Guest Post:
Raising a family can be hard work, but your living arrangements shouldn’t be. You should be able to tailor your house around your family’s needs and create a living space that’s both kid-friendly and ideal for adults. A house that meets the needs of the children is a house that will make life much easier for parents. Here are a few hints to help create a kid-friendly living space in the family home.
Easy to Clean
Stain-resistant and easy-clean surfaces are vital and will give you much greater peace of mind when it comes to play time. Easy-clean paint is now available which makes keeping grubby hand-prints off the walls a cinch.
Carpet stains easily and soaks up odours, so it’s best to go for wooden flooring, tiles, lino or something similar that’s quick and easy to clean, at least until the kids can keep their dinner on their plates. Try to keep your furniture clean by using stain-resistant materials too.
Heaps of Storage
It’s impossible to keep the house clean if the process of packing up is too much of a chore. Make sure you’ve got plenty of easily accessible storage. Keep locks on cupboards if you don’t want the kids getting in. Placing breakable or dangerous items up high is another good tactic.
You should try to make sure that every-day use items are easily accessible for the kids so that not only can they reach things when they want them but they can pack up themselves and put things back in their correct place with little trouble. Using boxes inside cupboards in a great way to keep items compartmentalised, meaning less mess when unpacking and an easier pack-up process. It’s important to get kids involved in packing up once they’ve finished, it’s a good habit to teach and means much less work for you.
Media Room
A well equipped media room is a great way to keep kids entertained on rainy days. It’s a great idea to have a separate room dedicated to TV and electronic games, as it makes it easier to teach and enforce the habit of having designated TV time, rather than involving the TV in all household activities.
A modest screen and a DVD player is all you need, but you might like to invest in a games console with some educational games for kids. Wii and Kinect games are great as they get kids up and moving during TV time.
Outdoor Activities
It’s important to encourage kids to get outside and experience the outdoors. If they’ve got some activities out in the yard it’s easier to encourage them away from the TV and computer and out into the sunshine.
You might like to equip your backyard with a few playground toys like a swing or see-saw, or perhaps a paddle pool for summer or a trampoline. Trampolines are now sold with safety nets so kids can bounce without parents having to worry about broken bones.
Safe and Sound
Make sure your home space is not just kid-friendly, but kid-safe too. Ensure heavy items of furniture like bookshelves are fixed to the wall, keep locks on cupboards with dangerous items or substances inside, and make sure sharp knives and power-tools are always out of reach. There’s plenty of info online to help you find the balance between a kid-safe home and a kid-proof one, your home should be safe, happy and stimulating, not sterile.
By following these easy steps you’re bound to create a house that kids and parents will find equally comfortable and accessible. If you need some inspirations check out home builder websites such as one from Ausbuild Homes. It’s all about finding the balance between a home that’s too adult and a home that’s overrun by the havoc of parenthood.
Written by Nathan Hanson
Nathan runs a real estate agency in Queensland, Australia. Nathan loves to share his expert advice to help people hunt for their dream homes.
I love all the ways that you share on here that makes your home both kid and adult friendly so it does not look like a childcare lock down. Thanks for sharing all this information.