Creating a Nurturing Environment: 10 Elements of a Warm and Friendly Home Your Youngest Kids Will Love

 

 

As parents, we are constantly under pressure to live up to well-meaning advice that doesn’t always fit our parenting styles. From what our children should eat to how clean we keep our homes, we are always under scrutiny for something.

 

But the only tried and true way to raise your children to be happy and healthy is to provide them with a warm, loving, and nurturing environment to thrive in. How you do this is up to you since it’s different for every child, but there are some common elements to a happy home that even young kids love.

 

Here are 10 suggestions you can use to make your house a sanctuary where your little ones can grow.

 

Kid-Friendly Warm and Fuzzy Ideas

 

1. Comfy furniture. The newest designs of the season have no place in a home with little kids unless part of their design is that they are indestructible. Little children have plenty of energy. They love to climb and bounce on furniture, and fragile or expensive couches and loveseats can’t always handle that level of exuberance.

 

To prevent the destruction of pricey property, look for a beanbag for your child’s fun. Let them jump and play – and even color, if they must – a bean bag that can handle high energy children and, as a bonus, comes with a washable cover.

 

2. A playroom. Yes, you want your child to have toys, but when those same toys are strewn over the house, it can cause you more work and stress. Instead of letting your little ones roam free, implement a playroom where they can make messes to their delight (with cleanup rules, of course!) and then set boundaries on what is allowed in the rest of the house.

 

3. Lots of color! Who doesn’t feel good when they walk in a room with pops of happy colors throughout it? Children love bright colors, so if you can decorate each room with its own color scheme, you and your child will have lifted moods every time you both are in there!

 

4. Height-appropriate benches and chairs. Children tend to do whatever they feel is necessary to get where they want to go. Many times this is dangerous, with them dragging a chair or a toy up to the counter to try to get their coveted item.

 

While you should make certain areas off-limits, you can help them get where it’s okay for them to go by offering them benches, chairs, or stepstools to give them a lift. When they are allowed the freedom to act like a big kid, they tend to respect boundaries a little better.

 

5. Lots of arts and crafts opportunities. When a child has a crayon or marker and no paper, where do they turn to for the release of their art ideas? Why, the walls or furniture, of course! (And, in some cases, themselves or the family pet.)

 

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6. Learning the ABC’s and 123’s everywhere you go. Keep books in reach to encourage little ones to learn how to read, but you can incorporate the love of learning in many other ways. Number your stairs, post letters and numbers on posters and pictures throughout the house, hold science experiments and play learning games as much as possible.

 

7. Keep a book nook used regularly. Foster the love of reading in your young ones by modeling it – and its importance – for them. In a quiet area of your home, create a book nook with kid-friendly books lined up on a bookshelf or in cubbies.

 

Keep blankets and pillows accessible and spend some time laying down with your children reading and snuggling. They’ll love the bonding time almost as much as you will, and it will create a connection between reading and happiness that they will use as they grow.

 

8. Easy cleanup methods. Your young ones probably aren’t going to be proficient at folding their own laundry and hanging it up for a while, but they should still actively participate in their own cleanup.

 

By making routines and typical activities easy for them to learn, do, and grow in, you are teaching them responsibilities that will serve them well in the future.

 

You can’t expect them to immediately know how to sweep and vacuum or wash the dishes, though. Instead, give them part of the job that they can do, such as setting and clearing the dinner table, separating their clothes from the other clean laundry, or other simple ways for them to be near you, be helpful, and participate.

 

9. Be silly. Everyone makes mistakes, but if your child never sees you mess up or get down on the floor and bark like a dog, they will grow up thinking they have to be perfect, too. Don’t be afraid to make messes in the chemistry set of slime or to have your gingerbread house look like the Tower of Pisa. Your child already thinks you hung the moon – teach them that it’s okay to be silly and amazing, too.

 

10. Don’t forget the outside area. Outside play is very important to a growing child. Your home isn’t just what is on the inside, it’s how you set up your yard to encourage imagination and playtime, too.

 

If possible, fence your yard to establish borders for your child. Then bring in play toys that help their imaginations run wild, like swing sets, sandboxes, tricycles and scooters, and other toys that encourage them to leave the television or their electronics and play in the fresh air. They’ll be healthier for it, and you’ll all be happier.

 

The Basic Ingredient is Love

 

No matter what you can and can’t afford in your home, though, a warm and friendly environment all starts with love. You can fill a house with material possessions, but without love, it’s not nurturing.

 

Do what you can to help your child grow into a happy, healthy adult, but always, above all, start with letting them know how much you love them.