Raising a child is as rewarding as it is difficult. One of the more surprising challenges you might find yourself facing as a parent is just how quickly your children grow. Sometimes it seems like they were just crawling yesterday and now they’re walking, climbing, and talking.
It’s important to create a room that reflects your child’s age and personality in order to help foster responsibility and independence. When you decorated your child’s nursery, that was all up to you. And once it become a toddler’s room you still probably led the charge, but once your toddler is ready for a “big kid” bedroom you should let them have some say in the matter. Let’s take a look at some tips for transitioning your toddler’s room to a big kid bedroom!
Choosing a Theme
The first step to take when you get ready to re-do your child’s room is to pick a theme. This can be a theme that you pick or one that your child has some input in. Depending upon how young they are, you might be better off to pick the theme you think they’ll like and schedule another bedroom transition once they get closer to their teens. Whatever theme you pick and regardless of who picks it, however, it’s important to sit down and look at your options. Research the colors, including their shade variations, you could use and pick out products that are exciting for your child.
It All Starts with Paint
Once you have your theme nailed down, it’s time to pick your paint color! You might already have a good idea about which shade you’re looking for at this point, but it doesn’t hurt to take a trip to the store and check out all of the different options at your disposal. Don’t forget that you can have a custom color mixed just for your needs, too.
There are a few ways to go about this particular step. You can give your child the creative reins and let them pick how they’d like their walls to look, of course. This will often result in more bold paint choices that showcase the room’s theme, such as a literal rainbow wall as opposed to a calm paint color and rainbow accents (if the room’s theme is rainbows). You can also pick the color yourself and choose different accents to really help the theme pop. This might include picking a more neutral wall shade and investing in decorative borders or stickers to help spice things up.
Pro-tip: Use semi-gloss or high-gloss paint as this makes for a much easier time when you need to clean off the walls. It is a kid’s room, after all.
The Big Kid Bed
Once you have the paint and wall accents squared away, it’s time to move on and pick a bed to buy for your child’s new room. Don’t opt for the cheapest option if you can help it. Your mattress is important to the quality of your sleep, and children need a lot of it to help them grow. Instead, take some time to look at reviews of various mattress options. Pick a quality bed that will last them throughout their childhood and adolescence if possible. This is an investment in their health that should last for years to come. Don’t forget to continue with the room’s theme with respect to bedding and bed accents!
Is your child ready for their “big kid” room? Stay calm and try not to stress. Have fun with this moment and encourage your child’s creativity to create the room of their dreams.
Laurie Larson is a freelance writer based in NC who writes on home, health, and lifestyle topics.