Tips for Making Your House Both Child and Parent Friendly

Has your house been overtaken by toys? I am all for my children having lots of toys to play with. However, I do not like tripping over these toys when they wake me up before sunlight. Every toy needs its own place; if not how can we teach them to pick up after themselves? So take back your house. Here are a few suggestions on how to make your home look like an adult actually lives there again.

You need to find the balance between having toys easily accessible and having your own space. In our living room I cleared out one of our end table for toys. I also have a child size recliner and a few storage ottomans. I love these storage ottomans. We have one for blocks, one for cars and trucks, and another one full of books. When people come over they have no idea whats hidden inside. Sitting next to the couch we have a large wooden wired bead toy; the kind that you would see at a doctor's office. On the side of our love seat we have a ride on dinosaur, yes I said dinosaur. We also have a floor lamp unit that has three shelves on it. Each shelf displays a different toy.

If you have the room I suggest setting up a playroom. Not your typical playroom though. Any room can have a toy box in it. Make this room something special.

If you have the room consider setting up one of those bouncy houses. Ones with a slide and ball pit work great. Unfortunately we did not have enough room so I had to come up with something on a smaller scale. I have one of those indoor swing sets that are great for children one to three years-old. It has a small slide, swing, and ball pit all attached into one unit. Believe me it my rainy day saving grace. I purchased the swing set from One Step Ahead. It is called the 3 in 1 Activity Gym and runs around $170. I also purchased extra balls for the ball pit from Wal-Mart. I got a pack of 100 for $9.99.

We designated a reading corner in the playroom. Here we have one of those front facing bookshelves, a child's couch, and a small rocking chair. The bookshelf has two baskets underneath for storage. Here we keep extra blankets and stuffed animals. Anything you would want to cuddle with while reading.

Next I bought brown foam play mats. I lined ¾ of one wall with the mats and turned this into a little bowling alley. I purchased a bowling set; clear pins with blue and red balls inside and one plastic bowling ball.

One corner, on the same wall as the bowling alley, is complete with arts and crafts. Here I used the indoor/outdoor foam mats again. This time I chose colorful ones. These are great to catch all the spills; glitter, paint, glue. I placed the easel on top of them. These mats can easily be cleaned by sweeping, vacuuming, or washing.

We also have one of those colorful plastic storage bins for all the little toys. There are 9 different containers. My son also has his little bike and helmet down there. Where the playroom is located it is easy for him to ride through the center of the playroom, through our downstairs home office, and into our second living room.

Children can get restless. And I know sometimes I just want my house to look like adults live there too. If you do not have the extra room to create a playroom then try some of these temporary suggestions. Set up some things for your children to do in the kitchen. Bring the outdoors in. Place a mat on the floor and let your child splash around in a little water with bubbles and a toy boat. This is easy to set up for an afternoon of play.

Use moon sand in one of those under the bed storage containers. These containers are long and easy for little hands to reach over the small sides. When you are done simply put the top back on and store.

Let your child use a small plastic slide in the house. This slide can go outside in the garage for storage or can even be used outside when the weather permits.

Tunnels are great fun for children to crawl through. You can pick up an inexpensive one and save yourself the hassle of building a fort out of blankets and couch cushions. Now forts are fun, but not everyday.

Purchase a cardboard house that the children can color on. After they are done coloring it can be used as a playhouse. You can pick one up for under $30 (Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R US) as opposed to paying a much higher price for alternative plastic house.

Of course in my own home there are more obvious signs that we have children; I just try to keep them at bay. We have one of those Fisher-Price plastic cars parked next to the kitchen table. Our fridge is covered with alphabet magnets. Our bathroom looks like it has been overtaken by under the sea creatures. Sometimes you just need to put things into perspective. Having toys all over your house is not the end of the world. Do what you can to make your house functional for all. After all one day your kids will be grown and you will be wishing to have those toys back.

Source:
http://www.onestepahead.com/home