Raising a Toddler :)

Jotting down a few details where we've made a decision to keep our home with minimal furniture as possible to cater to our toddler's needs and of course, ensuring her safety.


FLOORING
Our entire house is installed with wooden flooring to soften the impact of our toddler falling on the floor as she loves to jump / climb and tumble. 

BATHROOM DOORS
Our bathroom doors are closed AT ALL TIMES so that she doesn't venture into the bathroom and decide to explore the things in there ie toilet bowl! On the other hand, it is for her safety too so that she doesn't slip / fall. I've been to houses where the bathroom doors aren't closed and the toddler/s are free to roam into the bathroom at any time. 


COFFEE TABLE
Nope, we don't have this in the house. We only have our toddler's activity table which comes with 2 chairs from IKEA. Quite reasonably priced and if you see the table's condition, it has gone through so many things ie painted on, stained, colored, decorated with stickers (some have been peeled off) etc.


LIVING ROOM
We try to make as much space as possible for our toddler to run around, play with her scooter / rides in the house.

It is easy for us as well to cater to play dates as the kids are free to roam around the house under the watchful eyes of adults.


SOFA
We only have one 3-seater sofa with washable sofa covers and I don't need to suffer from anxiety attack should anyone spill a drink / food / paint etc!

On the other hand, as above, the adults would more likely sit on the floor to join the kids play with the toys and interact with each other. 

Alternatively, the adults could also sit at the dining table to have coffee and conversation :)


STOOL
Easy for our toddler to brush her teeth in our bathroom as she'll insist to brush her teeth at the sink in front of the mirror (so she can look at herself and check-out her teeth) "Eeeeeeeeee" ... The stool is also useful as she's able to carry it around on her own ie to the sink if she wants to wash her hands before / after meals. We have 2 stools, one for the bathroom and another in the living room.


BEDROOM
One King-sized mattress and a toddler's bed side-by-side (same height). Easy for me to bf toddler till she falls asleep ... she'd normally start off by sleeping in her own bed. Come morning, she manages to find her way to snuggle in between hubby & me, hence the reason why we bought a King-sized mattress! 

NO bed frame ... as she's fond of using our bed and hers as a trampoline, on a few occasions, she'd fall off the bed but since we only use a mattress, it isn't that dangerous. Just the other day when her cousin sister came over (of the same age), she "invited" her cousin sister to join in on the activity! *aih!*


STORAGE SPACE
For her clothes / shoes / toys are organized in a way that is easily reachable for her. 


HIGH CHAIR
The chair which we place at the dining table makes it easy for her to join us for meals and very importantly, to recite our supplications before our meals, conveying our gratitude to God the Almighty in blessing the family with food.

This helps her to focus on finishing the course of her meals and when we go to a restaurant (or even a mamak shop!) she'll be the one looking for the baby chair ... on her own!

She'll also use this chair at hubby's workstation where hubby would be using the computer and she'll sit by his side using the iPad / coloring / cutting paper / etc.


HOUSE CHORES
We have a number of things which are easy for her to grasp / use whilst cleaning ie broom to sweep the floor after she's done playing / vacuum cleaner (the small one) which she can use to vacuum her little sofa chair from food crumbs, etc .


LAUNDRY
Our washing machine is a front-load so she'll help with putting in dirty laundry. She would occasionally "help" with folding the washed clothes but this doesn't seem to be her favorite activity. What she LOVES to do is to organize the clothes in the wardrobe! She'll move at a fast pace to complete this chore and ask for my help if she can't reach a specific drawer or she's not sure where the item should go.


Our way of making our home safe for our toddler ... to the best of our ability ... as we can't make it 100% childproof though our intentions are to make it so. 

Toddlers have their own intelligent brains working ALL THE TIME ... if they can't reach or grasp something using one method, they're almost ALWAYS able to find an alternative method, way beyond what our adult minds could even process!!!! :D