Children’s Bedrooms at Various Ages
Creating a multi-functional space for children where they can play, study, and sleep can be a challenge. Depending on their age, children have different needs, so their bedroom needs to reflect those needs and be a safe haven where they’ll enjoy spending their time.
Whether you’re designing a room for your toddler or teen, we’ll help you get started by taking into consideration children’s basic needs at various ages and how children’s bedrooms can accommodate those needs. We’ll also discuss storage, materials, and how to design a room that grows with your child while being both functional and fun to be in, so let’s get started.
Children’s Bedrooms at Various Ages
To simplify things, we’ve divided our design recommendations based on four stages of child development:
- Birth to three years old
- Three to six years old
- Six to nine years old
- Nine to twelve years old
As the renowned Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori has often said in her lessons and books, the adult needs to create a prepared environment for the child in order for it to thrive. She puts a lot of focus into creating clean, uncluttered spaces that only have what the child needs, so that’s what we’ve focussed on in this article.
Birth to Three Years Old
When designing your infant or toddler’s bedroom, you should focus on some essentials you can build on top of in the years to come.
Flooring
If you start designing from the bottom up, you’ll first need to choose the flooring.
We recommend choosing a material that’s durable, resistant to water, and easy to clean, such as vinyl flooring. You could also go with laminate flooring, which looks similar to a hardwood floor but is more affordable and free of allergens. Other floors you may want to consider include rubber, cork, carpet, etc.
Choose flooring that fits your budget, and if possible, choose a material that’s neutral in color, so you can easily change up the room’s design.
Theme
Then comes choosing the room’s theme, and this is where you can make this room very special and unique. You can play with the walls (paint, wallpapers, stickers, paintings), add decorative pieces (lamps, pillows, glow-in-the-dark stars), customize the bed and other furniture, and use your creativity to make the space reflect your child’s personality and interests.
Bed
After choosing a theme, it’s time to pick out the essential furniture, and first on the list is the bed for your newborn or toddler. Many parents purchase a bassinet for their newborn, however, you’ll only use it for a short amount of time before your child grows out of it, so we suggest omitting it.
Instead, go with a crib that your child will be able to use up until they’re at least three years old. And if you want the bed to be of use even longer, choose a bed that will grow with your child from the start. The KURA bed from IKEA is a great option if you only want to purchase one bed that will last your child until adolescence. You can use the KURA bed as a floor bed by simply adding the mattress at the lowest level, and then turning it into a regular bed once toddlerhood ends.
Toy Storage
If the bedroom is also a playroom, you’ll need to think about toy storage. Even though a large toy chest seems like the easiest option, it’s not always the best considering that the child will need to rummage through it to find their desired toy.
Instead, opt for low, open shelving at the child’s level where they can access a small selection of toys independently. This also teaches children that every object in the house needs to have a designated space, and they grow to become neater and more organized as a result.
Another way to store your child’s toys is to have smaller storage baskets that you can neatly organize on your shelving system, include some drawers under your child’s bed, or even add a cabinet with doors where some of the toys that aren’t being used on a regular basis can be stored.
Other Essentials
Even though you don’t need many items in the bedroom of your newborn or toddler, there are a few more essentials to consider.
Blackout blinds are the first item we’ll mention here because sleeping in total darkness actually improves the quality of sleep in children. Next, you may find it useful to have a sound machine if your child finds it hard to fall asleep. In terms of decoration, you may want to include some art that is located at the level of your child so they can have some visual stimulation, or even a mirror at the child’s level so they can learn to recognize themselves and their reflection.
Depending on the size of your room, you can also add other items for gross-motor development, such as a pikler triangle, balance board, and other toys. This is also the period of sensory development so your children will benefit from using sensory bins in which you can include different sensory activities.
What to Avoid
It’s also important to mention that there are some items you should avoid including your child’s bedroom. The first thing is not to hang anything directly over your child’s crib or bed, as an obvious safety precaution. Next, avoid electronics in the bedroom and opt for educational materials instead so you can foster positive habits from an early age. Finally, make sure that your child knows that this room is only for sleeping (or for playing if it doubles as a playroom), but other activities, such as eating, need to be done in another room.
Three to Six Years Old
During this period, your child slowly starts to embrace independence, which is why their bedroom should foster independence and stimulate them to start doing things for themselves.
