Kid’s Couches: What You Should Know
Looking to add a kid’s couch to your home? It can be overwhelming (and disappointing) if you choose the wrong option. I’m going to breakdown some of the lingo and product information to make the process a bit more transparent.
Kid’s Furniture Safety
If you are concerned about what you bring into your home, it’s important to understand what the different certifications mean. You are right to ask questions about what is in a product and where it comes from, especially when it’s designed to be used by your kids.
CertiPUR-US Certified Foam
This is a certification specific to foam that ensures certain standards are met for soft furniture, mattresses, and other foam products. Despite the -US it doesn’t mean that all the foam is made in the USA, which is an important distinction. You must ask where the foam comes from to know it’s origin.
CertiPUR-US tests for content (what its made from), emissions, and durability.
GreenGuard Gold Certified
GreenGuard Gold certifies that a product is low in harmful chemical emissions. According to UL, the certifying body, “The GREENGUARD Mark denotes that representative samples of a particular product have undergone rigorous scientific testing to meet stringent chemical emissions requirements.”
In play couches, this typically applies to the fabric, but can be applied to other furniture components, electronics, flooring, cleaning products, building materials, and more.
Oeko-Tex Certified
Oeko-Tex indicated that a product was tested (and passed!) for harmful substances. What’s cool is “every thread, button and accessory have been tested against a list of over 1,000 harmful substances.” Here are just a few of the substances they test for:
Formaldehyde
Banned azo dyes
Pentachlorophenol
Cadmium
Lead
Arsenic
Phthalates
Pesticides
Per-fluorinated substances (PFAS, PFCs
What does ILD/LB mean, and why should I care?
ILD is short for Indentation Load Deflection… wow, that’s a mouthful! It helps you understand how firm the foam is that you are buying. With kid’s play couches, the firmness does matter - especially if you plan to use it to build things like forts and obstacles courses, or even use it as a crash pad.
The lower the number, the softer the foam. You'll want a lower ILD if you are looking for a very soft couch. If you want one that can take a bit of weight, you’ll definitely want a higher number. However, higher isn’t always better. Some foam is too firm and makes it uncomfortable to sit on or not forgiving enough to act as a landing pad.
The LB of the foam refers to its density. The higher the number, the more dense and heavy the foam is. Again, a higher number isn’t always better, depending on how you plan to use your play couch or kid’s furniture. Density is often confused with firmness. It doesn’t have anything to do with ILD, but it does correlate in some ways to quality and longevity. Most kid’s furniture products have an IB between 1lb and 3lb. Big items like a memory foam mattress might be 10LB or higher.
When selecting a kid’s play couch, consider how heavy the piece will be and who will be maneuvering them.
What are Flame Retardants?
Flame retardants are chemicals applied to a product to help stop the spread of flames. However, the Department of Public Health has determined that the chemicals used harm our health.
Children are at more risk when exposed to flame retardants because they put their hands in their mouths and have smaller, developing bodies and organs.
These specific chemicals are the most concerning:
Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD);
Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP); and
Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP).
Children’s foam products are more likely to have been treated with a flame retardant, so make sure you ask that the product is free of them before purchase.