Parents always want to make the best for their children, including creating the most excellent living conditions. Therefore, choosing the right baby furniture is always of great importance. From the first years, a children’s room accustoms the baby to a certain lifestyle and forms a child as a person. Beautiful and high-quality furniture, its comfortable location, and, most importantly, safety is some of the main factors that must be considered while choosing furniture for your baby.
How Does the Environment of a Nursery Affect the Development of Your Baby?
It is not a secret that the design of the nursery has a fairly strong influence not only on the development of the little baby who lives in it but also determines his personal space.
Therefore, parents should approach the choice of baby furniture and room design quite thoroughly. If your baby is still very small and just starting to walk, holding on to your hand, then you should, first of all, think about safety. Keep in mind that sharp-edged furniture containing glass or metal inserts can hurt your child.
What criteria should you pay attention to when choosing baby furniture? First of all, it is the reliability of the entire structure and the absolute safety for a baby. Therefore, pay close attention to the functionality of the furniture, its quality, as well as its resistance to dirt and various damage.
For babies, one crib and a changing table are enough, but how do choose furniture for older kids? What to look for and how not to make a bad decision?
Appearance
- Pay attention to the material of which the furniture is made. For children, natural wood, MDF and plywood are optimal. Check the thickness of the materials – it should be at least 15 mm for cabinet furniture.
- Take a closer look at the fittings. It is on it that the manufacturer can save a lot of money – and this is not visible at first glance. Find out what accessories the manufacturer uses. Ideally, this should be high-quality products from well-known manufacturers.
- Look at the furniture from all sides. If it is not possible to see this or that item in a real situation, do not hesitate to ask the manufacturer for a photo of furniture from different angles. Thus, you can evaluate the quality of work.
- Verify certificates. Baby furniture is a special category of products: it should provide the necessary comfortable conditions for the normal development of children. Keep in mind that the health of any child directly depends on the quality of the furniture.
Ergonomics
- Imagine Furniture “in Action”: in an environment close to real. On a photo with people, you can imagine the dimensions of the furniture much better.
- Remember the Rules of Ergonomics: Children grow quickly and often they need furniture “for future.” For example, starting from the third year of life, the bed should vary in size from 70×150 cm to 80×170 cm.
- Adjust the Height: At 5 years old, the child easily reaches a shelf with a height of 130 cm, and at 7 years old – up to 150 cm. If you hang them higher, it will be inconvenient to get things from them.
- Choose the Right Desktop: For a student, it is very important to maintain posture and good vision. The height of the table for a child of 6–7 years old should be around 52 cm, 7–8 years old – 58 cm, 9–11 years old – 70 cm. For those who still go to kindergarten, tables of 40–45 cm high are suitable.
Security
- Check the Composition: Paints for decorating baby furniture should be based on harmless solvents, preferably water-based (water-based, acrylic and acrylic-polyurethane, scuba, oil-wax).
- Watch Out for Little Things: The hinges and mechanisms of the boxes should be with closers so that the child does not pinch his hands.
- Remove the Wires: If the baby furniture or decor is connected to the mains (for example, built-in lighting), accuracy of execution, good fastening and insulation of wires are important. Keep outlets protected from children.
- Minimize Sharp Corner: Give preference to baby furniture of smooth forms, with a neat and strong edge, so that the child does not hit the corner or get scratched.
How to Choose Baby Furniture?
Before doing interior design for a child’s room, try to decide how much space you are willing to give up for furniture. Of course, a child needs a lot of space so that he can develop harmoniously, however, if there are no such opportunities, consider the dimensions of the room that you can give to your baby.
Baby furniture should be selected based on the size of the room. If the dimensions of your room are decent enough, then choose furniture that is compact and preferably multifunctional: so that it can be folded at any time or, conversely, laid out.
It would be necessary to take a closer look at the transformer furniture, which does not require constant replacement. In this case, the crib for a small child quickly transforms into a sleeping place for an older kid, and the former sofa turns into a bunk bed for a boy or a girl. Therefore, such furniture will not require constant replacement and material costs. It can “grow” with your baby and constantly change.
Please note that the furniture will vary depending on the age of the child. The room for preschool children should rather resemble a fabulous setting, with bright colors. After children go to school, the interior should be more strict so as not to distract the child from the beginning of independent life, from reading, and from homework.
Other Tips
Also, over time, more and more things are accumulated in the nursery. Therefore, it is advisable to install a wardrobe if the space allows this.
The play area for children after 6 years of age is changing, decreasing in size, giving way to its “extra” dimensions for the learning area, which includes not only numerous shelves for books and educational materials, but also a work desk with a comfortable seat.
That is why the children’s room should be divided into several zones: work and play. Try to arrange the table in the working area.
Be sure to pay great attention to choosing a table. The height of the table for the child should be approximately at the level of the chest of your baby, and the child’s legs, while sitting, must be at a right angle. Children grow very fast, and in order not to buy tables every year, take a look at the transforming tables, which can quickly change their height as your child grows older. If possible, buy a chair that can also be adjusted in height. Thus, you will avoid unnecessary material costs associated with updating the furniture.
You should also pay attention to the materials from which the children’s furniture is made. Keep in mind that environmental friendliness, and therefore the safety of your child, depends on the used material.
Conclusion
Safety, quality, and functionality are the main criteria for choosing baby furniture. When shopping and choosing items, do not forget to consult with your child if he already has his own taste and opinion. But still, the emphasis needs to be placed on environmental friendliness, durability, and quality of the furniture. Since it must withstand the child’s outdoor games and not cause injuries.
The choice of baby furniture should be approached very thoughtfully. Reliability of structures, assemblies, and fixtures, hypoallergenicity and environmental friendliness of materials, sizes corresponding to age are just some of the points that parents should take into account.
All items in the interior of the nursery should contribute to the development of the child, inspire creativity and motivate them to study. And most importantly – the baby furniture should be practical and comfortable regardless of the height and age of the owner. As the child grows up, the room must also grow with him, otherwise, health problems cannot be avoided!
Born in Belarus, 1985, a pedagogue and family psychologist, mother. Taking part in procedures of social adaptation of the foster children in new families. Since 2015 is a chief editor of the motherhow.com project, selecting the best and up-to-date material for those, who are planning, expecting, and already having babies.