by Shelley Kishpaugh

Created on: April 30, 2009

Designing a playroom for your child is one of the most joyful jobs of parenting. As children grow, they will spend a large amount of time in their playroom. The space will be fun, relaxing and educational all in one neat package if you take the time to plan well.

When designing a great playroom, the most important consideration should be the ages of the children that will be spending time there. Babies have far different needs for a play space than tweens and teens. Let's break things down by age.

Infancy-

A play space for babies and young toddlers will need to have childproofing measures in place. Outlet covers, furniture anchors and bumpers on sharp edges of furniture are very important. Your goal will be to create a space that is safe for a young child to spend a few minutes alone while the supervising adult steps out of the room momentarily. Teaching your baby to play alone for a few minutes at a time is important, and a well child-proofed playroom makes this safe and easy.

A very young child will need lots of comfortable floor space for tummy time, as well as some room to sit on the floor and play with toys as he or she grows. Place an area rug in the center of the room that is large enough to accommodate a few babies at a time. This will make playgroups a pleasant experience when it is your turn to host. Make sure you have comfortable seating for two to three adults in the playroom, for those times where reading or cuddling is your child's choice of activity. Open shelves with clear bins offer storage that is neat, but allows a child to see their toy choices. Good toys for this age include: blocks, rattles, stuffed animals, soft balls, board books and dolls.

Be sure to add an area for adult storage as well. You might want a place to store books, crossword puzzle books, a laptop or other adult diversions in the playroom, so as to be near your child during playtime for supervision purposes. Make certain that your storage area is securely protected from little fingers.

Older toddler thorough preschool-

All the childproofing measures still apply to this age group. The main things you will change as your child grows are toy choices and storage options. Upgrading and increasing your child's toy selections at this age is going to be important. Appropriate toys for this age are: bigger block sets, various other building sets, play kitchen, dress up clothes, cars, dolls, toddler books, art supplies, puppets, simple board games, musical instruments, a variety of balls,

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