Selecting the Right Kind of Furniture for Children by Azlan

It’s a frequent predicament; enhancing a toddler nursery with the appropriate child furniture. Your child has advanced beyond teddy bears and pastel decorations, and is ready for a motif that looks more “grown up" but still maintains that feeling of innocence. You also want child furniture that’s as practical as it is pretty. After all, your child’s grown more lively and inquisitive. He loves to fool around, read, and now and then subject his toys to the noisy battering and kicking.

Design – The first step is to decide on a theme. Look at your child’s character and individual favorites. Does he love cars or animals, cowboys or aliens? Is she spellbound with fairy tales or stories of jungle safaris? If you’re not certain, then focus the options to two and allow your child to pick and choose – the room becomes more unique if your child helped to arrange it.

Functionality – When purchasing child furniture, test out the practicality and design. The stools should be sturdy, and use non-leaded paint. Look for surfaces that are easy to wipe clean and have rounded corners. Desks should have an adequate amount of room to accommodate paper and crayons, tea sets or books. After all, this is your child’s “work space". Particular incentives are ledges or storage space where you can stash away little boxes for art materials, puzzle pieces and other bric-a-bracs.

Safety – The advantage of buying specialty children’s furniture is that you’re more or less assured that they have met safety regulations and are built for a child’s proportions (at least he won’t tip over as he tries to scramble up a chair!). And naturally, the nice-looking design encourages the child to sit and play. This is his table, his chair, and for toddlers, that awareness of ownership is an immense factor in establishing self-esteem. He is developing to be more self-sufficient, and the role of parents is to provide just enough freedom in secure surroundings – like an area where everything is child-friendly. Here he can be left for hours, discovering how to play independently and investigate on his own, without mommy constantly worrying that he’ll break something (or his neck). That alone makes investing in specialty child’s furniture advisable.

Tables and chairs encourage your child to spend hours drawing, writing, reading, or engaging in pretend play. Think of this set as the stage for your child’s creativity. With no table or chair, your child will be constrained to do these activities on the floor, while hunched over, or lying on his stomach. This is tiring and ultimately bad for his posture.

Book cases will encourage a child’s love for reading, so books must be kept accessible. He should be able to snap up a book when he wishes to, and then put the book back himself (unless you want to acquire the habit of cleaning up after him each time!)

Toys can get lost or broken if they are left willy-nilly on the floor. The best toy storage should have different compartments to separate the assorted items in his ever-growing collection. Teaching your child to organize toys (stuffed animals on one shelf, blocks on another) also helps him develop abstract thinking.

Alan Parkins is a researcher and writer working for http://www.basichomedecor.com, where you can get all the best children’s furniture at the best prices. Visit us for all your furniture and decor needs.

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