Styling a bedroom for your child is made simple with this ultimate guide.
After reading it you’ll be able to:
- Identify when your child is ready for a larger bed
- Decide which type of bed frame is best for your child
- Confidently decide on a mattress protector to help with ‘accidents’
- Realise the significance of growth and space for your child’s development
- Understand the important safety factors in decorating a room for your child
- Appreciate the requirements of bedrooms at various stages of child development
As children grow up, their bedrooms need to grow up with them. Developing more personality and independence, they need a fun, functional and inspiring space to feel comfortable finding themselves in. Creating a functional and inspiring space for kids requires careful consideration of their age-specific needs and interests.
Styling Child Bedrooms For Babies
Your child’s first bedroom is usually decorated by an adult who hasn’t met them yet, and it may not reflect their personality or interests as they grow up. Instead of feeling guilty about it, you should embrace the opportunity and create a dream space that your child wouldn’t normally choose. Choose a fun theme that you enjoy, such as blue skies, dinosaurs, or windsurfing elephants, and let your imagination run wild. This is the only time your child will let you be so adventurous, so make the most of it!
The key to decorating a room for a baby is to keep it fun, and within budget. There’s no need for extravagant spending on a room for a child this young – it’s impractical and unappreciated. Instead, focus on colours and images that will help fill them with wonder and curiosity.
A primary concern for new parents should be child safety. That means stencilling images on the wall rather than hanging potentially dangerous heavy frames. Ensure items in the room are safe by placing them out of reach and free from sharp edges or swallowable parts.
For a baby’s room, it’s best to use blackout blinds instead of curtains since they are more sensitive to light. To improve sleep hygiene, it’s important to accommodate a child’s need for a completely darkened room at this stage of life.
Most important of all is the growth chart! Creating a lifetime of memories with your child starts right here, in their first bedroom.
For more information on babies and sleep check out The Sleep Foundation or our article about infant sleep methods for new parents.
Styling Child Bedrooms For Young Children (3-6 Year-Olds)
A bedroom for children between three and six years of age should be focused on nurturing growth, learning and independence. It is a time of life when they start doing things for themselves – tidying the room, putting on clothes and playing on their own. Unlike the previous incarnation of the room, some parts now need to be moved within reach of the child. Safety is still a concern however, and as well as storing anything you don’t want them getting their hands on up high, measures should be taken to secure relevant furniture to the walls.
An area of the house previously dedicated to play (such as a sectioned off part of the kitchen or living room) where you could keep an eye on them throughout the day can now be discarded and reclaimed as an adult zone. All toys and other items belonging to your child should now live in their room, encouraging a sense of private space, ownership and responsibility. This means increasing storage facilities in their room – so baskets, plastic drums and shelves need to be installed. Often, this is a continuous process that slowly grows in tandem with your child’s toy collection.
Unfortunately, due to their increasing curiosity and mental growth, this is a time when many night-time fears develop. If you think it might help, consider installing a night light to help them get through this upsetting period.
The biggest change during this phase of life is usually the transition to a bigger bed. Often taking place during their third year, the truth is there is no set age for this to happen. You can check to see if your child is ready for the big move by considering the following:
Child Getting Too Big For The Cot
If the cot is looking increasingly like a jail cell then it might be time to upgrade their bed. Your child looking constricted by their bed is a sign that they have very likely outgrown it.
Child Regularly Escaping The Crib
As toddler jailbreaks become a regular occurrence their crib transforms from a place of safety to the means of a potential fall. There is probably no stronger indication that they are ready to upgrade to a larger bed than this.
Child Asking About Bigger Beds
Children with older siblings usually reach a point where they are curious about bigger beds and start asking questions. Once they start raising the matter of sleeping in a larger bed then you can slowly steer them towards making the change.
When your child is making the transition to a bigger bed, it is important to try and involve them – perhaps by getting their input on bed designs they like or picking out new bedding. For safety reasons, depending on the type of bed you agree to, bed rails may be necessary.
