630.71Jr3L.no.805c.3

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CONTENTS

Stages of ch1dren's growth and storage needs 3Infancy 0-1 years 3Toddler 1-2 years 4Early School 6-12 years 4Teenager 13-19 years ---------------------------------- 4

Plan Ahead for Storage -------------------------------------- 5Clothes Closets -------------------------------------------- 5Drawers-------------------------------------------------------- 5Bedroom Accessories ---------------------------------- 6ToyStorage -------------------------------------------------- 7StudyAreas -------------------------------------------------- 8

storage for KID'S stuff

by Judy Burridge, Extension Home Economist

Children need work space and storage for clothes,toys, recreational equipment and study supplies. Provid-ing these spaces encourages development of self-helptechniques, neatness and, as the child grows older, goodstudy habits. Children's storage should be flexible enoughto grow with them. This bulletin is intended to be a guidefor planning children's storage.

Stages of children's growth and storage needs

DEVELOPMENTALCHARACTERISTICS

Stage and Age:

In fancy 0-1 years

Basically oriented for mother's convenience.Routines relate to baby's activitiessleeping,bathing, diapering and feeding. Because ofsafety factors, temporary storage of soiledclothes and diapers should be provided nearthe changing table.

STORAGE NEEDS

Changing table or chest of drawers (holdsnotions, lotions, clothing and diapers).Wet diaper receptacle.Diaper pail.Cupboard space for feeding equipment.Area to store equipment such as:

bathtubstroller or buggywalkerplaypen

* car bed0 infant seat

high chair* jump seat

0 Indicates equipment that will not be needed in follow-ing developmental stages.

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DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

Toddler 1-2½ years

Transitory from mother-oriented to self-help.Child may begin to dress himselfneeds stor-age for toys, some books, art materials andgames, as well as clothes.

Preschool 2½ -5 years

Storage should be designed for developmentalself-help stage of the child. Toys are designedfor small muscle development, dramatic playand some large muscle development. Childbegins art work, "writing." Likes to be read towants books.

Early School 6-12 years

Activities are oriented around school andplay. The young child is an avid collector ofthings which require storage. The older childhas storage needs for recreation, hobby orsports equipment and needs space for study.Adjustments in clothing storage may be neces-sary as the child grows older. As childrenbegin to have needs for privacy and owner-ship at this age, provision for a place for theirown things is desirable.

Teenager 13-19 years

Space requirements are greatest at this stage.Storage needs are for self-learning equipment,recreation, sporting, hobby equipment, cloth-ing and grooming aids. As individuality, sexdifferences and privacy are important at thisage, individual storage is desirable.

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STORAGE NEEDS

Closet or clothes rodDrawer spaceLow, open shelving for toy storage

Clothes closet with low rod.Shelves for pull toys, dolls, books, etc.Drawers or trays for small toys such aspuzzles and some games.Large drawers or bins for blocks.Storage area for wheel toys such as tri-cycles, wagons, etc.Desk for art and "writing" supplies.

Low rod for hanging clothes.Drawers for folded clothing.Shelves for collections.Bulletin board for "works of art."Storage cupboards for art supplies.Shelves for books.Shelves for toys, games.Desk and study supplies.Storage area for wheel toys.Large storage area for hobby, sportingequipment.An area for each child's own posses-sions.

Closet space.Drawers for folded clothes.Area for desk and desk supplies.Shelves for books.Area for hobbies, collections.Storage for records, tapes.Storage for educational media, project-ors, tapes, films. (Self-learning media.)Storage area for grooming aids.

PLAN AHEAD for storage

Since most families do not have the re-sources to completely refurbish each time achild enters a new stage, planning flexiblestorage for children is helpful. If you areplanning a home in which you will be livingseveral years, built-in storage may be ideal.For those who anticipate moving, portableunits may be more practical than built-instorage.

Clothes ClosetsChildren should be able to reach clothing

rods. Suggested height from the floor forclothes rods are 30" for toddlers, 45" for earlyschool years and 64" for teenagers. Severalalternatives can be used to make closets growwith the child. Hardware for clothing rodsmay be purchased inexpensively and addedto the closet to make rod height adjustable.Portable rods that are held in place by suctioncups or screws may be put in closets at heightneeded.

When the toddler is using the lower rod,out-of-season clothing may be hung above onthe adult rod. If more shelving is needed inthe room, brackets or guides could be at-tached to the side walls of the closet enablingthe use of flexible shelves until the adult rodis needed.

