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Do you recall the planning and preparation of developing your child’s nursery with fond memories? The acts of choosing a theme, a color scheme, and clothing are part of the nesting ritual. Nevertheless, there comes a time when a nursery is no longer functional for a busy toddler. Check out our top six tips for converting a nursery to a toddler’s bedroom.

Age Appropriate Furniture

The fundamental reason for converting a nursery to a toddler bedroom is often the desire to advance from a crib to a big-kid-bed. A toddler bed is a practical option between a full-sized bed and a crib, though it may not be worth the expense if your crib isn’t already convertible.

If your child can climb out of their crib or is toilet training, then it is time to consider transitioning away from a crib. However, if you are nervous that your child might roll out of bed, then you could:

• Place the crib mattress right on the floor
• Use bed guard rails
• Add a softer landing such as a plush rug or pillows
• Ensure that no hard-edged toys or furniture pose any danger if a child rolls out of bed

Involve Your Child

The nursery design is entirely at the discretion of the adults in a baby’s life. However, as your child ages, they will want to take a more active role in deciding how their room is set up and used. Within reason, involve your child in some decision-making that will encourage responsibility and ownership of their space. Ideas on how to execute this can include a choice of:

• New paint color
• Position of the furniture
• Purchasing new rugs, chairs, pillows, or soft furnishings
• Posters or artwork

Make It Fun

Children can feel your stress, and your toddler may link the anxiety of renovation to their new bedroom and décor. We recommend making the updating and redecorating experience fun, even if it means the renovations take a bit longer than expected.

Create Zones

Spending some time mapping out the zones of your child’s bedroom is well worth the effort. By creating separate areas for sleep, reading, play, and a desk or table, you’ll find cleaning up and organisation much more straightforward. Don’t forget to also include some open space to freely encourage your toddler activities and play in their room.

Toddler Accessible

You have likely been spurred to update your child’s bedroom in part due to their increasing desire for independence. Encourage this autonomy by ensuring the items they need are within reach and safely accessible. By the age of two, many children can assist with simple daily tasks in their bedroom, such as:

• Dressing themselves
• Putting their used towels or dirty clothes in the laundry bin
• Tidying their toys
• Helping to make their bed

Learning Opportunity

Children can become incredibly attached to their possessions, so it can be challenging to pass along items even if they haven’t touched them in months. However, if you can involve your child in donating items to charity or handing them down to a younger child, then it is an excellent learning opportunity. 

Updating your child’s space from a nursery to a toddler bedroom doesn’t need to be done overnight. However, if you follow our tips, we are confident both you and your child will love the results.