To follow up from the previous post about baby/child-proofing your house, this article will focus specifically on preparing the bedroom for your child’s success, independence, and sense of belonging.
First, spend some time sitting in your child’s room and looking at it through the child’s perspective. Apply these general questions to the bedroom:
- Is the space simple, clean, and beautiful?
- Are items (books, toys, clothing) thoughtfully organized for the child?
- Can your child complete age appropriate tasks independently? Bedroom tasks might include: dressing, putting away clothes, making bed, putting dirty clothes in a laundry hamper?
- Can your child access age appropriate activities independently?
Let’s look at the specifics:
Bed
Can your child get in and out of bed independently? Consider placing a small futon or mattress on the floor, even for a baby. It will be just the right height for your child to get in and out of independently when she is old enough to move around. This is true for all furniture, try to offer something child-size. Once you have made the bedroom safe, it is more interesting to move about it freely rather than be confined to a crib. Note: Our babies slept in co-sleepers and then mattresses next to our bed until the early stages of potty-training were complete, then we moved the mattress into their room. It was a smooth and natural transition.
Clothing
Are her clothes stored in a way so that she can access them? Young children do not hang clothes well on hangers. Drawers or cubbies work best. Do the drawers glide open and shut easily so that she can be independent with this? Is the dresser stable and secure on the wall? Place the clothes that she will use most often or can choose independently toward the bottom (in easy reach). If your child is able to see her clothes, she can begin to pick out her own outfits. Usually this starts by giving the young child a choice between two pairs of shorts, two pairs of underwear, two different shirts, etc. Encourage this! It’s a small, simple step to allow her to participate in a meaningful way. Don’t worry about color coordination and style. Children often have their own clear sense about this.
Consider creating a dressing corner, as described by Lisa Nolan at Confessions of a Montessori Mom.
Walls
Hang a mirror at eye level for your toddling child or just above the mattress for your infant’s pleasure. Children love to look at themselves and this is age-appropriate and healthy! They are able to learn so many things, including simply being “ready” to go (clean face, combed hair). If your toddler or older child can check her own face and hair, it removes you from a possible battle. Just encourage her to look carefully in the mirror to see if she is ready to go. Another step toward independence.
Do you have beautiful art hanging in your child’s room? Take advantage of the young child’s extreme sensitivity and expose her to beautiful art (focus on art with other children, animals, or nature and avoid popular media images). Hang these at eye-level, to help strengthen her sense of belonging and inclusion.
Toys
I have many thoughts about toys, but will keep it limited for the purposes of this broader article.
Can your child reach all of his toys easily and safely? Are the toys beautiful, purposeful, and engaging or interactive? Avoid toys that perform while your child watches. You want to encourage him to be actively engaged, not a passive observer waiting to be entertained.
Look for more thoughts on toys in these related posts:
What other things have you done to prepare your child’s bedroom?
