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mumofone
26-10-2015, 07:34 PM
I have a new playroom which ive had to baby proof within an inch of its life for my own adventurous/naughty/nightmare/destroyer of a son! :-) It's not big enough for a room divider so it needs to cater to all ages. I'm looking for inspiration as to how to best set it out if anyone's willing to share any pics of theirs (baby proof storage, shelving etc etc).....

natlou82
26-10-2015, 07:58 PM
To be honest I find its trial and error and I'm constantly moving things, changing things around to suit my mindees, what I find challenging is having things accessible for the toddlers, when one just loves to empty everything onto the floor lol!

blue bear
29-10-2015, 06:42 AM
The ikea kallax units are quite good with babies, you can stack them high so toys with small parts go up higher, the cube boxes come in various form and even the cheapest ones are sturdy enough for a exploring baby to pull at. There is a Facebook page creating your childminding space lots of photographs on there

mumofone
29-10-2015, 07:32 AM
The ikea kallax units are quite good with babies, you can stack them high so toys with small parts go up higher, the cube boxes come in various form and even the cheapest ones are sturdy enough for a exploring baby to pull at. There is a Facebook page creating your childminding space lots of photographs on there


Oh wow thank you, are you able to link to the Facebook page at all? :-)

blue bear
29-10-2015, 08:40 AM
How do you do links I'm useless at this stuff

Simona
29-10-2015, 09:09 AM
To be honest I find its trial and error and I'm constantly moving things, changing things around to suit my mindees, what I find challenging is having things accessible for the toddlers, when one just loves to empty everything onto the floor lol!

I used to change the playroom too....to accommodate the children's different ages and stages like you do...I used to ask the children to help and move things to cater for all needs.
I am not quite sure how a room can be 'baby proofed'? their instinct is to explore ...find things and play....open and close drawers ad infinitum.... trap fingers at times too but what a learning curve for them!!...get to the pots and pans!!
if everything is safely put away where is the sense of curiosity going to go?

I suppose with safety in mind we can have a very stimulating room without making it clinical and having to provide every toy because everything is safely locked away but also not having the room looking like a mess with all toys on the floor within minutes...a bit like Playgroups!!

Not everything was always accessible in my playroom as lots of resources were on shelves...but teach the toddlers to point as to what they want to play with is ever so easy!!!

FloraDora
29-10-2015, 09:54 AM
I think if you make a room 'baby proof' you are also losing the learning of not touching some things, not learning how to close doors and drawers without fingers being trapped, not realising that everything is not ok for them.
It's my experience that unless children are having opportunities to constantly be gently reminded of these things then they are more likely to become unaware of boundaries and behaviour and safety becomes more of an issue...when in fact the baby proofing was designed to keep them safe! Children have to learn to make the right decisions not have all decisions taken off them.
With this in mind all you really need to do, as others have said is put the tiny resources that can be swallowed or put up a nose out of their way...older children learn to ask for them and know that because it's a high shelf activity it's likely that it needs to be played with out of a younger child's way. This is the advantage I have in using my whole house- the younger child can be playing in the living room whilst an older child is in another area, still in sight. In my den, where a lot of the toys are stored all the lower shelves are montessorie like and all resources are safe for younger child on open shelves and the higher shelves are more stacked, as I access them for the children- but they can see what is there and it's 'grouped' to a theme or type.
I find the children know the resources so well they know where to go to get what they need to extend their play and they know if it's something they need to ask me to help with.
My dining room has a bureau and in it is smallworld on shelves in baskets - doors can be closed as a barrier to a younger child. The Tv unit cupboard is phonics/ letters, the older children have access- again once the doors are opened its baskets on open shelves but my new young child already knows that he can't go in there, it only took a few stops for him to learn this. My open bookshelf is where I put out all markmaking items in a writing area design: two shelves are donated to Children, lower has chalk, thin, medium and chunky wax crayons, colouring pencils and a paper drawer unit...the higher has whiteboard pens, felt tips , biro's, special fairy pens that have small parts etc...the younger child cannot reach this shelf, he has attempted to access it , but I have explained he can only have them when I am there, we have scribbled with them and I have put them back...he has learned this in 6 weeks and doesn't now go for them without looking for me first. The older children access them and just take one at a time returning them to the high shelf each time if LO is near...but if LO is busy doing something else they take pot down , use and then put away after...they know to look out for him, they know about small parts harming.
It's getting that balance of access, learning that some things cannot be touched and learning that not every toy is suitable for every age range ...that is what an enabling environment is about I think. Playrooms are great for closing the door on at night I think, they used to work well in big old houses where the nanny looked after the child in the nursery wing or playroom...which was probably twice as big as our average small homes now. But playrooms now are often too small to store and play in, converted garages and conservatories ....so you have to think out of the box for ways a mix of ages can play together. I am very aware of the measurements I did when checking that my home was suitable for childminding ....available space had to be in a series of rooms to reach the standard required, how do people who use just a playroom get round this?

