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Design Center - Kid Friendly Design

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Kid Friendly Design: Is Your Child Getting a Good Night's Sleep . We spend so much time and effort making sure our children are safe, well nourished, clothed appropriately, and generally well taken care of. But how often do we consider the quality of sleep our children get? Sure, we're happy if we can simply get them in bed at their regular bedtime, but are they well rested when they wake up? Sleep quality is extremely important for children's health, and it affects their ability to focus on tasks during the day. Experts say sleep-deprivation ­ especially among school-aged children ­ can have severe consequences, including poor concentration, less energy and weakened ability to fight illnesses. According to the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR), children need at least nine hours of sleep each night on a regular basis to be healthy, active, and able to do their best in school, as well as in sports and other extracurricular activities. Teenagers are no exception. Contrary to the belief that the need for sleep diminishes with age, the NCSDR reported that adolescents actually need more sleep than children just a few years younger, but few adults (or teens) are aware of this. As Dr. Richard Allen, founder of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center, points out, "Teens tend to get only six to seven hours of sleep, which isn't enough. They should be getting at least eight to nine hours." What can parents do? If your child has difficulty waking up in the morning, is irritable and cranky, or has trouble remembering or concentrating, he or she may not be getting enough sleep. The Better Sleep Council offers these top 10 tips to make it easier for parents to ensure their child is getting an adequate amount of sleep each night: 1. Help your child get at least 9 hours of sleep each night. 2. Don't over-schedule your child. Too many after-school activities and commitments can keep children from precious sleep. Allow your child plenty of time for homework and chores each night to ensure that they are not forced to stay up past their bedtime. 3. Set a regular bedtime for your child and stick to it. A regular bedtime can help ensure your child gets a full night's sleep. 4. Avoid caffeine too close to bedtime. Consuming caffeine, found in soda and chocolate, in the evening can make it more difficult for your child to fall asleep. 5. Develop a sleep ritual for your child. Routine and relaxing activities, like taking a bath or reading with your child, can help him or her transition into sleep mode. 6. Help your child unwind in the evening. Tackle science projects, book reports and other homework either before or right after dinner. Allow your child at least one hour before bedtime to relax and unwind. 7. Make sure your child's bedroom is dark. Be sure the lights are turned off and the shades are closed in your child's room before he or she goes to bed. While a small night light is fine, if necessary, a dark room is most conducive for a good night's sleep. 8. Don't allow your child to fall asleep in front of the television. Noise from a television, radio, or even loud conversations can keep your child from deep, restful sleep. 9. Pay attention to your child's mattress. Handing down an old mattress to a child isn't a good idea. Because mattresses wear out over time, it's important to maximize your child's chances of restful sleep by making sure he or she is sleeping on a mattress that is comfortable and supportive enough in order to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed. 10. Keep a comfortable room temperature in your child's room. Children (and adults) may have a difficult time falling and staying asleep in a room that's too hot or too cold. The ideal sleeping temperature is around 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Kid Friendly Design: Controlling Kid Clutter . If you have kids of any age, you know they come with stuff. Lots and lots AND LOTS of stuff. This stuff inevitably invades every corner of your home. (I'm not even going to try to address all the kid's stuff in my car or in my purse right now.) Controlling all the kid clutter in a home can be daunting, because to a child, even the toy they haven't played with in months is precious and important. Fortunately, there are some solutions out there to help you deal with all the clutter that accompanies the joys of parenthood. Family Room My family, like many others, spends a great deal of time in the family room. When our kids are there, so are their toys. When the kids leave, somehow their toys remain. More and more storage tables are appearing to help control cluttering living rooms. Cocktail or end tables with built-in spots for baskets are a great solution: you can pull out the basket and walk around the room, tossing in toys along the way. Put the basket back when you're done and no one will know that a pint-sized tornado just blew through the room. Since there are no sharp corners for the toddler to tumble into, storage ottomans are another great solution, particularly for the parents of very young children. Decorative storage boxes or baskets can also be placed under tables that lack built-in storage. By the Door A typical morning scene plays out in many homes each day: MOM: "Get your shoes -- it's time to leave." KID: "Where are they?" MOM: "Where did you leave them?" The word "shoes" in the above dialog could easily be replaced with the word "jacket" or "backpack." Having a designated spot for shoes, jackets and backpacks can easily solve many early morning dramas as they are furiously sought in every corner of the house. There are many great pieces of furniture available now to assist in this organization. A hall tree, coat rack, shelf or a bench near the door can serve as a repository for your kid's stuff. Getting your kids to actually keep their stuff there is another matter. Play Room Modern kids like modern games. Few American homes with kids these days can escape the proliferation of video game systems, cartridges and controllers. What to do with all this stuff can be a problem. Storage of video game components may not be the first thing you think of when shopping for an entertainment center, but many manufacturers are proactive in providing attractive solutions. Integrated controller and cartridge storage can help bring some sanity to the situation. Barring built-in solutions, concealing the clutter in a stylish decorative box can help. Old fashioned toys and games contribute to clutter in a playroom as well. Lining a wall in the play room with shelves for toys, books and games will help get the clutter out of the way. Modular storage wall systems can be customized to your space and needs with a combination of open shelves, storage cubbies, drawers, benches, and door cabinets. Crafty Kids If you have an aspiring artist in your home, you may want to consider setting up an area where their imagination can run free, without ruining the rest of your home. Project tables, comprised of cubbies and shelves at the ends and a broad work area on top, can help keep all the supplies organized when not in use. Kid's Bedrooms It's important to involve your kids in the decoration and organization of their bedroom. After all, they are the ones who will be spending the most time there. Kids are more likely to keep their room clean and orderly if they feel personally invested in the space. Keep an open mind about their flights of fancy when developing a plan for their room. Even if you can't recreate a rock star stage or a magical fairy garden, these decorating fantasies can inform the more practical choices. Organizing a collection of toys in your kids' bedroom can help them show off what they've accumulated, and get them excited about how their room looks. Collections create an instant theme for the room. Try running a shelf around the top of the room to hold a stuffed animal collection. The right furniture can help your kid keep their room organized and clutter-free. Storage beds build organization into the base with drawers, baskets, or open shelves in the base. This can be a good solution for small bedrooms by making use of space that would ordinarily be used for dust bunny farms and the occasional errant soccer ball. There is an added benefit to storage beds for younger children ­ the storage areas are easy to access for kids who still have a lot of growing to do, thus eliminating an excuse for not putting away the laundry.

