It's a joy to liven up your children's rooms with colourful toys and a selection of lively baby books. Storage such as shelving, toy boxes and bookcases make these easy to manage. Yet you need to be aware that there are a few reasons why you should store books and toys properly.
For the most part, it is safer for your children. However, there are intriguing scientific reasons why too many toys or activities at one time can be a bad thing for your child's development.
Baby-Safe Storage
When installing storage items in your children's play areas or bedrooms, you should always check they are baby-safe. Adult and child furniture is made differently, and some common materials and design methods are hazardous to children. Such hazards include:
- Sharp edges
- Toxic paint and varnish
- Unstable fittings
Therefore, buying storage from typical furniture vendors isn't always a good solution. Fortunately, specialist baby stockists like foryourlittleone.com provide child-friendly storage. Baby storage furniture is typically made from softer engineered woods. It's also finished with non-toxic paints and varnish with zero volatile organic compounds (Z-VOC). Most are also supplied with secure fittings to prevent toppling if children try to climb on them.
Falling Items
Of the 10% of fall-related baby injuries, 36% involve nursery items. As babies reach around 2 years old, they begin to learn how to use their muscles, and they will try to climb on just about everything. When a baby does try to climb on furniture, there is always the chance something will fall and injure a child. Such items include books, educational toys and decorative items. Many of which are either sharp, heavy or both. You can secure such things as drawers and bookshelves to the wall, yet there is always the chance they will tilt a little.
However, if you are worried about this, you can purchase child-friendly shelving and bookcases with guarding and rounded edges. Additionally, many of these products use non-slip finishing, like rubber mats, to minimize the movement of items. In this case, should a case or unit pull or tilt, the contents will likely stay put and not fall onto your baby's head, causing injury.
Better Learning
Your child will undoubtedly want to play with all of their toys at the same time. Kids love to get into their toy boxes and grab at anything they see. Yet studies have shown that too many toys will reduce your child's enjoyment and the learning potential associated with them. It is believed children will learn better when they focus on one thing at a time rather than overloading their senses with multiple items.
Some researchers suggest storing toys away from children and providing easy access to what you wish them to use at a given time. For example, if you want the baby to learn farmyard animals, then provide access to those toys rather than number games. This ensures the baby's focus on one topic only rather than confusing them with too much information. In addition, this encourages one particular type of development over another.
Do you have any tips for storing your child's books and toys? Comment below.
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