The Bedroom
When planning a child’s bedroom you will want to provide an environment that is filled with beauty. It should be bright and colorful, clean and orderly.
Visual stimulation is important. Hang a mobile above the bed, decorate the walls of the room with pictures hung very low on the wall showing lovely scenes with children and animals. Choose good art and beautiful objects.
Music is also an important addition to the environment. Set space aside to set up a stereo out of your child’s reach and play music that has simple melodies and clearly defined instrumentation when possible. Play music at a moderate volume level.
Choose beautiful toys. There is no need for expensive battery-operated toys. Instead look for toys which are beautifully made and that a child can stack, assemble or interact with in one way or the other. Avoid any toys that simply do something while your child watches. You and your child want to be actively engaged, not a passive observer waiting to be entertained. Choose well-made wooden toys over the plastic variety. Although plastic toys are relatively inexpensive and unbreakable they do not appeal to children they way that beautifully made wooden ones can and they tend to be treated carelessly. We want to instill a sense of appreciation for beautiful things in children from the earliest years.
Picky Eaters
Many children go through a ‘picky’ phase when it comes to food. Current research is showing us that the thirty-six month mark is the height of pickiness for children. It makes sense, children are bombarded with new experiences and new information every minute of every day and expecting them to eat foods that they don’t recognize may be too much to ask. Children have natural likes and dislikes just like adults and we have to respect that. Research has also shown that a child may need between six and ten exposures to a new food before feeling comfortable enough even to taste it. Keep persevering and repeating foods.
If we want our children to grow up and make good choices for themselves then we can’t force-feed them. They need to learn when they are hungry and when they are full and they need lots of practice making good choices. It is the children’s job to eat when they are hungry. It is our job to give them healthy choices.
Some Tips to Help with Mealtime
Mealtime is family time. Ensure that you are eating with your children at least once a day
Arrange structured meals and snacks.
Don’t nudge, pressure or comment on what the children are eating
Don’t bribe, yell or punish
Don’t be a short order cook – make one meal for the family with choices built in
Create a pleasant mealtime environment
Write up family rules that everyone can live with
Most issues around the table have very little to do with food. It’s about power. Your children are choosing not to eat dinner because it gives them power over you and control of their own lives – something that they need and want. We have to give up some of our power and offer healthy choices for them to choose from. Children will eat when they are hungry and have an innate sense of what their bodies need.
Making Your Home Child Friendly
It is important for your child, even in early days, to enjoy a strong sense of belonging in the family home. Take a look at the size of things in your home. The furniture we use and the way our homes are designed accommodate adult needs. But babies and children are very small. Without turning your home upside down you can try to modify the rooms where your family gathers to accommodate your youngest child.
Safety Matters
Safety must always be a primary concern but children also need to be given the freedom to move around and explore. Your goal is to prepare your home environment to make it safe for your child to explore under your supervision, but without you having to worry every minute that something terrible is about to happen. Many parents are overly concerned about safety and this leads to children being confined to restrictive devices such as cribs, playpens, highchairs, swings and strollers. Parents need to understand that every hour spent confined in an infant carrier is an opportunity lost for developing muscular coordination and strength, along with sensory stimulation of hands-on learning.
Safety Tips:
- Cover all electrical outlets within reach of your child.
- Install safety gates and window guards, securing areas that you would like you child to stay away from.
- Secure or remove any wires that run where your child may reach them.
- Remove all poisonous houseplants.
- Lock the cabinets where you store chemicals, tools, forks, knives and other potentially dangerous items.
- Use a safety lock or switch on your stove and turn pot handles to the back of the stove when cooking.
- Bathrooms can be dangerous. Secure your bathroom from unsupervised. Exploration and keep cabinets containing medications locked at all times.
The Family Room
Families tend to gather in one room in the house. Plan yours with your child in mind. It should include low shelves where she can keep her books and toys arranged in a neat and attractive fashion. Avoid putting out too many books and toys at one time. Divide toys and books into 2 sets: favorites, which are kept on the shelves all the time and another set in which you rotate a few from every month or so.
Provide a child sized table and chairs where your child can work on projects. Include a basket holding some small rugs that can be spread out to define your child’s work areas if they choose to set up on the floor.
Tips:
- Use baskets and trays to set out toys and puzzles onto the shelves. Keep all sets of toys together in a basket for easy clean up and storage.
- Less is more – children should be able to see each toy and access it themselves. If the shelves are over-burdened with stuff your child will not be attracted to using the toys or the shelves.
- Integrate a child’s space into the room’s design, use like colors of wood for a small table and chair and purchase rugs that match your color scheme.
- Allow your child to be a part of choosing what toys go onto the shelves.
