What Is a Junior Twin Mattress?

A junior mattress varies in size by the manufacturer and can be 60 inches long, but nowadays they are mostly standard twin-bed size. Junior twin mattresses used to range in size from the toddler bed or crib-sized mattress up to 31 inches wide and 75 inches long. Older junior mattresses used to be about 66 inches long, suitable for a child just over 4 feet tall.

When it's time to move a child from a crib to a bed, especially if he's climbing out of the crib, the crib mattress can make the move to a toddler bed. These mattresses work the best for that in-between stage when a child is ready for more independence but may need the protection a crib mattress affords during the potty-training stage. Parents generally move their child from a crib to a toddler bed between the ages of 1 1/2 to 3 1/2.

Whether you choose between a junior twin mattress or a standard twin, the best age to move your child to the larger bed is after the child no longer wets at night. Children 4 years of age to about 6 or 7 fit comfortably on a junior twin mattress when the mattress is about 66 inches long, as the average 4-year-old is 37 inches tall, while the average 7-year-old is 44-inches tall.

For older children with ​enuresis​ -- a nighttime bed wetting problem -- leaving them on a crib-sized toddler mattress may do more ​psychological harm​ than good. To protect a junior or standard twin mattress for children with enuresis, purchase a waterproof, hypoallergenic cover.

To avoid the ​added expense​ of having to buy ​three mattresses​ for your growing child, a more cost-efficient solution would be to use the crib mattress in a toddler bed until the child grows enough to require the standard or extra-long twin mattress. Because crib and toddler mattresses are interchangeable, a crib mattress may work for a child up until the age of 5 or 6. After that age, a standard twin can work as a bed all the way through the child's teen years, unless your child's growth rate exceeds the norm; then it might be wiser to choose an extra-long twin mattress instead.

Children grow at different rates, but your child's height should be a major factor when changing the mattress and bed. According to a chart offered by the state of New Mexico, the average height sizes across the United States for children range as follows:

• 2 years old, 31 inches
  
• 3 years old, 33 inches
  
• 4 years old, 37 inches
  
• 5 years old, 40 inches
  
• 6 years old, 42 inches
  
• 7 years old, 44 inches
  
• 8 years old, 45 inches
  
• 9 years old, 49 inches
  
• 10 years old, 51 inches
  
• 11 years old, 52 inches
  
• 12 to 13 years, 58 to 62 inches
  
• 14 to 15 years, 63 to 66 inches
  

Because all children are different and grow at their own pace, don't get caught up in marketing and advertising recommendations as to when to move your child to a larger bed. When your child is ready for a standard or extra-long twin, your child will let you know that she is too grown-up for that cutesy toddler race car, train or princess bed.