When the kids are young, you spend a lot of money buying various toys. What’s perfect for a baby isn’t always as entertaining to an inquisitive toddler. Toys are educational—children learn about the world by playing. With some tips for keeping playtime engaging for kids, you can keep the house organized and make playing entertaining.
*This is a guest post and all opinions are those of the author. This post may also contain affiliate and/or paid links. Rest assured that we only work with companies and individuals that we trust. While some of those companies and individuals may work in the medical field, this post is not intended to be a substitution for medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your mental or physical health.
Get On Their Level
When it comes to playtime, let your child take charge; they own the imaginary world they created. Playing alongside your child, especially toddlers, is healthy because it gives them the experience of playing with others. And remember to allow your child to experiment and figure things out on their own.
Rotate Toys Out
If you’re looking to fight boredom, start switching out what toys your child has. Too many choices make things overwhelming, and playtime is about having fun. There are many benefits of rotating a child’s toys, including:
Increased creativity
More resourcefulness
Improved behavior
Set up a schedule that works for you, whether it’s once a week or monthly, and swap out toys—this doesn’t have to include the favorites. Rotating toys is a great way of keeping playtime engaging for kids. It makes old toys feel new because they don’t always have them lying around.
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Add-In Activities
Kids need more than toys, but you could also get them books and various activities to entertain themselves. Adopting a love for reading at a young age is important. You could start by making a trip to the library together to see what books pique your child’s interest.
Likewise, you could try out different activities. For example, Play-Doh allows a child to engage their senses and create. If you’re looking for something less messy, then choose an activity or coloring book as both heighten creativity.
Clean up Together
Another tip for keeping playtime engaging for kids is to teach them to respect their toys so they last longer. Young children don’t always understand the value, but they do know to follow you, so set an example for your little one and clean up together. When toys have an established space, they’re less likely to get lost or broken.
You could keep toys in a specific cabinet or cute toybox for easy storage! What’s important is your child takes care of the clean-up with you. This teaches them responsibility as they learn about the value of their toys. And toys last longer when treated correctly.
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No matter their age, toys are essential for keeping kids engaged while they play. From rotating them out to keeping them clean, you can help nurture your child’s education through playtime. When keeping playtime engaging for kids, remember to let them have fun, even if that comes along with a mess.
Author Bio
Christina Duron is a writer living in the Chicagoland area. Her passion for writing and mental health help create thought provoking and engaging pieces and hopes to use them to empower mothers and women to embrace the beauty of motherhood.
A child’s bedroom can be a lot more important to them than they are to an adult. Young people tend to spend far more time in this sort of space than their adult counterparts, with years of their lives spent playing, relaxing, and learning in the room that you create for them.
Of course, though, it’s not always easy to create an environment out of the space you have that encourages healthy development in your children. To help you out with this, this article will be exploring some of the key work that can be done to get more out of your child’s bedroom, all without having to spend a fortune in the process.
*This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate and/or paid links which means that if you click on one of these links and buy a product, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Rest assured that I only recommend products that I love from companies that I trust.
Babies & Toddlers
The first couple of years of a person’s life are crucial to their development. Babies need to be placed into environments that stimulate their minds, help them to learn, and will keep them curious, but you also need to make sure that your child’s bedroom is safe. There are several key areas that should be considered here. Decor doesn’t really matter to babies, as long as they have access to bright colors and interesting shapes. This will quickly change as your little one gets older, though.
Comfort
Babies have to spend a lot of time on their backs when they are first born, and this can often cause issues like sores to form. Comfort is extremely important at this age, making it well worth taking the time to make sure that your little one has furniture and accessories that will keep them feeling as comfortable as possible. Learning about things like different crib mattress sizes can prove invaluable as you go through this, enabling you to make choices that could save a fortune down the line.
Learning & Enrichment
People are often quick to emphasize how well-equipped babies can be for learning, and this is certainly the case. Unlikely older children, though, babies learn passively, and this means that they need to be in an environment that stimulates their mind. Colors and shapes can be used for this, with the decor in your baby’s bedroom being exciting and fun. Alongside this, it can also help to make sure that they are surrounded by toys that they like, with those that they can touch and feel being the best.
