These 10 Things Make Life With Kids Easier
Concessions like a ‘scooter alley,’ scribble space and child-height furnishings help keep family harmony
From wrangling backpacks and finding lost shoes before the morning school run to the last kiss at bedtime (and just one more drink of water), life with kids is an adventure. We can’t prepare for everything, but these 10 small changes can make the time spent at home with our kids a bit easier.
1. Stash kids’ books in the dining room. Keeping a selection of children’s books (and perhaps some drawing paper) in the dining room can help antsy kids stick it out a little longer at the dinner table. And between mealtimes, if the dining room gets more use as a playspace, storing a few favorite books and games here will make cleanup time quicker and easier.
2. Instead of wainscoting, try a kid-height chalk wall. This half-height chalk wall makes a nice compromise when you don’t want to give over an entire wall of your home to kid-friendly scribble space. Little ones get to draw in the space they can reach, and you get to choose grownup paint and artwork above the rail. It’s a win-win.
3. Invest in adjustable stools. Kids can’t resist twirling these metal stools to adjust the height — but beyond the fun factor, they serve a practical purpose as well. Being able to twist to raise or lower the seat means everyone, big and little, gets to sit at the just-right height. And the stools work as well at a desk or a craft table as they do in the kitchen.
4. Hang a big wall clock to keep the family running on time. Analog wall clocks can help kids get a sense of how much time they have left to play (for example, “when the big hand is on the two, it’s time to put on your shoes") without as much parental nagging. And there’s a side benefit: If you usually use your phone to check the time, having a centrally located wall clock may help curb mindless media browsing (since checking the time on your phone can easily lead to checking social media or email).
5. Clear out a “scooter alley.” On rainy days, finding ways for kids to get their energy out can feel next to impossible. Enter scooter alley: a cleared-out hall or side of a room where mini vehicles have (relatively) free rein. The same space can be used for racing Matchbox cars, laying out tumbling mats or unfurling a big roll of paper for a spontaneous art project.
6. Designate a temporary art display space. Feeling swamped by the amount of art projects coming home from school? Kids are proud of their work, so it’s natural that they feel reluctant to let you toss it right away, but that doesn’t mean you must keep every watercolor and crayon drawing forever. Designate a central place to display favorite incoming artwork for a limited time. When new work comes home, choose something from the board to recycle (or upcycle into thank-you cards, gift wrap or bookmarks) and store only the most special pieces in an art portfolio.
How to Finally Organize Your Family Keepsakes
How to Finally Organize Your Family Keepsakes
7. Leave washable art supplies within reach. Self-serve art supplies empower kids to create — just be sure that the materials you put in the self-serve art area are ones that are always OK to use: in other words, not too messy and totally washable. Think crayons, colored pencils and washable markers. Keep supplies that require more parental supervision (and have a higher cleanup-time potential), like paint, glue and collage materials, on a high shelf so that kids need to check in before using them.
8. Put a little table in the living room. Stationing a play table in the living room (or whatever room your family tends to hang out in) gives little ones a designated space for putting together puzzles and Lego creations. Choose a table with built-in storage, and stash favorite toys inside for easy cleanup.
9. Install a second row of wall hooks. Wall hooks in the entry make it simple to hang up coats and bags when you come home, and a second row of kid-height hooks will help little ones get in on the organizing action early on. Even if you use a coat closet rather than hooks for your own coats, consider installing a few hooks especially for your child’s belongings.
10. Choose carpet tiles. Life with little ones is messy: There’s really no getting around it. But while we can’t prevent the messes from happening (try as we might), we can salvage our flooring from the chaos. What’s the secret? Carpet tiles. Perfect for high-traffic and mess-prone areas, carpet tiles attach to your floor (so they’re also nonslip), and when one gets stained or damaged beyond repair, you can simply replace a square rather than the entire rug.
Tell us: How do you stay organized with kids? Share your stories and tips in the Comments!
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Tell us: How do you stay organized with kids? Share your stories and tips in the Comments!
More
What to Look for in a House if You Have Kids
How to Organize the Lego Chaos