Kid Friendly Design: Kids Rooms: Tips, Tidbits & Trends . Look to Fashion, Celebrities, and the Internet for Latest Color Trends While their parents may have been clueless about color and fashion trends when they were growing up, today's kids are much more sophisticated. Credit the internet, the proliferation of celebrity journalism and home improvement shows for creating a generation that knows what's hot, and how to use it. While offering a broad choice of styles and pricing, designers and manufacturers of kids apparel, accessories and furnishings are trying to capitalize on this demanding market. When it comes to color trends, the kids market isn't so different from the adult market. Kids are becoming very sophisticated, and they know exactly what they want. Some trends for youth furniture being in the nursery Style Trends- Parents are purchasing furniture that grows with their children. The best pieces sellers are the simple, clean designs possessing a level of sophistication in look that stretches the life of the furniture. Timeless designs last well past toddler years. Classic styles such as Shaker, Louis Philippe and Cottage that have been adapted for younger consumers. Many furniture manufacturers offer cribs that convert to day beds. Retailers are happy to suggest ways to add dressers and storage units that work beautifully in rooms with children of all ages. Parents are finding more solutions that are cost effective and appropriate for growth in today's market. Regarding color trends, some furniture designers feel that gray is the new black. That doesn't mean that six-year-olds across America will be living in pale gray bedrooms. Gray is just one of a host of hues that are popular. The introductions of more sophisticated, striking colors, such as royal blue with maple, natural finishes, and walnut or mahogany finishes with gold or silver metal pulls or trims, have also made waves in juvenile bedrooms. Consider these tips to make a youngster's play study and sleep world complete: 1. Quality construction that withstands active wear 2. Compact design that provides ease and versatility 3. Ample storage in clothes cabinets, desks, bookcases, nightstands, and TV stands. Versatility / Function Trends - Consumers want purchases to last longer as evident in the substantial increase in the sales of full-size beds. In addition, much more of what is termed "piece buying": purchases made by identifying a needed function and then identifying a particular piece of furniture that satisfies that need. This a movement away from choosing a room full of correlate pieces at one time. Children today have so much in their rooms compared to 10 years ago: PC (computer desks), TV/VCR (entertainment storage pieces), more clothes than the closet can hold (larger dressers and chests, armoires). Spending Trends- Overall, the various forms of media attractions (Internet, music, TV/DVD/iPod) that can now be found in the child's room has increased the amount of time kids are spending in their rooms. This leads to more of the families disposable income going towards making the child's room more of a haven than just a place to sleep. It is not uncommon for parents to sacrifice spending on other rooms in the home for the child's room. Furniture shopping for your child is a fun experience! -- Follow these tips to make it a successful one for years to come. Style and function-friendly are the rules for today's children's furniture. If Mom and Dad can have a sleigh bed with their initials carved in the black, distress-finished headboard, then your child should be able to as well! At least that is what today's furniture companies believe, as evidenced by the products they are producing and the focus of the marketing. Functionality As noted earlier, parents are looking for furniture that can grow with the child. Many retailers offer a "combo dresser." A combo dresser is a dresser and a hutch that has a changing pad under a flip-up top and plenty of room to hold baby supplies. When the dresser is flipped upside down, the changing pad hutch disappears and it looks like a regular dresser with large drawers. The drawers are reversible and have double sets of tracks as well. Other ways the industry is meeting parental demand is with changing tables that convert to toy chests, bunk beds that have a twin on top and full on the bottom and raised beds that have a desk underneath. Don't be afraid to be practical when shopping with your child. Children's items are flowing directly out of the adult market. Black or gray never used to be an option for a newborn baby's crib, but now it is all the rage, as is distressed painting. Gone are the days of pretty pastels. Color is bold and everywhere, so spice it up! Personal While function and style are important, there is still that element of making a child's room, a child's room. For the young child, parents still like to have monogrammed crib bumpers and step stools with personalized pictures on them. All kinds of companies have caught on to personalizing children's rooms. Now, there are specialists in everything from kids rugs, lamps, artwork to bedspreads. Accents are where a child's personality can really be brought into a room's décor. They can be found in every shape and design imaginable. Your child will love making the room his own. Safety Finally, safety is an important concern. Thankfully, today's companies are a lot more safety-conscious when designing their items. For example, most toy boxes now are designed so they won't snap shut on little fingers. Also, the industry is moving towards non-moving parts.