs.

The Little Green Sheep

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• Little Green Natural Junior Mattress, £294 from The Little Green Sheep – buy here

Pros: All natural materials, breathable and anti-dust mite

Cons: No washable cover

Rating: 4 out of 5

Made using only natural ingredients, this beautifully cosy and innovative mattress has a core created from thousands of coconut fibres blended together with natural latex (which act like tiny springs), a luxurious wool layer and a pure cotton cover. Ideal for kids with sensitive skin or allergies, this mattress is naturally breathable and hypoallergenic. However, you’ll need to purchase the waterproof mattress protector too if you’re worried about nighttime accidents.

It is one of the firmer mattresses on the list, but we loved the gentle bounce on this mattress and the fact it didn’t sink or dip even when an adult sat on it to read stories. The quality of the materials feels exceptionally high much more expensive than it actually is. It also comes with a five-year guarantee.

Sizes available: Single (90x190cm) and Euro single (90x200cm). Depth: 13cm. Ages recommended: 4-13yrs. Type: Natural latex.

Silentnight

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• Silentnight Courage Waterproof Kids’ Mattress, £224 from Dreams – buy here

Pros: Waterproof side, five-year guarantee, 100-night sleep trial

Cons: Thick mattress, waterproof side has a slightly plasticky feel

Rating: 4 out of 5

This mattress has a very clever trick up its sleeve; depending on which way you flip it, it can be waterproof for younger accident-prone kiddies or quilted for older ones and teens. We found the waterproof side did feel (understandably) a little more plasticky, but this wasn’t a major issue when covered with a cotton sheet and it was reliably waterproof too.

We all fell instantly in love with the beautiful fluffy clouds on the quilted side of this squidgy mattress, which is breathable and oh-so-cute. The layer of open coil springs feels wonderfully supportive and the EcoComfort Fibres help little ones regulate their temperature throughout the night too.

Sizes available: Single (90x190cm). Depth: 21cm. Ages recommended: 3yrs+. Type: Open coil springs

Noa and Nani

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• Jax Single Mattress Lightweight Hypoallergenic Eco Foam, £141 from Nöa & Nani – buy here

Pros: Removable cover, eco foam, washable cover, budget-friendly

Cons: Heavy

Rating: 3 out of 5

This simple foam mattress is a great budget option for kids beds. Made from recyclable eco foam the mattress feels firm with a slight bounce and the removable cover is soft and plush. The 14cm mattress is a good choice for cabin or bunk beds, although be warned, the foam is pretty heavy so it takes some muscle power to change the cover on a top bunk!

Our five-year old tester slept well on this mattress and found it cosy and supportive throughout the night.

Sizes available: Single (90x190cm). Depth: 14cm. Ages recommended: 4yrs+. Type: Foam

Little Star

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• Little Star Extra Deep Pocket Sprung Kids’ Mattress, £329 from Dreams – buy here

Pros: Washable cover, wipe clean inners, five-year guarantee, 100-night sleep trial

Cons: Not suitable for bunk beds, slightly noisy

Rating: 3 out of 5

A wonderfully thick and supportive mattress this mattress feels wonderfully high quality with a durable washable cover and wipe-clean inners; ideal for accident-prone sleepers or (every parents’ nightmare) nighttime tummy upsets. The waterproofing elements do mean this mattress sounds ever-so-slightly rustly, but the easy cleaning is well worth it.

Our six-year-old tester really liked how deep and springy it felt (thanks to those 324 pocket springs) and it is supportive enough even for big kids. This mattress also benefits from a 100-night sleep trial, so if your child doesn’t get on with it you can change it up.

Sizes available: Single (90x190cm) and Euro single (90x200cm). Depth: 20cm. Ages recommended: 5yrs+. Type: Pocket sprung.

Are children’s mattresses different from adult mattresses?

Is a kids’ mattress just a single adult mattress? Not exactly. Kids’ bodies are always developing and changing size and shape, so children’s mattresses tend to be designed with additional support for growing bones. They will generally feel like a medium-firm/firm adult mattress and will often come with additional features such as waterproof or washable covers for potential night time accidents.

If you’re shopping for a top bunk bed or cabin bed, you need to check the depth of your mattress too, as the safety rails around your bunk need to be at least 16cm taller than the mattress to prevent falls.

How we tested the mattresses

We gave these mattresses to a wide range of mini testers (aged between four and 13) and asked them to feed back on how comfortable they were, whether they felt rested after a night on them and if their parents were pleased with them too. We also looked at how easy these mattresses were to care for, can they be washed? Do they feel durable and how easy is it to get them in the house in the first place?

Where to buy mattresses for kids

There are plenty of options out there, when shopping for kids’ mattresses. If you’re not sure where to start, look for a specialist mattress retailer such as Simba and search in their children’s division or take a look at bed and furniture specialist stores such as Dreams and DFS.

What type of mattress should I choose?

As with adult mattresses there are a variety of mattress types to choose from: Foam or memory foam, open coil (where the springs are attached to one another), pocket spring (where each spring has its own little fabric compartment), hybrid (a combination of both foam and springs), plus many more. Each type of mattress offers a slightly different functionality affecting a range of factors including durability, feel and cost.

How much do kids’ mattresses cost?

There’s a huge range of mattresses for kids out there and with it comes a large range in price too. You can spend as little as around £100 all the way up to £1,000. This depends largely on what type of mattress you’re looking for; a hybrid mattress will probably be more expensive than a simple foam mattress, for example.

However, bear in mind that this is where your child will spend around half the hours of their day and cost-per-use will work out to be very small, so spend as much as you can reasonably afford and think of this as an investment piece for your child.