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Safety
Safety is always a major concern for parents, especially when their little one is a baby. The furniture you choose for children at this age should always be as safe as possible, but this doesn’t stop here. You need to make sure that your baby’s toys are age-appropriate, that furniture is fastened to the walls to avoid any toppling, and that your little one isn’t exposed to anything else that could hurt them as they grow.
Young Children
A child’s needs will always change as they get older. While they may have enjoyed staring at pretty colors and shapes as a baby, their developing mind will soon be far too fast for that sort of thing. Instead, you need to find new ways to make your child’s bedroom stimulating, but you have to be careful to make sure that you don’t go too fast.
There are a lot of great toys on the market that young children will enjoy, with options that have an education angle usually being the best. Of course, though, kids will learn no matter what they play with, with toys like Lego proving that they don’t need much for their imagination to fly. Alongside this, it can also be a good time to start letting your child choose the decor in their bedroom at this stage. Many parents make the mistake of keeping the decor from when their child was a baby, though this can be a mistake that makes your child feel bad about their room.
Older Children
As your child reaches the next milestone, it will be time to start branching out and giving them more choice. Much like being a baby, there are several key areas that need to be kept in mind when you decorating your child’s bedroom. Most parents will be considering giving their children electronic toys at this point in their lives, and this can boost their learning potential even further if the right options are picked.
Toys
Older children may not feel like they need toys, but it will be easy to see how much they rely on items like this even as they approach adulthood. The toys you buy a child at this age need to be far more complicated than those bought for a baby, though, with challenges like puzzles providing great mental stimulation for a young person. Many older children will prefer spending time outside, but this only opens the toy potential even further.
Electronics
Alongside the toys they like, it’s also worth thinking about electronics. Computers can be extremely helpful to a young person when they are at school, giving them access to a wealth of tools and knowledge at their fingertips. Of course, though, these machines can also be dangerous. Video games can be excellent teaching tools, but they can also hinder a child’s education, making it worth balancing this out as much as you can.
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Decor
The decor in an older child’s bedroom will always be less important than it is when they are young. In fact, many parents give their children a lot of freedom with their bedroom at this point, enabling them to choose the decor they want. If you haven’t updated this element of a child’s room since they were a baby, it will be crucial that you do it now.
Teenagers
Teenagers are one of the hardest groups to please when you are a parent. While you want to make sure that they have a good bedroom, you will also want to give them plenty of space in life, ensuring that they are able to grow and develop well by themselves. Of course, though, as a big part of this, you will also have to contend with their opinion in this matter, and this can make the whole thing much harder.
Independence
While they may not be an adult yet, teenagers certainly tend to act like they are. They will want to make their own choices when it comes to the way their room looks and works, and this means that you may have to take a step back to ensure that they can create a space that appeals to them. Of course, though, this has to be within reason, and you can even use this as a way to teach your child about moderation and spending.
Privacy
Alongside being independent, teenagers will also need privacy in their bedroom. Some parents will go as far as installing locks on their child’s door at this stage in their life, but simply making a habit out of knocking on the door can be enough. Alongside this, they also need their bedroom to be a good place to work as they go through their final years at school. Noisy distractions should be avoided, and you should make sure that your teenager is in a room that has enough space for them.
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Furniture
Teenagers will often hold little value in things like furniture, but this only means that you have to work harder to make sure that they have what they need. They will be the size of an adult by now, and this means that they will need a bed, desk, and chair that suits their frame, along with having other pieces that help them to keep their room clean and tidy. Thankfully, you don’t really have to worry about attaching their furniture to the walls at this age.
Home Life
Most living situations aren’t ideal, with every family having aspects of their lives that they would rather keep behind closed doors. Of course, though, you can’t let the chaos of family living get in the way of your child’s education. Arguments, loud music, and other regular disruptions could have a long-term impact on your child that lasts much longer than their bedroom. Many parents choose to work hard to push this issue in the other direction. By offering support and always being there for your children, you can ensure that they do the best they can in school and with their future work.
With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to build your child’s bedroom into something that will help with their education as they go into the future. Of course, this isn’t just about making sure they like their bedroom; you also need to work hard to give them an environment that makes it easy to learn and develop.
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