BASIC CONSIDERATION FOR A CHILDREN’S PLAYROOM

According to McCutchen (2018), it is innate for children to be fond of

playing most of the time. They love playing enough that they continue their
playtime all throughout the day and in every corner of the house. With this, it is
believed that playing is one of the stages necessary for the development of
“cognitive, problem-solving and imaginative skills” of children (Yong, 2016).
With them being exposed to different things as they play, they learn from them
and tend to start unfolding the creative, fun, interesting and imaginative side
of them.
Playing has advantages and disadvantage for both children and parents.
For the parents, it seems to be very inconvenient to have their children’s play
toys scattered always in any part of the house. This could lead to considering
a place particularly intended for children and their toys, the Children’s
Playroom.
Based on Price (n.d), a children’s playroom is a place where “creativity, fun
and imagination” of children starts. This is a place where they could freely enjoy
their playtime and at the same time, learn as well. In creating a playroom for
the children, there are a lot of things to consider regarding the minimum basic
requirements, safety of the users and the over-all design of the area.

MINIMUM BASIC REQUIREMENTS

Just like any other spaces in a building there are minimum basic
requirements that are to be considered in a children’s playroom. This may
include the following:
1. Space Requirements
Since a person goes through a series of stages in life and is not a child
that is so much into playing forever, a playroom is not that required in an initial
design of a house. In times needed, it could be placed in any available room
or if there are none, it could be in a certain space in a room of the house which
can be sectioned off.
Based on Blue Brickz (2019), in designing a children’s playroom space
planning is the most important factor to consider. It must have a space
sufficient for the children to be in an area where they can really enjoy playing.
2. Storage
According to One Kindesign (2013), a children’s playroom must entail an
area where effective storage can be placed. Storage where all of the
children’s play toys like stuffed and loose toys, puzzles and other items should
be stored and organized. It could be a built-in shelves or something that can
be move about as long as it is easily accessible for the children. This is for the
reason that it is capable of storing things like books, displays, some toys and
other playroom items (Blue Brickz, 2019).
Storage in a children’s playroom should not be limited to accommodate
only a large number of toys, it should also be capable of storing other thing like
books. Based on McCutchen (2018), bookshelves are one of the most
important requirement of a playroom because through books, children learn
about their literary skills.
It should always have soft edges and not sharp ones.
3. Sitting Area
A Children’s playroom must have a sitting area for both children and
parents or guardians. It should have a space where the children can find
comfort in sitting and relax themselves if they get tired of playing. This area
could also be for the parents keep an eye on their children. This is one good
way where the parents or guardians can ensure the security of their children
while playing (Price, n.d. and McCutchen, 2018).
4. Playing Area
A children’s playroom will not be considered as such if there is no
sufficient space for the children’s playing area. This area may be a space for
a ball pit or anything the children can enjoy playing on. This could also be a
table where children could do arts and crafts, eat snacks, and read books
(Blue Brickz, 2019).
The children’s playing area could as well be an incorporation of different
environments the children prefer. This could be based on a school setting
which could help in letting the children find school more interesting (WikiHow,
2019).
5. Light and Ventilation
As part of basic design consideration in a building, a sufficient natural or
artificial lighting in a children’s playroom helps in providing a feeling of comfort
to the users of the space. Also, there is really a need for the space to be well
ventilated to avoid a feeling of discomfort to the children (Fajardo, 1991).

COLORS
Based on WikiHow (2019), the best way to choose the colors to be used
in a playroom is asking for advice from the children. Since, they are the primary
users of the room, it would be better if they are into a pleasing environment
incorporating a theme they tend to like the most. If the children don’t have a
specific choice in mind, it is then right to choose what color fits the best in a
playroom.
Psychologically, colors influence the behavior, personality and mood of
a person (Cherry, 2019). With this, it is very important to carefully choose the
color that is best for a children’s playroom. To be specific, warm colors usually
bring a feeling of “happiness” while cool colors provide a “calming effect for
children.” For example, the color red has the capability of energizing the body
and excite the mind of a person. The color orange help in encouraging
“confidence, extroversion, and independence,” making it a good color
choice for children. The color soft yellow can help in concentration and bright
yellow in increasing memory. The color green can help in improving reading
comprehension and speed of the children (Blue Brickz, 2019).

SAFETY
In terms of vulnerability, the safety of the children is really important to
consider in designing a playroom. As the main user of the room, everything
should be childproof.
Yang (n.d.) remarked on Yong (2016) that a playroom should have a
design that can attract the child and make them want to stay in it, but without
compromising their safety. This simply means that everything in the design is
child-friendly. Specifically, sharp edges of any carpentry or products should be
eliminated and everything the children need should within their reach. Also,
the floor should be soften using thick carpets, rugs or rubber mats (Blue Brickz,
2019).
The most important among all of the safety measures for children is the
guidance of the parents. Meaning, the playroom should be easily monitored
and accessed by the parents.