Simona
29-10-2015, 10:05 AM
Good point Flora Dora

In a cm's setting all the rooms downstairs should be used...not just the playroom unless we have specified that but I wonder if Ofsted would agree with that....it would turn our setting into a nursery where children spend the whole 10 hours in one contained room?

Floor space is...I am sure...something that will be revised in the EYFS for obvious reasons as they have already done away with that in schools to accommodate 2 year olds and eliminated the need to have special areas for rest and sleep!!

This 30 hours saga will be an eye opener!

AliceK
29-10-2015, 10:32 AM
I also use the big Kallax unit (16 spaces) which has to be fixed to a wall. I organise resources according to age so a crawler would be able to access the pull out fabric boxes at the bottom and a toddler would also be able to freely access the next height up, older children can access more and more and then right at the top, on top of the unit I have the resources that only I can get to. My 3 and 4 year olds know what is where and they understand that some things are not suitable to have out when a 1yr old is around and so know they have to ask me for them.
I also have loads of resources stored in my garage and things get rotated as and when the need arises.
I do believe we need to teach children and not completely prevent them from touching / doing. Some things on a unit in my hallway are not to be touched and the children know this, likewise I do not have a stairgate, I would rather teach children that they are not allowed to climb the stairs. I haven't had one now for about 4 years and over that time I have had plenty of children start with me at crawling stage but they soon learn that the stairs are out of bounds.
We can't and shouldn't try and eliminate ALL risk, we should teach instead. Just my opinion :blush:

xxx

mumofone
29-10-2015, 10:40 PM
How do you do links I'm useless at this stuff

Copy and paste it and hit return and it should appear as a link :-)

mumofone
12-11-2015, 08:32 AM
The ikea kallax units are quite good with babies, you can stack them high so toys with small parts go up higher, the cube boxes come in various form and even the cheapest ones are sturdy enough for a exploring baby to pull at. There is a Facebook page creating your childminding space lots of photographs on there

These Kaplan units sound great, that's just the kind of thing I'm looking for, thanks bb :-) x

mumofone
12-11-2015, 08:33 AM
To be honest I find its trial and error and I'm constantly moving things, changing things around to suit my mindees, what I find challenging is having things accessible for the toddlers, when one just loves to empty everything onto the floor lol!

This is my situation exactly! :-)

Simona
12-11-2015, 09:19 AM
To be honest I find its trial and error and I'm constantly moving things, changing things around to suit my mindees, what I find challenging is having things accessible for the toddlers, when one just loves to empty everything onto the floor lol!

That brings back memories....a while back Ofsted used to be very picky on resources being 'accessible at all times'...do you remember that phase?...a bit different from schools where everything is at one level!!

Don't you think though that when children empty shelves and do exactly as you describe it shows the CoEL at their best?
I used to snap photos at them to capture that and then put in their assessment.

I used to change the playroom around taking hints from the children when I used to observe them at play and setting up their own activities....this involved all ages ......they were actually capable of moving the room around themselves with such wonderful results.

That gave me inspiration on how to make the environment reflect their dispositions and active learning!

mumofone
13-11-2015, 08:35 AM
I think a stair gate is baby proofing or a lock on a drawer of sharp knives. It's all very well not "baby proofing" but if you pop to the toilet or go and change a soiled nappy and an inquisitive 18 month old walks into your kitchen of sharp knives and takes one out and does some damage to themselves or another mindee are you not going to wish you had "baby proofed" that drawer? Are you hampering their imagination and exploration by having a lock on that drawer? How would you explain that to a parent or inspector? I'm not saying I'm right I'm just asking because I'm interested. I have blind safety cords on all my blinds, theres been loads of deaths from these so I think it's extremely important but that's a baby proofing measure. It only takes a minute for these things to happen and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

My pre reg inspector wasnt happy I didn't have socket covers or furniture corner guards so we clearly all have different levels of what we are comfortable with.