Styling Child Bedrooms For Older Children (6-9 Year-Olds)
The ages of 6 to 9 are a time of rapid growth in children. On the one hand they still need a room that is bright and fun, but on the other it needs to accommodate their larger stature. For instance, a child bouncing on a bed at the age of 9 can be much more demanding on a bed structure than a 6 year old enjoying the same activity.
Bunk Beds For Children
Bunk beds are sometime introduced to a bedroom around these ages. Unsurprisingly, they are a popular choice because bunk beds offer a ‘big boy and girl’ bed while still retaining an element of childhood excitement. The varying levels offer up opportunities for space exploration, encourage imagination, and a place for friends to stay over. An ideal type of bed for anyone who may need two children to share a room, or just that added space for soft toy storage.
Single Beds For Children
Affording your child a lot of room for growth, a single bed, (specifically designed for children), is an excellent investment for your developing child. A good, reliable option, a single bed should be strong and sturdy enough to take on anything your child can throw at it (probably even literally!)
Cabin Beds For Children
All the excitement of a bunk bed but with the sensible organisation facilities of an office, cabin beds can be a fantastic choice of bed for those wanting to take their child’s development to the next level. Offering room to sleep, play and study, cabin beds encourage the sense of responsibility that comes with space ownership. Adapting their room into a place where they can comfortably rest or do schoolwork is no easy feat, but these beds effortlessly compartmentalise areas of the room to aid your child in better understanding their private area, and how they can perform multiple tasks in the same space.
Dedicating certain parts of their room to an ‘office-like’ environment embeds the idea of organisation early on, nurturing their abilities to cope with adult life later on.
The most important consideration during this stage of your child’s life is space – they need plenty of room to play and learn. Encourage their creativity by adding a blackboard or some other ‘educational’ focal point.
Helping Adolescents Style Their Bedrooms (9-12 Year-Olds)
Your child now has some clear personality traits of their own and will be highly invested in the décor of their bedroom. Although it can be awkward, you need to help guide their design choices when curating a room. Without hampering their style, you need to make sure that some of their choices take long-term taste considerations into account, rather than just what’s ‘on trend’ at the moment.
If your child has had a hand in creating the look of the room, no matter how offensive to your personal tastes, then the sense of ownership and pride they feel for it can play a hand in them wanting to keep it tidy.
A period of their lives in which mobile phones are introduced, to limit their use during sleep time it might be a good idea to establish early on that electronic devices are charged overnight in a separate room.
Save On Spills With A Mattress Protector
We must accept that for some children bedtime ‘accidents’ will be a more common occurrence than for others, at all ages. To avoid staining a new mattress, applying a top-quality waterproof mattress protector to the bed will keep it feeling fresh and clean for years to come. The best mattress protector for your child depends on the amount of ‘accidents’ they have. Kids that produce larger quantities of liquids will need protectors with more layers. Read our mattress protector guide for more info.
Start your journey into designing a room for your child by reading our guide on how to choose a bed for your kid, or browsing the wide range of children’s beds at Land of Beds.
If you’re interested in beds and bedding then take a look at the following articles:
Choosing The Best Bed For Your Room
How To Create A More Relaxing Bedroom
Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep
New parents concerned about how much sleep your baby is getting? Then check out the following:
Why Parents Need To Focus On Their Own Sleep Too
Why Parents Shouldn’t Worry About Their Baby’s Sleep
Need Help Choosing The Best Bed for Your Child’s Bedroom?
Deciding on the best bed for your child’s needs relies on many factors.
- How much playing space do they need?
- What capacity for storage is required?
- Will they be safe?
There is no need to lose sleep over trying to choose the right bed for your child. Our bed experts at Land of Beds pride themselves on their specialist knowledge and ability to guide you to the bed that’s most suitable and safe for your offspring.
Our customer-first policy means we listen and give good, independent advice based on the needs of the individual. By pairing consumers up with ethically sourced, affordable, quality products, we provide as many people as possible with a great night’s sleep.
If you would like help connecting your child with their ideal bed, feel free to get in touch with us on 01928 242829