CONCLUSION:
Based on Dewar (2014), there had been studies showing that there are
actually cognitive benefits of playing. At a young age, children find playing as
something they are just fond of doing. Neither did they know; they are little by
little improving their selves through the learnings that they acquire with playing.
In designing a playroom, there are a lot of things to consider. Since it is
where young children learn without even realizing they are, the place itself
should do its task of initially helping them complete their work of childhood. The
first thing to consider in a playroom is the place or the space of the room itself.
For a playroom, the larger the space, the more games there could be for
children to play and learn. The area of the room should be sufficient enough
to cater different things like storage that are intended for play toys, books, and
other educational materials (boxes, cabinets and bookshelves), playing areas
where children could really enjoy and learn or improve their skills and talents
(slide, mini-library and table for drawing), sitting area where parents could
keep an eye to their children to ensure their security and others.
Moreover, in terms of the ambience and psychological effects that the
environment provide, color is the most responsible for this. Indeed, colors really
affect the human brain. Scientifically, the brain of young people is more active
than the adults, they are more good at learning and retaining such up to the
time they grow older (Saban, 2009). They are also easily deceived by the
effects that the environment they are in provides. For a playroom, the use of
appropriate colors is something to consider. If the children have certain
favorite colors, it would be better to incorporate them in the design since they
are the ones who uses the place for a longer period of time. If they are
undecided, the use of warm colors usually provides a feeling of happiness
while cool colors provide an effect that is calming for them (Blue Brickz, 2019).
For instance, the use of color orange in the design is good since according to
Longcop (2019), this color is a stimulating one which has the ability to inspire
joy and creativity.
Another thing to consider in a playroom is the safety of the users. Since
children are very vulnerable and somehow fully unaware of what they are
doing to their selves, the design of the place should adjust. Furniture or toys
with sharp edges or anything that could do harm to the children must not be
incorporated in the design. Toys that are small enough to be swallowed by the
children must as well not be present in the playroom. Since it has been studied
that the rate of children under the age of six (6) ingesting different things
including small part of toys “nearly doubled in the two decades after 1995”
(Pediatrics, 2019). But, among all the adjustments that could be done in the
design, the guidance of the parents or guardians is still the best way to cope
with the problems regarding the safety of the children.
As Ar. John Lautner once said, “The purpose of Architecture is to improve
human life. Create timeless, free, joyous spaces for all activities in life.”
Therefore, as designers, the need to take ones’ desires into a specific
environment to help them in improving their lives is really something to
consider. Specifically, for children to be fully developed in terms of learning on
how they are supposed to learn things at a young age, keeping them in a
place like a playroom would truly help in providing a feeling of enjoyment and
at the same time learnings as well.

REFERENCES:
Blue Brickz (2019). Malaysia Home Reno: 4 Important Children Playroom Design
Consideration. Retrieved from https://bluebrickz.com/deco/malaysia-
home-reno-4-important-children-playroom-design-consideration/.
Cherry, K. (2019). Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel?. Retrieved
https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824.
Dewar, G. (2014). The cognitive benefits of play: Effects on the learning brain.
Retrieved on September 2019 from
https://www.parentingscience.com/benefits-of-play.html.
Fajardo, M (2002). Planning and Designers Handbook. Batasan Hills, Quezon
City: 5138 Merchandising
McCutchen, M. (2018). 20 Kids Playroom Ideas That Will Give you Inspiration.
Retrieved from https://nimvo.com/20-kids-playroom-ideas-that-will-
give-you-inspiration/.
One Kindesign (2013). The ultimate kids’ playroom DIY guide. Retrieved on
September 2019 from https://onekindesign.com/2013/04/23/the-
ultimate-kids-playroom-diy-guide/. Retrieved on September 21, 2019.
Pediatrics (2019). Foreign-Body Ingestions of Young Children Treated in US
Emergency Departments: 1995–2015. 143(5). AAP News & Journals.
Price, M. (n.d.) DESIGNING A PLAYROOM. Retrieved on September 2019 from
https://www.thetot.com/baby/nursery/designing-a-playroom/.
Saban, E. (2019). Building Baby’s Brain: Prime Times for Learning. Georgia CTAE
Resource Networ. Retrieved on September 2019.
WikiHow (2019). How to Create a Playroom. Retrieved on September 2019 from
https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-
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Yong, J. (2016). 6 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING A PLAYROOM FOR
YOUR CHILD. Retrieved from
https://www.homerenoguru.sg/articles/tips-advice/6-considerations-
when-designing-child-room/.