As your little one explores their home environment, it’s important to take a step back and look at your home as a whole, and the effect it can have on your toddler. What parts of the home can encourage creativity and engagement? How can you reduce the chaos and create more welcoming spaces for your child?

A perfect home environment is not the result of big sweeping changes, but hundreds of little things working together to provide an engaging creative space for your little one to explore.

Let’s look at the benefits of a great home environment.

What benefits should my home environment create for my child?

Here are some of the benefits of a good home environment:

Encourages the child to take part in daily life.

Aids their independence.

Provides peaceful, nurturing, and creative spaces for the entire family.

Helps build the child’s concentration with less clutter and fewer, more focused activities.

Allows the child to absorb and appreciate beauty.

Begins to show them how to be responsible for their things.

Helps them absorb the cultures around them.

Now we’re going to go over some examples and ideas to create some calm in our life with our child. Remember, our job is never done, and our homes can always be worked on, so don’t worry if you don’t have it perfectly set up from the start!

Here are some things to ask yourself when planning out your home:

Can I provide:

Child-sized furniture?

Plants and art to inspire beauty?

Ways for your child to be independent?

Attractive activities?

Less clutter?

A place for everything and everything in its place?

Can I see the space through our child’s eyes?

Can I make a space in each room of our home for our child?

What are some examples of a good home environment?

Here are some examples and ideas to make your home more welcoming to your child:

A self-care area. This is meant to be a small space for a child to blow their nose, wipe their face, or brush their hair. A small stool can hold 2 baskets at child-height, one with tissues and the other with a hairbrush. A basket can be placed underneath for dirty tissues. Place it next to a full-length mirror, so your little one can see their full body. A self-care area is perfect for a quick check as they leave the house.

An arts and crafts area. A cabinet or dresser with open shelves is a perfect place to set this up. Open shelves are inviting and accessible. See-through containers and trays take this to a further level. Plants are great to place around this space, and a music player goes the extra mile, so your little one can select their own music. Place a small chair and table nearby, so your child can use these materials.

A low kitchen drawer. This drawer should be accessible to your child, and full of safe, child-friendly food preparation tools. This can get your little one feeling like a chef, and it is great for teaching them responsibility.

Outside in the garden. A range of potted plants can be extremely exciting for a toddler. You can hang up their tools on hooks that are child-height, alongside a watering can and a bucket. Your child will benefit from exploring the greenery that an outside space has to offer. When it’s sunny outside, you can also do other activities, such as moving a small table and chair outside for your child to do crafts or drawing.

How important is the home environment for your child?

Read about creating a positive space for your child before taking our Toddler Health & Development Journey.