Some parents did not have the chance to consider many things when they first decorated their baby’s nursery. You might have the necessary furniture and baby stuff ready. Chances are, you even hired the best newborn photographer in town just so you can have their first few moments captured and displayed in the nursery.
But when it comes to the design, you might have been too busy and too excited to decorate the nursery with cute decorations that you forgot one simple detail. That is the fact that you can decorate the nursery in a way that can support better brain development.
You wanted their room to be beautiful, safe, and functional. But as they turn into a toddler, you need to make some changes to help enhance their cognitive development. The good news is, it is not that hard to redecorate the nursery into something that can support your kid’s brain development.
Sometimes, all you need is to do a little redesigning to accomplish such a task. Here are a few simple ways to create a smart and functional nursery for your little one.
Introduce arts and crafts early on
Introducing arts and crafts early to your child helps them to appreciate art at an early age. They can learn new things with trials and errors, by mixing colors and shapes and by simply looking at the wall decor you chose for their nursery. Aside from that cute photograph you have of them when they were born, you can add a few other items inside their room to support their development.
For one, you can start incorporating more colors into the nursery. You can add multi-colored garlands, fun wall prints, or even patterned pillows. Play “I spy” with your toddler and let them point say the names of objects they see to boost their communication skills.
Wall art showing the silhouette of you and your spouse is a good addition in the nursery. You can also opt for a picture board showing your own family tree. Such visual aids help them remember each family member easily.
Make sure you find time to do simple arts and crafts with your toddler. You can use different materials around the house to let them enjoy various arts activities each week. Prepare for the mess your child is about to create by using newspapers or drop cloth over the table or floor.
When your toddler is busy creating their art, avoid telling them what to do, and let them experiment. Don’t try to change their art and just let them admire their work. Don’t forget to praise your child for their hard work to encourage them to appreciate art more. Create a corner in the wall where you can post their different artworks.
Add a Reading Corner
It is best to introduce reading to your child the soonest time possible. And what better way to do this than to surprise them with a reading nook of their own? Invest in bookshelves at a height they can easily reach instead of stacking their books in high bookshelves
The goal is to introduce them to reading by allowing them to get a book they want at any given time. Place it too high, and they will think it is a forbidden item. If they try to reach books placed on wall mounted shelves, they might even get hurt in the process.
Make sure you give them their own table and chair. They can use this to read, play tea parties, or do their art activities. Giving them the proper furniture teaches your child to use the furniture for activities that require them to sit still and pay attention to their activity in front of them
Get Buckets for Sorting
It is great if you already have storage units in your nursery for toys, art supplies, and other stuff. But what you need is to teach them how to sort, count, and color using whatever items you have in the room. This is where sorting buckets come in.
Buckets are a great way to teach kids to pace their things back after using them. With a bit, if imagination, you can trick your toddler into putting away their stuff while counting and sorting by colors and shapes. This will help hone your child’s decision-making skills, problem-solving, memory, and language.
Baby-Proof Your Floor
It is good that your nursery has “softer” floors compared to any room inside the house. But you want them to explore the room while minimizing the chances of them getting bruises by baby-proofing the floors. You want their environment as safe as possible, so they can crawl, walk, and run around.
If a large area rug is not an option, you can opt for soft rubber tiles instead. These come in different sizes, colors, and patterns perfect for nurseries and playrooms. Now, they can safely navigate the room and create a mental map of the nursery without you worrying.
This goes to show that design matters when improving any space. In this case, how you design the nursery can impact your toddler’s brain development. Now, you have more reasons to get to work, let your creativity shine, and redesign your kid’s nursery to promote better cognitive development during these crucial years.
