What Is a Junior Twin Mattress?

Basics

• The junior twin mattress is perfect for a young kid as his first real bed. The mattress is small enough to fit into a little room, and keep a child feeling safe and secure. Junior twin mattresses are also sold -- in foldable form -- at camping supply stores; the size is ideal for camping as it is much easier to transport than a standard-size twin. Some manufacturers also suggest that the mattresses can be used as yoga pads.

Dimensions

• Dimensions for this unusual bed size can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Typically, a junior twin mattress has a width of 31 inches, down about 7 inches from a standard twin. The mattress is thinner than a normal mattress, as it has less weight to support. Usually, it will be about 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches thick. The length of the mattress is also slightly reduced from a standard twin, measuring 75 to 76 inches. It's definitely a mattress size that will only accommodate one person at a time.

Accessories

• You may have to shop in a specialty children's furniture store to find all of the bedding and accessories needed for your junior twin mattress, as this is not a size found in most stores, unlike its similarly odd-sized counterpart, the twin XL mattress. You may be able to get away with using regular twin-sized items on your junior mattress, if you are willing to fold a little excess material under the mattress.

Considerations

• While a junior twin mattress may seem like the way to go when buying a bed for your child, it's important to keep in mind how quickly children grow. You may need to buy a new mattress very soon if you have a child who grows rapidly in either height or width. If you're considering buying one of these mattresses in fold-up form for camping, you'll also need to make sure that you're not too tall for a junior twin mattress.