Today – Hey Parents, Leave those Kids Alone!
So here I was, thinking about my little ones and just coming to terms with actually how fast they are growing up – and what scared me the most was the thought that maybe they aren’t growing up at all; maybe they aren’t growing up as children but instead are growing up as adults.
It used to be as kids we would be going crazy on our Lego engineering skills, go wondering the local area, climbing some fences and trees we shouldn’t have and come home bruised, grazed and covered head to toe in mud. What a simple and joyful life – now I’m scared; I see the new kids (whether or not influenced by us as parents, or the society as a whole) turn to their virtual world with XBOX and internet. I think you have to stop and ask yourself what this kind of lifestyle is doing to your kids.
Hey Parents, Leave those Kids Alone!
Personally, one of the biggest parts of my childhood was the play time – at least one of the most fun and memorable parts. And I want to be able to offer the best play time for my kids too. My kids, like a vast majority of those growing up in the cities of the UK aren’t spending no way near the amount of time outdoors as I did. I don’t think this will change as much as I would like (I mean I don’t think I will be letting mine off the leash to be running around the city unsupervised like I did) but I know what I can do – Change the environment where my kids spend mostly.
I wanted them to be active, build and construct Lego houses and crash their toy cars around the room with their siblings and peers. I wanted to provide them with the space where they can enjoy their time together, interact, to learn about themselves, to be creative and innovate and most of all to have fun. Childhood should be a time spent mastering the art of being a child.
So here it is – Create a Play Room!
A place of adventure and imagination, a place where dreams are born creativity can take flight organically.
First thing. This needs some space. A good open floor space is most important for this room. Whether it’s drawing, painting, Lego building, toy car racing etc. that is happening, space is needed.
That’s why I think storage is crucial. A clever and well-designed fitted wardrobe storage system can be a challenge to create but very rewarding when putting the space together. It will mean you can better store all your kid’s toys and gadgets. Fitted sliding wardrobes are great for this. They don’t require opening space as traditional hinged doors meaning you can utilise all the available floor space for whatever you need. The safety backed sliding glass doors can also be used as a whiteboards to draw on and get creative – added bonus.
It can also minimise the burden of cleaning and teach your children some valuable lessons on being organised – making the concept of cleaning seem a lot less frightening may well encourage your children to clean up after themselves. That’s why I recommend using a company like Bravo London who specialises in just that – designing bespoke wardrobes.
Secondly, add some colour. Make the room look fun. It can be subtle, it can be bold. Whatever you choose, make sure you add some colour. Whether you wish to paint the walls, or add colourful carpets or floor rugs, brighten up the room with some bold and colourful bean bags or feature some creative art on your children’s walls.
And finally, create the experience. To put simply, a playroom should be a playroom – a place where kids are to be kids. Where they can be in an imaginary land living far far away, sword fighting knights or dressing up as princes and princesses.
Create the space – and let your Kids be Kids!
Hey Parents, Leave those Kids Alone! is a feature post
I recently saw some kids bedrooms on Pinterest and every single thing in the room was a shade from white through grey to black. Not one colour. I think it maybe was a showroom, but seriously, if I saw a room like that in a friend’s house I’d be worried. Even the kids toys and games were white or black! Seriously!