Anytime you rearrange furniture, redecorate a room, or even clean or re-organize your child’s bedroom, it’s a good idea to double-check for any potential hazards. While we often hear of “baby-proofing” rooms, many household hazards can keep toddlers and even school-aged children from being able to cry out for help. We looked at several areas that can pose risks in Part 1, and now we’ll continue with a few more.Tall or Heavy FurnitureFurniture can easily tip over onto children, causing injuries a …
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While Mattel® and other toy manufacturers suffer as a result of younger and younger kids flocking to electronics instead of toys, many researchers are seeing the down sides of those trends. As parents, we don’t have to settle for an extreme reaction of either providing no limitations or no directives for electronics use nor completely resorting to low-tech everything. In the same way, we don’t have to go overboard with providing entertaining toys for our kids — or only allowing natural, found, o …
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We began looking at some simple, natural items that can fuel unplugged play time with your kids. If you’re anything like me, these ideas sound like activities you’d actually want to stick around for — or even participate in — instead of leaving the room or escaping to some screen time of your own. Why is that? This kind of open-ended play can be freeing, instead of limiting. The possibilities are endless. And once you start an activity with your kids, they’ll probably surprise you and take it a …
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Admittedly, the last stick-based idea we looked at crossed over to include our next play element we’ll explore: dirt. Whether it’s really kinetic sand, play dough, slime, or actual dirt, the benefits of this kind of sensory play can extend beyond the obvious. This mom is onto something when she calls her salt sensory activity a “Zen Sand Tray.” Sand tray therapy is actually used for adults “as a way to bypass the logical and intellectual parts of themselves in order to access a deeper, creative …
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Now that you’ve seen our ideas about what you can do with sticks and dirt, you can probably imagine many ways your kids can play with rocks. Since they come in so many shapes and sizes, there’s a wide variety of things you can do with both real and artificial rocks.You Can Mix Rocks & DirtEven if you’re not using real dirt, you can include a natural element by incorporating real rocks into your indoor play. These houses and snakes both incorporate rocks, as do these Construction Site and Sand Ca …
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According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep to function optimally, while children past the infant stage require 9 to 14 hours every 24 hours, depending on their age. Healthy sleep, however, includes more than simply the right quantity; it also requires some issues relating to quantity, which can be difficult to achieve. However, with the great impact that healthy sleep has on a child’s physical and intellectual development, it’s importa …
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Dressers and Drawer Chests are both intended primarily for clothing storage, so how do you choose which one would best serve your child? Here are a few thoughts to consider, based on the differences between the two. Height and Width Okay, so this is the most obvious difference, isn’t it? The Drawer Chest is typically higher, whereas the Dresser is wider. (In the case of the Classics 4.0 Collection, the Dresser measures 56W x 18D x 36H, and the Drawer Chest is 40W x 18D x 52H. …
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While environment isn’t the only factor in providing your kids with healthy sleep, it is definitely a factor. The most immediate aspect of your child’s sleep environment is, of course, his bed — and, more specifically his mattress. Here at The Bedroom Source, we offer our customers only the best in comfortable, low-profile mattresses that provide parents with a selection of safe, health-conscious options for their children. Why is the right mattress important? We’ll look at a …
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A well-rested child absorbs everything around him or her and easily interacts with others. A combination of late or erratic bedtimes, early mornings, and over-scheduled days can certainly decrease your child’s ability to get healthy sleep. Failure to get healthy sleep on a regular basis has both immediate and long-term consequences for your child. Short-Term Results of Sleep Deprivation If you have a child who normally gets sufficient healthy sleep, you know the differe …
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According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep to function optimally, while children past the infant stage require 9 to 14 hours every 24 hours, depending on their age. Healthy sleep, however, includes more than simply the right quantity; it also requires some issues relating to quantity, which can be difficult to achieve. However, with the great impact that healthy sleep has on a child’s physical and intellectual development, it’s impor …
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