Big kid beds- one mattress or a set with a box spring?

[bluestar2]

I was told by the salesperson that for kids' beds, many people only buy the top mattress and not the box spring since the support is not neccessary. Is this true? I've just never heard of that and have always assumed one would buy a set. Is having only the top mattress supportive enough and is it comfortable enough?

[Tondi G]

we have just mattresses on our PBK bunkbeds. There is plenty of support and I think it's comfy! I guess it depends on the bed you buy.... if it is low then I might go ahead with a mattress and boxspring but if it's higher off the ground I'd probably just use the mattress alone.

[s7714]

I had always heard this as well, but I noticed when looking at adult bedroom sets recently, a fair amount of the beds were made to hold only the mattress without a box spring. I'm curious too!

Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Limit Tester 6/05

Our bones may be brittle, but our spirit is unbreakable.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta www.oif.org

[mykidsmom]

We bought our dd a twin sleigh bed that when on the highest setting (so that you can put a trundle or baskets under it) takes only 1 mattress. Let me tell you it is a PAIN to make the bed! Keep that in mind if you buy a platform style bed like we did.

[SnuggleBuggles]

So long as it is a real mattress and not some crappy combo deal. My mom had no idea that the mattresses my sister and I had for years were miserably uncomfortable b/c you could feel the slats. Now, ds has an IKEA combo mattress box spring/ mattress and it is extremely comfortable. So, just check them out carefully.

I also think that depending on the base of the bed you don't necessarily ever need a box spring, like if it is a wood slat base.

Beth

[hellokitty]

It's not just kids' beds. We have an expensive vermont furniture natural cherry bed and it came with a roll of slats, so we only needed a mattress. My older son's twin bed was like this as well. I think it is more of a european style (as well as platform beds) that is becoming more mainstream here in america. We have never had problems with lack of support. In fact, we found our mattress more comfortable on our slat bed compared to when we used to use it with a box spring. There is plenty of support.

[CiderLogan]

My Dd's good-quality Dutailier bed is like this too. We just put a mattress on top of the wooden slats. It's very comfy. We did, however, buy the matching box spring (it was only a tad cheaper than buying a mattress alone, at Costco anyway) to make it higher for her when she gets older.

Jenny
~~~~~
Mommy to two beautiful girls,
ages 1 and almost 4

[brittone2]

same deal here. DH and I went with a natural latex mattress when we upgraded to a King. Our new bed has a slatted frame, and it is comfy w/ the mattress. Our mattress warranty specifies it has to be used w/ a specific "foundation" (like a box spring) or with a slatted style bed frame.

We are a cosleeping family, so skipping the box spring also makes the bed closer to the floor, which is nice for several reasons.

[renefjr]

We also have the Dutalier twin bed for our DS and it has the wood slats but we were informed about a "bunky board" that replaces a boxspring. So we have that between the wood slats and mattress.

[bluestar2]

Thanks everyone!