Small at home? Here are 10 things to do to make a home truly child-friendly

curated by Manuela Cervetti

When a child arrives in the family, it is necessary to try to imagine life together with a small newborn in need of every attention and care.
We need to remind ourselves that we will no longer be ourselves the first thought of the morning, but it will be him.
We need to think that everything will change irremediably, it is true, but always and only for the better. I subscribe to this!

And then it is also necessary to think about the most practical and concrete things, leaving aside the maximum systems and completely transformed life for a moment.

See also

Birthday party: 5 tips to organize it for children

Basal temperature: what is it and how is it measured?

Adopting a child: the procedure to follow to make a dream come true

We need to think about the house, yes exactly, how to welcome this little human being, how to make him feel immediately at ease, how to make him grow in an environment that is not hostile, but at his height.

We need to think about how to really make a house fit (and height) for a child!

I was very naïve at the beginning, I hadn't thought about it, I hadn't even asked myself the problem. But while my first daughter was growing up, I started asking myself some questions, I noticed that certain situations were not congenial to her, such as taking a book from the library by herself, brushing her teeth independently, putting the lunch plate in the sink.

I started asking myself a few questions and reading up on the web and in books until I met / collaborated with a talented architect mother, Maya Azzarà, who specializes in child-friendly spaces, who enlightened me.
Enough to run for cover and make several changes to our home, to make it even as good as my daughters.
To no longer make them feel "guests" but "roommates".

Here are the 10 (very simple) things you can do to make your home really suitable for children.

1. Clear a low shelf in your bookcase for your child's books and games

2. Mount the shelf of the bedroom a few tens of cm from the ground so as to be directly accessible to your child

3. Provide your child with a safe and manageable booster that can help him reach places that are difficult to access (sink for washing hands and teeth, kitchen sink, wardrobe shelf, etc.)

4. Organize your games inside boxes or containers that are easily recognizable thanks to a design or color

5. Choose furniture and furnishings proportionate to his age and height for the bedroom (such as a bed from which to get off and on easily, containers placed on the ground for games, chairs and tables for children, etc.)

6. Hang hooks at its height to store clothes or the towel

7. Organize the bedroom in distinct spaces: soft corner, reading corner, symbolic play corner, study corner, private corner, sleeping corner

8. Make the house safe with all the precautions dictated by common sense (medicine cabinet and toxic products NOT within reach and height, dangerous objects stored in safe places, windows and balconies that cannot be opened easily, etc.) but do not make it a minefield for your child: here no, here do not touch, here do not pass, here do not open, here do not play ...

9. Get a small table and small chair where he can sit comfortably to draw or do other activities

10. Prefer a furniture that is versatile and transformable over time, with sober colors and materials, a furniture that can grow with your child!

See also:
The 10 things I try to tell my daughters every day
Are you pregnant? Here are the 10 books you need to read during pregnancy to learn more!