Toddler Room Decorating

The decor in a toddler's room must be many things that might even seem contradictory. It must be a soothing environment for the child to take naps and go to sleep at night, but you'll want some elements to stimulate learning and imagination if he or she is to spend any time playing there. While you will want to encourage exploration for your toddler to learn about his or her world, you will want to remove climbing and falling hazards, choking hazards and toxic materials. All this can be done at the same time if you just keep a few tips in mind.

A toddler's room is where they sleep, and sometimes it is where they play. It can also be a place where Mommy or Daddy comes at night to comfort a child who wakes from a bad dream. The decor in the room must safely accommodate all these functions while providing a soothing atmosphere, yet one that invokes pleasant experiences. If you want your toddler to sleep peacefully at night in his or her room, it must be a place where he or she will want to spend time.

The room must contain the toddler's bed, bedding, storage for clothing such as a dresser and closet, storage for toys, appropriate lighting for awake times as well as a night light if you use one, display areas for books, toys, and items that comfort the child and help him or her to learn. You may also need a rocking chair for a parent to help the child go back to sleep at night, and perhaps a toddler-sized chair for the child to sit during play and story times.

Washable fabrics, scrubbable walls, walls with chalkboard paint so the child can write on them, cheerful painted wall murals, rug-covered floors for warmth that have non-skid materials underneath for safety, durable safe furniture finishes, and toys that are easily accessible for the child to play with are all features you should incorporate into the room's decor.

A favorite animal or storybook character can be used in the child's bedding, wall decor and other elements. Other themes can incorporate the alphabet, numbers, nursery rhymes and songs. For example, the nursery rhyme: "Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon..." could be illustrated on a wall by painting the rhyme itself on the wall along with a cat playing a fiddle, a cow jumping over the moon and a dish running away with a spoon.

Musical lamps, other music sources or white noise sources, night-glow vinyl stars applied to the ceiling for the child to contemplate at night, and other things that provide a soothing effect are helpful for restless toddlers. Anything that frightens the child should be removed from the room, even if you think it shouldn't frighten a child.