kids Archives - Page 8 of 8

Kid’s Playroom Decor Ideas

January 24, 2017 by admin

If you have kids, you will understand why having a playroom is a good idea. For the sake of your sanity, and theirs, I would highly recommend turning your spare room, shed or a corner of a family room into a play area.

Doing so will give your kids the space they need to really relax and enjoy themselves. It will also stop your house from looking like a huge toy store, all of the time.

Creating a space like this does not have to be expensive. Often you can use items that you already own, and buy the other materials you need from cheap sources.

Make the space safe

The first, and most important, step is to make the space you are planning to use as safe as possible. That means removing any sharp edges, installing a non-slip floor, eliminating risks such as blind cords and installing safety features like a smoke alarm and window locks. This page covers the subject of child proofing a playroom in more detail.

The right flooring

We already mentioned installing anti-slip flooring. For this, engineered wood floors are often a good option. This type of flooring is inexpensive, easy to lay and not hard to maintain. It is not as warm as carpet, but is also not cold, and hard like tiles.

Decorating the walls

The best approach to a playroom is to paint the room rather than wallpaper it. That way any marks can easily be wiped away. Just be careful to use the type of paint that can withstand being cleaned with harsh products.

If you want to, you could turn one of the walls into a large chalkboard. Providing them with a large whiteboard is another option. However, it is probably wise to wait until your children are old enough to understand that they can only draw on the chalk or whiteboards. The last thing you need is them getting confused using all of your walls as a space for their artistic handiwork.

You can add interest to the walls using wall stickers, or custom traffic signs like the ones you can buy at roadtrafficsigns.com. Alternatively, if your kids are good at art, let them design a mural and paint it with them.

Keeping the space clean and tidy

Another important consideration is keeping the space tidy and organised. Some parents are happy for their children to leave their toys lying about provided they only do so in the playroom. Others want their children to put everything away before tea.

Which approach you take is up to you, but either way it is a good idea to provide your children with some storage space. Doing so ensures that delicate or expensive toys can be stowed away.

You need to make sure that they storage solutions you provide are safe, and easy for your children to use. The last thing you need is for one of your children to be pinned under a heavy wardrobe, because it fell over when they were climbing up the shelving section to reach a favourite toy.

Sealable plastic storage containers, toy chests and low-level drawer units are all good ways to provide space for your children to put their toys away when they are not in use.

Tips for Eating Out with the Kids

January 3, 2017 by admin

Most people enjoy the experience of dining out and leaving the cooking and clean-up to someone else. This includes parents of young children. Since their behavior can be unpredictable, some parents feel like they have no choice but to stay home until they know how their children will behave at a restaurant. However, preparing in advance and keeping realistic expectations can make it an enjoyable experience for everyone. This includes other diners at the restaurant.

Prepare Kids for the Experience by Practicing at Home

A few days before eating out with their children, parents can role-play the experience at home so little ones know what to expect. It’s important to model behavior such as sitting still, waiting patiently to get served, using silverware properly, and asking tablemates to pass items like salt and pepper. Children who regularly sit down to dinner with their families and know what parents expect of them at home tend to do better making the transition to dining in a restaurant.

Kids should also understand the consequences for poor behavior when eating away from home. This may include asking for the food to go and leaving the restaurant if they don’t change their behavior after a request from a parent. Pre-verbal children may not understand the words but will eventually learn to associate the cause and effect of not being allowed to stay to finish a meal.

Make Sure the Restaurant Welcomes Children

It can be awkward to show up at a restaurant with a toddler and preschooler in tow only to discover it’s not exactly kid-friendly. While it might not post a sign saying children aren’t welcome, the menu selections and ambience could send that message. If parents aren’t certain, it’s a good idea to call the restaurant and ask. This is also a good time to inquire about whether the restaurant has a separate children’s menu or if the cooks can tailor adult dishes to a child’s palate.

Start Slow

It’s unfortunate that more restaurants have become unwelcome to children because they need the opportunity to learn how to behave in public. The first time parents take young children to a sit-down restaurant, they should stick to the main course only. It should be a nice restaurant that caters to families, but not something overly fancy. When it’s clear the kids understand how dining out works, parents can consider adding an appetizer or desert or upping the stakes to a more upscale eatery.

How to Make the Waiting Time Easier for Little Ones

To a kid, a 15-minute wait for the server to bring the food can seem like an eternity. Children tend to act up when they get bored and fidgety, which often happens when adults are talking to each other and not engaging them. Coloring on the placemats, telling stories, or even playing with chopsticks can all help distract kids while they wait. It should be a quiet toy so as not to disturb other diners. If all else fails, one adult can get up to walk around with the kids while the other stays at the table.

Why are Children so Obsessed with Trucks?

November 19, 2016 by admin

“Mum, there’s a truck!” are the cries that many parents are all too familiar with and there’s just something about trucks that make them completely fascinating to children. From their tipping abilities to the deep roaring sound they make when they go past – kids can be entertained for hours watching trucks. And it’s not only boys who love to play with trucks, daughters love them too and what’s even better than toy trucks? Real trucks of course!

Tilt Tray Trucks

Hiring trucks is fairly easy and there are many reasons why a truck may need to be rented, from moving house to transporting heavy machinery. Affordable tilt tray hire can be organised online through a reputable company and below are some of the features that every rented tilt tray truck should come with:

Fitted with ROPs
Long range fuel tanks
Safety equipment
Hand rails
A reversing camera
Emergency stop features
Container locks

Information like this can always be found on a company website when organising the rental vehicle.

Top Tip: It is important to ensure that children who are around big trucks are monitored at all times, as the excitement of seeing a truck in person can lead to accidents.

Other Trucks

Kids don’t care what type of truck it is; as long as it makes lots of noise, picks things up and is big they will love it. Some parents may need to rent a service truck and these are often used for professional purposes to transport different products and materials. Renting a truck is a great way to get things from A to B without having to find the spare cash to invest in one and it can be a cost effective way to make use of a truck as and when one is needed.

Below is a list of some of the most popular trucks that are available to hire through reputable rental companies:

Backhoes
Tippers
Vacuums
Prime Movers
IT Loaders
Skid Steer
Water Carts

They all serve a slightly different purpose and it is a good idea to contact the provider before booking anything to get some professional advice about which type of truck will best suit different needs.

Plant hire in Perth from Total Plant Hire is an example of the type of reputable and affordable rental company that should be contacted to organise a rental truck and the best rental companies will always have a website people can look at before making a booking.

It’s true, children love to play with trucks but so do adults and they can be extremely useful when it comes to transporting anything from heavy equipment to household belongings to a different location. Buying a truck isn’t always necessary and it is usually far better value to simply rent one as and when it’s needed and this is also a great way to ensure that the right truck is used for different purposes.