Organized playarea for kids
newtexasmom
Hi,We moved into our 2 story home in Houston,Texas where the master bedroom is downstairs and all the kids bedrooms are up-stairs. My elder daughter (4) sleeps in her own room on and off. As her room is only 10X11, i have right now her twim mattress, bookshelf and a toychest.But most of her other toys are always downstairs like all the sound making toys, easel, cooking range, plush toys etc etc. And all these are in the Formal Dining area (Which we do not use as we haven't purchased any furniture yet).And also as most of the times she plays downstairs along with my second one who is 16mon, all the toys end up only downstairs in the formal dining room.For me, it seems that it would have been better if we had gone with a single story so taht i could have asked her to go to her room and play. But i cannot sell the house right now to change anything.My dilemma is how to get a dedicated playarea for them so that it is easy for them to play when they are on their own and also if any of their friends show up?Should i use the family room? We have a huge one with 18X20 where right now we have 3 couches, corner stand, center table(Which sits to the wall most of the time to be out of the way for kids) and TV stand to the wall. You can see the toys here in the dining room.Any ideas??
catwoman708
You can use the rooms in the home in any way that works for your family. When you have youngsters, you MUST be able to keep an eye on them at all times, and should set up their play area accordingly. This might mean that you won't have a formal dining room or a clutter free family room until the children are old enough to play in their rooms unsupervised. When they get older, you will appreciate that you all have the extra privacy that a second story affords (once you get used to the sound of "thunder" from above).If you can see the dining room from the kitchen and the family room, it is out of sight of the front door (so visitors don't see the mess), and you have a sufficient family dining area, then I'd use the dining room as a play room to help confine the clutter of toys. If not, or if you really need the formal dining area for entertaining, then set up a small play area in one end, or a corner of the family room. You can even add little "walls" to separate the areas, and set up little play centers, one for a kitchen, one for books and puzzles, etc.... This will hopefully be a visual divider to make it easier for them to keep their stuff in their area, not strung out all over the house. If you instill this early and avoid just picking up after them, you'll be doing them and yourself a huge favor.
Shapeshifter78
Other options might be choosing some extra furniture, such as a bench with storage beneath, a bookshelf containing baskets to hold the toys, or foot stools with storage beneath. That way, you and the little one could de-toy the area when needed.
ju-ju
There is nothing wrong with using a "dining room" as a "play room". Remember that your kids will only be small for a short time, so, use your house how it works best for you now. It doesn't mean that you'll never have a formal dining room. You can re-adjust the rooms once your kids are old enough to be upstairs safely. Since I firmly believe that toys and bedrooms should always be seperated, at my previous home, I used the dining room as a shared dining room and play area for my 2 small children. I put the toys into an old armoire, that I had put into a corner, when I needed to use it for formal dining (which to be honest wasn't very often), and left them to play the rest of the time (and moved the table to one side of the room). It worked out great, the kids were always in my sight, and with an inexpensive plastic tablecloth to protect it, the dining table became another play surface.
newtexasmom
Thanks for your suggestions. I guess i need to come up with a plan per my floor plan.
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