How to create an ideal children’s room
Creating an ideal children’s room can be a daunting task, but with a little bit of effort, you can create an environment that will work perfectly for your little ones. There are a variety of different types of toys and games that can be enjoyed in a children’s room, and it’s important to find the right one for your child.
How to properly zoned nursery
A child’s room is a place to sleep, play, study and store things. For the room to be functional, you need to divide the space into three parts: a sleeping place, a play area and a study area. For preschoolers, the play area is a priority, and for older children – the study area.
The workplace should be set up near a window with lots of natural light. The sleeping area, if possible, should be moved away from the door so that the child feels safe. For games it is better to have a place in the center of the room on a soft carpet, giving access to daylight.
Play area
The play area should be safe and interesting. Do not clutter up this space with bulky toys, it’s better to make it free and give your child room to create. In the play area you can place a wall buffer and a table for playing with sand and water, cover the wall with slate paint. The more abstract the entertainment, the better the child’s imagination works and the more opportunities to play.
Slate coating will allow the child not only to draw on the walls, but also to use them for learning – to solve problems, to memorize rules. You can combine such a coating with a magnetic: you can also attach magnets with notes on such a wall.
The slate paint can cover not only the wall, but also the cabinet doors and the table top. Such a paint is also white – you can draw on it with markers.
If space allows, organize a room for reading: at eye level hang shelves, display cases, and put children’s books face first. Colorful pictures will interest your child, and he’ll want to look at them. Place soft cushions on the floor, and you have a place to snuggle with a book in his hands.
Study area
To make it comfortable for your child to study, it is important to choose an ergonomic table, chair and lighting. It is best to choose furniture so that it grows with the child: the bed gets bigger and the table and chair get higher. The light should be bright and without harsh shadows – so your eyes will be less tired. To help the schoolchild, you can hang a geographical map, tables on subjects and reminder posters that will help to collect the bag and do homework.
Arranging a place for classes, it is important to take into account the individual characteristics of the child: how attentive and diligent he is, whether he quickly grasps information, whether he needs reminders and visual examples. For example, if a child is not very assiduous, it is not advisable to make the study area in front of a window: he will often be distracted. For the same reason, all the posters-helpers should be placed a little away from the workplace.
Sleeping area
A properly organized sleeping place can improve a child’s sleep. This requires a good mattress, pillow, bedding and proper lighting.
- The bed should be about the size of your child (their feet must not rest against the headboard).
- Choose pastel-colored bed linen made of sateen, chintz or calico. It should be soft, without bright patterns. Fancy linen can distract from sleep, and bright colors – excite the nervous system.
- Try to make the bed comfortable so that your child likes to be there.
For a child to sleep well, 1,5-2 hours before going to bed, turn down the light in the apartment and close the windows with thick curtains. The hormone melatonin, which is responsible for sleep, is produced only in the dark, so at bedtime it is better to refuse any light, including a night light. Its light reduces melatonin levels, which is why children often wake up at night and feel tired in the morning. It is possible to use a red light bulb. Such lighting does not suppress melatonin production.
How to choose the right colors
Color affects a child’s emotional state. Some shades evoke sadness and depression, others – joy and excitement. It is therefore important to choose the right color scheme for the children’s room. The main rule is not to overpopulate the room with one color and not to make it too bright. It’s better if the room will be in calm pastel colors with bright accents on the walls or decorative items.
Choosing color accents, be guided by the child’s psycho-emotional features (active and excitable, quiet and shy). It is important to choose colors so that they do not interfere with classes, games and sleep.
Here’s how some colors affect children’s emotional states:
- Red increases heart rate and breathing and physical activity. If there is a lot of red, it can cause aggression and anxiety. However, small red accents can improve concentration and help a shy child feel more confident.
- Yellow is associated with sunlight and evokes joyful emotions. If there is a lot of yellow, it is hard for a child to calm down and fall asleep.
- Blue is soothing. It is good for excitable children and reduces physical activity. But if you overdo it, it will have an overwhelming and depressing effect.
- Brown has a calming effect because it is associated with nature. Children who are characterized by anxiety will feel good in a room decorated in these colors. However, brown must be combined with beige and other pastel shades, otherwise it will constrain and suppress the child.
- Green is considered to be a good choice for a child’s room, because it’s a color of nature and freshness (especially if gentle green shades are used). It enhances reading ability and imagination, increases creativity.
- Pink evokes excitement and other positive emotions. In addition, it develops empathy and a sense of caring, so a room with pastel pink shades is an option in which there is nothing wrong.
Ask your child’s opinion, but offer options to choose from. For example, ask, “Do you like this blue or this green better?”
How to create a comfortable environment
Choosing furniture
Children explore the world around them and test the strength of their surroundings: rocking on chairs, jumping on beds, and taking apart the contents of closets. This is part of growing up, it is not worth fighting over such pranks. Another thing is that the furniture should withstand children’s experiences.
An older child, of course, will want privacy. To do this, you can allocate space with light shelving, which will let the light in, but visually fence off the room.
The furniture should be practical and functional, but not bulky – it can overwhelm the child. Give preference to furniture in neutral shades. Bright cabinets, bed and table will quickly bore a child, and buying new ones will be expensive. It’s better to make colored accents on decorative items: posters, lamps, pillows and a bedside rug.
Organize storage
Children can be accustomed to order through the proper arrangement of the storage system. For your child to be able to put away toys and other things on their own, place them in small containers at eye level. Containers should be easy for children’s hands and easy to pull out. Label each one with a photo label that shows where everything is. However, the containers themselves will not teach anything – adults should set the example.
Refuse from the TV
Psychologists and pediatricians advise against television in the nursery: it worsens sleep, reduces performance at school, and provokes depression and obesity.
A child under 1.5 years old should not be given a tablet or shown cartoons on TV – quickly changing bright pictures overexcite a baby’s nervous system, adversely affect its development and may affect sleep.
You can accustom your child to gadgets from the age of 2 years, limiting the amount of time you spend with the screen. For children aged 2-5 years – one hour a day, for children 6-12 years – 2 hours a day.
Color affects a child’s emotional state. Some shades evoke sadness and depression, others – joy and excitement. It is therefore important to choose the right color scheme for the children’s room. The main rule is not to overpopulate the room with a single color and not to make it too bright. It’s better if the room will be in calm pastel colors with bright accents on the walls or decorative items.