Drawers should be at a height that the childcan reach. Many shallow drawers enablechildren to find socks, underwear and shirtsthat are stored there. Drawers which are toodeep and become cluttered can be betteruilized by adding sliding trays to the top half.

Sliding tray In a deep drawer.

AdolescentAdult

1-56-12 years

30 ToddlerPreschool

Children's closets should grow withthe child. Allow 48" of rod space foreach family member.

Additional rods can be suspendedfrom existing rods to make clotheseasier to reach.

If deep drawers are used, they shouldbe low to enable small children tosee Into them.

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Bedroom AccessoriesBedroom accessories help younger chil-

dren to be neat, to help themselves, and tostimulate their imagination. They can beused in the decorating scheme of the room.These accessories can be made inexpensivelyat home or purchased. Some ideas are:

Clothes tree:animal orvegetable

Paper mache birds

Clothes brush tail

Start with a sawhorse

Plywood or paper mache

..+ +-

Decorative Animal orClown shoe bags to hang on wail

Animal or doilPajama bags for the bed

Laundry gobbler(Ventilated base with turkey headwhich can be made from paper mache)

Toy StorageChildren need easy access to playthings.

When planning storage for toys, shelving en-ables the child to locate the toy he wantswithout rummaging through a toy box.

Covered Boxes.

An inexpensive approach to shelving is tocover boxes with adhesive paper or vinyl andstack them.

Storage Modules.

Storage modules can be made from plywood.They do double duty work as shelving or toys.

Storage Bins.

A cabinet with shelves for storing toys enableschildren to learn to be neat. Plastic vegetablebins are handy for storing small items. Openshelving that is adjustable is flexible and will"grow" with the child.

Storage Walls.

More expensive but more durable than boxesare storage walls. These should have adjust-able shelving for flexible use.

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Tracked toys such as model trains andcar-racing outfits are best utilized if they aremounted on a large sheet of plywood withsome provisions of storing out of sight whennot in use.

Engines, carskept on shelvinghere.

1L1df gAR4 S

T

Fold out track fromshelving area. Folded Up

hingedleg

E1

It's a blackboard-bulletin board.

Droppeddown

It's Junior's train track board.

Large wheel toys present special problems.In rainy climate provision for storage requirescover. Storage area can be in garage or base-ment with easy access to outdoors. An outdoor"parking area" or "trike-port" encourages thejunior set to park off the sidewalks or drive-way where deserted tricycles and wheel toyscan be hazardous. Bicycle racks keep bicyclesfrom being parked in the middle of the side-walk.

Fiberglass Roofing

Trlke Port

Located on back of garage or house. Provi-sion for locking is desirable.

Provisions in yard area should be made fortemporary storage for wheel toys to keepthem off sidewalks or driveways where theyare hazardous.

Study AreasSchool age children need a study area in

which they can store books, paper, art andwriting materials and study. Adequate light-ing and writing space is needed.

Suggestions for study areas include:

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Supplies for study area storage may be:pencils paper dictionarypens paper weight thesaurusscotch tape glue or rub- encyclopediasscissors her cement booksrulers stapler file materialserasers art materialspencil sharp- and supplies

ener typewriter

adjustabledesk top

Plastic-laminated desk tops can be a part ofbuilt-in storage. Adjustable tracking enablesthe desk to grow with the child.

dividerbulletin board

hingeddesk

This areafor openshelves.

Portable desk units can be made for childrensharing a room.

Learning aids require areas for use; storagespace for supplies.

carouselback screen film loop projector TV tape recorder

A new concept for study areas is that of aself-learning center. This means space isneeded for equipment such as television, taperecorders, slide and film projectors. If thefamily is photography and music-orientated,the learning center can serve as a multi-purpose area.

Storage needs for a learning center arefor the following equipment:

projectors tape recorderfilms, slides recording tape

electrical cords maps, chartsscreens, back- posters, illustrations

screenselectronic syn-

chronizer

Storage for children should be planned tofit their clothing, grooming, recreation, hobbyand study needs. These needs change as chil-dren grow, necessitating planning for flexi-bility of storage units. For further informa-tion about storage contact your county Exten-sion home economist.

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Extension Service

January 1973

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

EXTENSIONi1SERVICE

Oregon State University

EC 805

Extension Service, Oregon State University, Corvatlis, Lee H. Kolmer, director. This publication was produced

and distributed in turtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Extension work is acooperative program of Oregon State University, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and Oregon counties.