Have you prepared your nursery for your newborn baby’s arrival? Aside from the nursery, there’s another area in your home that you might want to start setting up: your baby’s playroom!
During the newborn phase, your baby might not need anything else aside from a few toys and a soft play mat or two. However, as they start to get more mobile, they may need a space of their own that they can safely explore. Your baby’s playroom, then, should be filled with toys and elements that are ideal for their overall development.
What makes a good baby playroom?
The ideal room for your baby’s play area is one with an open layout. Avoid spaces with nooks and corners that might get your baby trapped. It should be visually open for this reason, and at the same time, an open space will make it easier for you to see what your baby is doing.
As with many things, less is more when it comes to the playroom. Having too many toys, for example, can result in the overstimulation of your baby. Also, having too much stuff increases the possibility of having potential hazards surrounding your baby.
Before you go shopping for toys and supplies, it is a good idea to have a list of what you really need for your baby’s playroom. It is better to have a few toys that are well-made, so choose ones that are high-quality and durable. Avoid trinkets, clutter, and dust-collectors; remember to prioritize the essentials!
Here’s a list of essentials to keep in mind for your baby’s playroom.
The 6 Essential Elements of Your Baby’s playroom
1. Color
Keeping your baby’s playroom simple and clean does not necessarily mean keeping it boring and bland. While it is best to limit the stuff and keep the space open, you can, however, play with the room’s colors. Make sure to choose non-toxic paint!
Pastel and light colors keep the baby playroom looking tidy, but for babies, highly contrasting colors work better. Choose bold colors like red and patterns like dots to stimulate your baby’s developing vision. If these colors are too bold for you, you can always choose to paint just one wall instead of painting the whole room red.
2. Storage
The next thing to keep in mind is the design of your shelves and storage units. For your baby’s playroom, avoid high shelves and drawers. These are risky and may accidentally fall over your child. Instead, choose low and open shelves to display your baby’s toys and books.
It is also a nice idea to use cloth baskets and soft bins as storage units. Because these baby-friendly storage ideas are easily accessible, you can encourage your baby to be involved in cleaning up their playroom. They can easily throw their stuff inside the baskets after playing.
3. Toys
Toys can be tricky because while there are so many options to choose from, you need to be careful in choosing toys for your baby. There are certain safety guidelines to follow in order to keep your baby’s play time as worry-free and comfortable as possible.
To maximize play time, choose open-ended toys that foster creativity like building blocks and plush toys. Open-ended means that these toys can be used again and again and in many different kinds of games. This is in contrast to close-ended toys, like puzzles, with only one end result.
Also get a mix of toys that encourage the development of both your baby’s gross and fine motor skills. For gross motor skills, get a soft ball, and for fine motor skills, get a knitted rattle.
4. Books
If you want to raise a bookworm, you need to expose your baby to books as early as possible. Your newborn baby might not be able to understand words yet, much less read, but consistently reading them stories produces benefits that other activities may not be able to replicate.
To begin building your baby’s library, you may opt to get classic children’s books. Remember that your baby is still learning to control their movements, so as much as possible, choose the soft book or board book versions of these storybooks. You may create a mini-reading nook inside your baby’s playroom to make reading books even more enticing.
5. Play Mat
At this point, you do not need to put pieces of furniture inside your baby’s playroom. Pieces of furniture, like chairs and a table, are not practical because they limit your baby’s crawling space. Also, their sharp edges and corners pose a risk to little babies.
Instead of furniture, get a soft play mat to put in the middle of the playroom. You may also get activity mats and play gyms, but a simple play mat is more versatile and is more effective in sparking your baby’s imagination. In terms of design, a simple cloth mat fits into the minimalist aesthetic perfectly.
6. Accessories
To complete the look of your baby’s playroom, it’s time to add accessories! Similar to all of the aforementioned elements on this list, less is better. Do not go overboard with the accessories. Instead, choose a few elements that will benefit your baby and will enhance the look of their playroom.
Because your baby is naturally curious, these accessories should still be soft and comfortable for them to play with. You can get adorable cushions for the floor that are made of cotton. And for the walls, you can hang knitted garlands that can also double as baby toys.
These are the basic things to keep in mind when putting together your baby’s playroom. These principles may sound complex at first, but in reality, these are the same principles that apply to a lot of things when it comes to child-rearing. Your baby will be spending a lot of time in their playroom, so make every element count!