When it comes to running a household full of toddlers (even if it’s only one toddler), every parent has their own style of design and decor. Some try to keep the kids away from ‘grownup’ decor, others completely redesign their homes to become living play places. Often the best compromise is a hybrid design, with areas that are specially designed for the children and ways for them to be helpful in ‘grownup’ spaces like the kitchen or laundry room. Of course, most houses don’t come equipped with some of the best features for toddlers growing up, but that doesn’t mean you can’t install them! As a DIY parent who owns their own home or has a very cool landlord, there are a number of ways to make your home more toddler-friendly and more fun for residents of all ages.
1) Slide-Out Stairs
Young children are often perfectly capable of learning how to do basic tasks like brush their own teeth or do a little helping in the kitchen. Their biggest challenge in these tasks is often not the motor skills, but the ability to reach the counter. Little steps are the best solution here because it allows your toddlers to start building independence. Whether you’re a handy carpenter and can build slide-out steps from the bathroom and kitchen cabinets or pick up a little step-stool at the store, allowing your toddler to give themselves a step up when they need it is a great way to encourage them to learn big-kid skills, manage their own morning and bedtime bathroom routines, and become a bigger part of family cooking time.
2) Short Shelves and Cubbies
Toddlers are also notoriously messy and are known for leaving their toys all over the floor. However, they’re also more than happy to help with clean-up and chores as long as you make it a game. Shelves built low to the ground and cube storage cubbies allow children to both get toys for themselves and to quickly pick them up when they’re done. Toddlers and young children also benefit from hanging an extra closet bar lower to the round and a low closet shelf so they can manage their own hanging and folded clothing.
3) Blackboard and Magnet Paint
Many parents find custom painting their children’s rooms and public play areas to be one of the great joys of being a homeowner and parent because it gives you the chance to get truly creative. One fun way to spice up your child’s bedroom or a wall in the kitchen is with blackboard paint. This can be drawn on with chalk and cleaned up a million times, meaning that in at least one place in the house, drawing on the walls is OK. Magnet Paint is another fun one for obvious reasons and is great for providing your child with magnet toys to play within their room. You can even put magnet paint under chalkboard paint for the classic magnetic chalkboard experience.
4) Analog Clock Wall
As more and more children are born well past the dawn of the digital age, fewer of them are able to tell time on an analog clock face. But that doesn’t mean your child has to miss out. A fun approach to teaching your toddler to tell time is to put a big easy to read the analog clock on the wall and possibly paint the wall in a fun way like with a picture of Big Ben to hold your clock. Then all you have to do is key rewards, waiting times, and time-outs to what the clock looks like. Simply explain where the hands will be when good things happen and your children will learn to tell the analog time in no time at all.
5) Latches and Half-Doors
When talking about toddlers, it can be assumed that A) they like to adventure and B) you worry terribly when they’re out of sight. One of the best ways to keep your kids contained even after they’re big enough to push over a baby gate is with latches. Screen door latches can keep your kids from escaping when you’ve got the front door open on a nice day. Window latches can keep them from opening windows without supervision, and cupboard latches keep them out of unapproved cabinets.
Of course, if you’re looking to replace a door entirely (perhaps one with a tiny foot-kick hole in it or a permanent spaghetti stain), consider half-doors for playroom areas so you can keep the little ones in while still keeping an eye on them.
6) Playhouse in Every Room
Finally, it’s very common for parents and children to enjoy usually being in the same room, even if that room doesn’t have a play area built-in. The best way to make your toddler feel welcome and safe with you, and to reassure yourself that your toddler isn’t getting into trouble, is to build them a space in every room. Designate a corner where you can see them and build a little playhouse/playpen area. This can be a play set in the living room, a sensory corner in the kitchen, a blanket fort in the laundry room, and so on. This will make the entire house a playroom for your children and give them a place that’s ‘theirs’ in every room to play or nap as they please.