Fostering Independence
This can look different depending on the age of your child, but you can start with a few simple steps.
First, you can install a self-care station that contains a mirror on the child’s level so they can brush their hair and prepare themselves independently. Next, you can think about installing low shelves or a smaller wardrobe that they can access independently and put away their clothes. Just remember to install safety hardware and attach the furniture to the walls so your child doesn’t accidentally pull it onto themself.
Other things you can include in the room are some cleaning utensils that are child-friendly, so your child learns how to take care of their workspace and clean up after themself. You can also teach your child how to fold and store their clothes, which will also motivate them to slowly start dressing themselves. Really, the opportunities are endless.
Furniture
If you purchased a bed that grows with your child, you just need to make adjustments to the bed’s height, width, and length. If you had a crib previously, it’s time to switch to a kid-sized bed that’s 100 cm wide and 200 cm long.
Other Essentials
This is the period when your kid is eager to learn new concepts and starts showing their creative side. This is why it’s a great idea to create an art station by including a small table and a chair in your child’s bedroom where they can express their creativity by using different art materials. And don’t forget to make a designated space on the wall where they can showcase their artwork and achievements.
Between the ages of three and six, children also become more interested in open-ended toys, such as legos and other types of playing blocks, like magnet tiles, puzzles, play kitchens, and others. When considering which toys to buy, take into account your child’s current interests and go from there. Slowly introduce them to other toys instead of overstimulating them with too many toys at once, as they’ll quickly lose interest in them.
During this period, your child may start to experience nighttime fears, so having a small night light is useful to soothe those fears. You can also go with a multi-functional device that works as a nightlight, sound machine, time-to-rise clock, and other multi-functional lights.
Six to Nine Years Old
The next period in your child’s development is the school age. This is when a lot of their interests change, so naturally, the bedroom will need to change as well.
Furniture
Since this is when your child starts going to elementary school, you’ll now need to add a desk and chair where they’ll do their homework and study. This corner in the room should be adequately lit to promote concentration and focus while studying, so the desk should ideally be placed so the light from the window falls to the left side of the desk. It’s also a good idea to designate part of the room as a mini-library where your child can place their schoolbooks and other literature that they’re interested in.
Toys
During this period, children are still interested in toys and games that stimulate learning and exploring the world around them, while improving important cognitive and social skills. To help your child practice these skills, you can introduce more board games to the mix and reuse the open shelving that you used for toy storage in the first few years of their development.
Design
This is probably the time when your child will want to put their own touch in their room’s design. Involving them in the design process will not only help their creativity, but it will also motivate them to keep their room tidy.
Let them choose the paint color for the walls, the theme for their room, and let them have a say in the artwork or decoration. Moreover, involve them in the organization of the room so they know where everything goes and slowly start taking care of their room by themselves. Remember, practice makes perfect.
Nine to Twelve Years Old
This is the age where you can give even more creative freedom to your child when it comes to redecorating their room. It’s the perfect time to redesign your child’s bedroom and prepare it for their early teenage years, so let’s see what goes into this process.
Furniture
First, the bed should be big enough to accommodate your child’s growing body. If you're purchasing a new bed, consider buying one that has a pull-out bed underneath the main mattress in case a friend comes over for a sleepover.
Next, replace the smaller wardrobe with a larger one so it can fit all of their clothes, towels, bedding, etc. If your child has outgrown the room’s design, you might make some design changes as well. All in all, let your child guide you as you choose new furniture additions for the room.
Organization
This period is crucial for instilling a sense of order in your child’s bedroom which will be very important once they reach puberty. Help your child create an organization system that works for them to help them keep the room tidy and functional. This can be accomplished first by including your child in the organization process and hearing their ideas about how they use their space. Then, you can start creating different zones around the room, like a zone for clothes storage, a zone for toys, a zone for books and school materials, a zone designated for hobbies, and so on.
Final Thoughts
Your child’s room is their kingdom and their safe haven, so adjusting it to their specific age, interests, and needs by choosing a suitable design, furniture, and toys is crucial. During the beginning years of your child’s life, you will be in charge of all the design decisions, but as your child grows up, they’ll want more independence when it comes to choosing the furniture, decorations, and all the elements that make their room perfect for them. You just need to take their ideas into consideration and make the best of them.