I'm lucky in that I have a spacious playroom but children aren't confined to it. I think playrooms can get a negative press if children are "put" in there for the day but that's not the case here, it's part of the home they use and can only be a good thing :-)

I know lots of CMs register their whole house to get round the space requirement issue but then only end up using one or two rooms in reality.

mumofone
13-11-2015, 08:36 AM
I also use the big Kallax unit (16 spaces) which has to be fixed to a wall. I organise resources according to age so a crawler would be able to access the pull out fabric boxes at the bottom and a toddler would also be able to freely access the next height up, older children can access more and more and then right at the top, on top of the unit I have the resources that only I can get to. My 3 and 4 year olds know what is where and they understand that some things are not suitable to have out when a 1yr old is around and so know they have to ask me for them. I also have loads of resources stored in my garage and things get rotated as and when the need arises. I do believe we need to teach children and not completely prevent them from touching / doing. Some things on a unit in my hallway are not to be touched and the children know this, likewise I do not have a stairgate, I would rather teach children that they are not allowed to climb the stairs. I haven't had one now for about 4 years and over that time I have had plenty of children start with me at crawling stage but they soon learn that the stairs are out of bounds. We can't and shouldn't try and eliminate ALL risk, we should teach instead. Just my opinion :blush: xxx

I like the look of these thanks :-)

BallyH
13-11-2015, 09:01 AM
I think a stair gate is baby proofing or a lock on a drawer of sharp knives. It's all very well not "baby proofing" but if you pop to the toilet or go and change a soiled nappy and an inquisitive 18 month old walks into your kitchen of sharp knives and takes one out and does some damage to themselves or another mindee are you not going to wish you had "baby proofed" that drawer? Are you hampering their imagination and exploration by having a lock on that drawer? How would you explain that to a parent or inspector? I'm not saying I'm right I'm just asking because I'm interested. I have blind safety cords on all my blinds, theres been loads of deaths from these so I think it's extremely important but that's a baby proofing measure. It only takes a minute for these things to happen and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

My pre reg inspector wasnt happy I didn't have socket covers or furniture corner guards so we clearly all have different levels of what we are comfortable with.

I'm lucky in that I have a spacious playroom but children aren't confined to it. I think playrooms can get a negative press if children are "put" in there for the day but that's not the case here, it's part of the home they use and can only be a good thing :-)

I know lots of CMs register their whole house to get round the space requirement issue but then only end up using one or two rooms in reality.

I think some cm's register their whole house so that they have access to all rooms in the future. They may start childminding with 2 three years olds and then a baby starts, so they need access to a room for a baby to sleep. No need to get Ofsted out to check the room (well, that use to happen. I think now they ask you to risk access yourself as they are very busy, but I may be wrong). The cm's are thinking ahead.
I don't have any stairgates, furniture corner guards or kitchen cupboard locks. I have risk accessed plus my lo's are taught not to touch. I watch them very carefully until they have learnt 'no touching' certain things. However, my kitchen knives are not in a drawer. They have been in a high shelf in a tall kitchen cupboard. They are all standing in a tall jar - no wonder they are blunt, standing all the time. Plus some years back we changed a small downstairs study room into a utility. This is where I store all 'dangerous' kitchen things, plus hoover, alcohol etc. The door has got a small lock on the outside. So I am being careful that way, but every cm's home is different and the lo's soon learn how it is run and what is expected from them.
Maybe your pre-reg inspector saw you have a baby/toddler and then commented about furniture corner covers and plug sockets. But at each stage of development we all do what we can to keep the children safe from harm.

mumofone
13-11-2015, 09:12 AM
I think some cm's register their whole house so that they have access to all rooms in the future. They may start childminding with 2 three years olds and then a baby starts, so they need access to a room for a baby to sleep. No need to get Ofsted out to check the room (well, that use to happen. I think now they ask you to risk access yourself as they are very busy, but I may be wrong). The cm's are thinking ahead. I don't have any stairgates, furniture corner guards or kitchen cupboard locks. I have risk accessed plus my lo's are taught not to touch. I watch them very carefully until they have learnt 'no touching' certain things. However, my kitchen knives are not in a drawer. They have been in a high shelf in a tall kitchen cupboard. They are all standing in a tall jar - no wonder they are blunt, standing all the time. Plus some years back we changed a small downstairs study room into a utility. This is where I store all 'dangerous' kitchen things, plus hoover, alcohol etc. The door has got a small lock on the outside. So I am being careful that way, but every cm's home is different and the lo's soon learn how it is run and what is expected from them. Maybe your pre-reg inspector saw you have a baby/toddler and then commented about furniture corner covers and plug sockets. But at each stage of development we all do what we can to keep the children safe from harm.

That's my point though that by storing your "dangerous" items in a cupboard with a lock you are "baby proofing" (or "child proofing"). So I don't think we should look at "baby proofing" as a negative thing that hampers Childrens exploration and imagination because we all do it.