Placing Child-sized Furniture and Tools In the Home
One of the things I am still slowly working on as of this moment is placing child-sized furniture and tools around the home for Kimi. I wanted my son to develop a sense of independence at an early age, and one of the easiest ways that I can encourage this in our home is by providing furniture that are child-appropriate and are of the same height as him. I think it is very empowering for a child to be able to do some things for himself without always having to resort to an adult’s helping hand and to help in household chores whenever he can offer help as he knows he has the capacity and tools to do so.
Even before I set foot in this journey, we already have a child-sized desk and chair. I bought it when Kimi was still about a year old. I got it without putting much thought into it - without thinking if my child would have a hard time pulling his self up to the chair, if he would be able to sit comfortably on it, if the soles of his feet would be able to touch the ground and if while he is sitting on it he would be able to play or doodle comfortably on the table in front of him. Nonetheless, I have not had the legs of the desk altered as Kimi is already growing into it. For the chair, it was made of plastic so I do not have much choice about it. I just vowed to myself that the next time I buy a furniture, I will be more intentional and conscientious about my choice.
After a while I added a functional, toddler kitchen for Kimi so that he would be able to independently wash his hands and get his drink from the dispenser. He is still working on both skills at this time but it greatly fills my heart with warmth whenever I see see him try and do things for himself.
As for the dining room, we initially just had a baby seat for Kimi that we propped up and strapped on a Monobloc. It was great until he was just a young toddler. But when he was already gaining more independence in his movement and gaining more weight, it became harder to just let him sit still and to carry him to his chair. I replaced it with a wooden high chair that has a foot rest that can be moved across different heights so that his knees can maintain a 90 degree angle to the foot rest and can firmly plant his feet on them. With this, he would also be able to move up and down from his chair without needing any help.
Lately, I added a low bookshelf so that he can pick any book that interests him from the shelf and also put the book back in the shelf once he is done reading.
Across the home, we also have low cube shelves for his activities, child-height drawers for his clothes and personal stuffs, mirror in the living room and in the bathroom and a potty.
I am still working on adding a low table or shelf for a hairbrush; a child stool and a full length mirror in our bedroom so that he can dress himself up; and a shelf where he can easily access his toothbrush, toothpaste and a hand towel in the bathroom.
There are still a few things that I want to add as of the moment and as Kimi grows my list keeps getting longer and longer by the day. Some of the furniture that we have now will be outgrown by him and be replaced in the future by a more suitable and more appropriate one depending on his need. But that is how it is, much like us, kids grow, and at a faster rate than us if I must say. As always, I will just be an observer, constantly adapting to his need and constantly adjusting his environment as I see fit.
