Good morning everyone! I'm in the market to replace our old daycare nap mats that have split at the seams. I'm thinking about trying cots which I've never used. What do you guys use / prefer? How are cots for cleaning after accidents? Are there specific brands that I should go for (or avoid)? Thanks for any and all input on this!

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Speaking of mats!! What is up with schools? My daughter went to Bobsikes elementary here in florida and her teacher had carpet in her class room and they had the kids just sleepin on the floor on a towel. What the heck. And the mats they sell at walmart which I have two of are so thin and cheap. I have read the specs online for here in florida and the mats have to be 1 inch thick. What is up with the differnce in schools and daycare. Not that I would put the kids on my floor on a towel. I just dont belive they let schools do that with kids.

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I have cots and I love them. They're "Angels Rest" cots, stack really easily, take up relatively little room and the kids get good naps on them

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I started out with the 1 inch mats from Walmart and Target for about $7-$8 a piece. They don't last, they ripped up with in a year. I made my own. I bought the eggcrate foam mattress toppers from Walmart for $12 twin size and I got 4 mats out of it. I wrapped them like a present in a shower curtain and sealed with duct tape. That work out great, stay puffy longer, and are waterproof....I just wipe down with a disinfectant wipe. I made a pillowcase syle cover for them. I can either store them flat, or fold over and put in my blanket box. Much cheaper than store boughten ones and last much longer. You can buy different thicknesses of the foam mattress pads too.

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being from indiana I have superbowl fever and I thought this said colts /saints. lol

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I use cots and I love them. I have used them for 2 years and they still look brand new. They clean well after accidents but the surface is like a mesh or something...so it could soak through to the floor I suppose but I have never had an issue. The kids seem very comfortable and like them. When parents "tour" and see the cots they always comment on how cute they are. They stack nicely as well. I also use the sheets that go with them. They have elastic bands on all 4 corners and keeps the sheet securely in place. Very nice to not have sheets continually falling off. I ordered mine from Discount School Supply

You can get 4 assembled cots for $104.92 and free delivery.
http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/...&scategoryid=0

The sheets run about $8 each. But I think it is worth the price for the convenience and you dont have to buy them often.

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to actually answer the question,..lol I use angel rest cots,... I bought from constructive playthings, about 16 yrs ago,.. been through many many uses. they occasionally break but thet are worth the money.

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I went with matts cuz they fold up & take less space to store when not in use. I think cots maybe easier to keep kids in bed when its nap time plus I find that my mats slide on my hard wood floors.

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I would of liked to have cots, but space is a big issue, and I don't have room for them.

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Me either-I don't have space for cots, even though they look nicer. I use nap mats- If you find the ones with the stitched gray binding they hold up much better than the cheaper kindermats from Walmart, but still fold up nice for space issues.

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after 15 years of doing daycare with walmart/target mats I went to cots blue stackable cots from discount school supply, when I moved into a large house.

I LOVE them. A small hint for cleaning, I put baby crib sheets on them. This way Each child knows which bed is theirs. I try to wash them on Monday's and Thursdays, with a good cleaning to the cot on Monday.

Since don't need as many cots as I have, I'm also using 5 for climbing levels for my 1 year olds. They LOVE IT>

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I have cots which I think keep the kids in place better and out of drafts but the mats would store easier. Most mats have grommets to just hang them up outta the way in a closet or behind a door.

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Thank you everyone for your help! In the end I went with cots. I've done the mat thing and after reading everything here I want to give cots a try. I was going to go for the cots OriginalCat sent the link to, but I needed 5 so I poked around a little bit more and found a 5 pack of Angeles Spaceline Cots on eBay for $119 w/free shipping. Quite a deal considering everywhere else I looked those were $160 - 200+ with shipping. Woohoo! Can't wait to get them! Again thanks everyone for your responses!

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HAHAHAHAHA so did I!!!!!

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At my former center we used the mats. We provided those for YEARS until we went on a rampage on cost cutting. We decided that the parents would provide their child's mat.

We had to throw out the bad ones since you can't keep them once they get even a tiniest rip. However we kept a few good solid ones for those that didn't have any or for a drop in.

Since it was the parents duty, we would recommend they get 2 at the beginning of the school year since the mats didnt last long.

One boy was EXTREMELY destructive to mats at naptime. His father eventually resorted to the mats used for camping. That seemed to do the job

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