How to keep your child’s room a healthy haven

collaborative guest post

Irrespective of your baby’s age, their room needs to be a safe haven. Just like adults, children too need to sleep in a clean, quiet, and safe room. Remember, much of a child’s health is largely dependent upon the amount and quality of sleep they get. So, the room has to be designed in a way that makes it conducive for your kid to sleep in.

Aside from giving your child better sleep, you also have to ensure their room is non-hazardous and sanitized to prevent accidents and infections. To achieve this, there are several important things you have to put in place. These include various fittings that will make your child feel comfortable in their room and interior design ideas to make the room feel and look fun and safe.

This article presents some of the most important and useful elements you should consider when designing your child’s room.

Comfortable Bed

For your baby to get enough sleep, the bed they sleep in must be comfortable. It should also be strong and firm enough so that it doesn’t make clicking sounds that might keep your baby awake. Also, ensure you have the right mattress, pillows, blankets, and sheets. The pillows you choose should be the right size so that your baby can lie on them comfortably.

It’s needless to say that the baby’s blankets and sheets should be soft, silky, and cosy. You can even choose organic bedding that has not been treated, bleached, or processed. The bed has to be warm, but not too hot. In the cold season, the room should be fitted with the right heating system to keep the baby warm.

Air Circulation

Infants are susceptible to all kinds of infections and so it is your duty as a parent to ensure that your baby is not exposed to any contagious infections. One way to achieve this is to keep the air in your child’s room clean and fresh. That’s why you need to install a nice humidifier.

A humidifier also protects your baby against dry air, which is very common in winter when heating systems are left to run throughout the day, robbing indoor air of its natural humidity. Dry air causes sore throats, a stuffy nose, and dry sinuses. Luckily, there are different types of humidifiers you can buy for your child’s room without hurting your wallet.

Safe Crib

If your baby is still sleeping in a crib, make it a completely safe environment. It is very easy for your baby to fall off the crib and get injured if the mattress is placed too high or not lowered appropriately as the infant grows.  

Also, make sure the crib you buy for your little one does not have the drop-side rails because the baby can either fall through or get stuck between them. Again, never leave dangling wires, strings, and pieces of fabric anywhere near your baby’s crib.

Sanitation

It goes without saying that your child’s room should always remain clean. Given the delicate nature of children’s immune system, your baby needs to be guarded against possible infections all the time. The simplest way to do this is to keep the room properly sanitized.   

When you are cleaning the room, use non-toxic disinfectants and detergents so you don’t end up poisoning your little angel. And if you are using disposable diapers, ensure they are properly disposed of.

Special Lighting

Since your baby needs to have enough sleep for optimum health and wellbeing, you should install special lights that will solve your baby’s sleeping issues. Studies have shown that human beings find it hard to sleep when bright lights are on. So, if you want to trick your baby into sleeping, you should install faint, warm lights in their room. Dim lights have been found to help deactivate the brain during bedtime and make it easier to relax or sleep in a room.

Blackout Shades and Curtains

If your baby is an early riser, you need to invest in some blackout shades and curtains to keep the room completely dark even when the sun rises early. These shades also help to prevent streetlights and moonlight from flooding the baby’s room at night. In the summer, it will still be bright at 7:30 p.m., which is almost bedtime for most babies. So, help your little one sleep better, by keeping their room super dark with shades and curtains.

Proper Organization

Nobody likes to live in an untidy place. If an adult finds it hard to relax or sleep in a room filled with stacks of clothes and other items, what about children? It is virtually impossible for your child to sleep in a room littered with dolls, toys, and other objects. These items keep children awake because they are thinking about games and fun.

Therefore, you have to see to it that these toys are stored safely away from the baby. Only keep the ones that your baby really needs, and make sure that even those ones are stored away in a box during bedtime. This will help your baby to get enough sleep and keep the room tidy and sterile.

White Noise

A child’s room should have a little background sound to stop outside noise from waking the little one up. For instance, if you are busy washing your dishes in the kitchen and your child is sleeping next door, the sound of utensils and running water will disturb the baby. That’s why some background noise from things like sound machines and fans is good because it helps to soothe the baby.

White noise is also important if your home is too close to the road where noise from passing vehicles is a constant nuisance. Nevertheless, don’t make the background sound too loud because the baby’s ears and brain are very sensitive. Just a low, soothing sound that cancels out the outside noise.

In conclusion, for your baby’s room to remain healthy, it requires proper design and maintenance. Make sure all the necessary fittings are properly installed to make the room comfortable for the little one. Sanitation is also very important, especially when the baby is still young and susceptible to different infections.

Resources— Compact Appliance, The Spruce, Sleep