At Bear, we believe kids deserve the same thoughtful approach to comfort, support, and temperature regulation as adults. That’s why we’re excited to share that Sleepopolis named the Bear Cub Kids Mattress its Best Cooling Mattress for Kids in its Best Mattresses for Kids (2026) guide.
The recognition follows hands-on testing by the Sleepopolis team, which evaluated mattresses across categories including cooling, pressure relief, responsiveness, and edge support. You can read the complete "Best Mattresses for Kids (2026), Bedtime Made Better with Our Top Picks" article by Sleepopolis here.
Bear Cub Earns Top Marks for Cooling
Temperature regulation can be an important consideration when choosing a kids mattress, particularly for active children and those who tend to sleep warm. Sleepopolis specifically highlighted the Bear Cub for its ability to manage heat during testing.
The Bear Cub earned a 4.5 out of 5 for temperature regulation, with Sleepopolis noting that its testers particularly liked the mattress’s soft, airy Tencel® cover.
As Sleepopolis put it:
“The Bear Cub is my top pick for the best cooling mattress for kids because it offers strong enough temperature regulation to cool active kids and help them get better rest."
Sleepopolis uses a thermal gun to objectively evaluate temperature regulation. Testers take an initial surface-temperature reading, lie on the mattress for five minutes, and then measure the surface again. According to its methodology, an increase of 5 to 10 degrees indicates good cooling performance.
During that test, the Bear Cub’s surface temperature increased by just 5.9 degrees after five minutes, contributing to its strong cooling score.
More Than Cooling: Support for Growing Kids
Cooling was the standout feature that earned the Bear Cub its Sleepopolis award, but the mattress also performed well in other areas considered important for a kids mattress.
Sleepopolis gave the Bear Cub 4.5 out of 5 for edge support, noting that its perimeter barely buckled while testers sat and lay along the edge. The mattress also earned 4.5 out of 5 for pressure relief, with testers finding that its combination of supportive coils and contouring foam helped relieve pressure for back and side sleepers.
Sleepopolis summarized its assessment by saying:
“The perimeter of the Bear Cub feels super strong and the same as the center.”
That reinforced design is intentional. The Bear Cub uses hundreds of individually wrapped 6-inch coils, including reinforced edge coils to provide stable support across the mattress and help reduce the chance of children rolling off the edge.
Designed With Kids in Mind
Beyond comfort and cooling, we designed the Bear Cub around the needs of growing sleepers.
The mattress pairs its coil support system with responsive foam designed to support healthy spinal alignment. At approximately medium-firm, or 6.8 out of 10 on our firmness scale, it provides a balance of cushioning and sturdy support intended for growing bodies.
The Bear Cub is also:
- GREENGUARD Gold certified for low chemical emissions
- Made with CertiPUR-US® certified foams
- Fiberglass-free
- Made with a hypoallergenic cover
- Available in Twin, Full, and Queen sizes
- Backed by a 120-night sleep trial and limited lifetime warranty
These features make the Bear Cub more than simply a scaled-down adult mattress. It was designed specifically to give younger sleepers a supportive, comfortable sleep surface they can continue using as they grow.
For us, the recognition from Sleepopolis reinforces what we set out to accomplish with the Bear Cub: create a kids mattress that combines the support growing bodies need with the cooling comfort that can help make bedtime a little easier.
Disclaimer: Bear does not provide medical advice. All resources on the Bear blog, including this article, are informational only and do not replace professional medical counsel. Talk to your doctor about any health, mental health, or sleep-related issues.
