Hi Rachel,

You should put a board under the mattress only if: 1. You are not using a boxspring. 2. If mattress only, there is more than two or three inches between each slat.

Some beds have just three or four slats and they require a piece of plywood or an upholstered Bunkie Board, but if there are about 15 or 20 slats, the bed is made to let you put the mattress directly on the slats.

It won't hurt the mattress as most of today's mattresses are made for platform foundation use.

Feel free to email me with more questions or read the tips on my website.

Good luck,

Jeff Klein (Sleep Etc)

Hello Rachael,

And to add one more thought to what Jeff explained: A slatted base with sufficient number of slats allows for better air circulation around the mattress than a completely solid support, like a board, offers.

Keeping a well-vented sleep environment is always a good idea for reasons of comfort as well as hygiene. We adults lose about a pint of moisture a night and obviously it is healthier and cleaner to allow it to evaporate than for it to get trapped in the bed. Kids tend to run even hotter then grown ups while they sleep and as a result they experience nighttime sweating more often than adults. The reason for that is that they spend more hours in a deep sleep, which in turn causes more sweating. Also, their temperature regulating system isn't fully developed yet and they have a proportionally high amount of sweat glands for their body size.

So for your daughters comfort it might be better to add additional slats, if more support is needed, rather than to cut off the air flow with a solid board.

I hope this helps!

Best,

Susanne Flother (Somnium Beds)

Hi Rachael,

Either solution should work fine for you. Either adding a few slats or using a bunkie board/platform foundation should provide the best support over the life of the mattress. I am interested with Susanne's post as I've never heard of the "breathing" occurring from the bottom of a mattress. I understand that the moisture from sweat, if your not using a mattress protector, usually tends to stay in the quilt/cover and evaporates from here. I guess it depends of what the quilt is made out of as well as materials used in the mattress (i.e. mem. foam, latex etc.). Anyways, thanks for the info Susanne and good luck Rachael!