A playroom that children actually play in? Ideas?

[sureitsgrand]

Hi, we are lucky enough to have a playroom- something I would have loved as a child! But- my DS 5 doesn't play in it. What am I doing wrong?! Any simple ideas for a playroom that encourages kids to play if that makes sense. I can't take a summer of it being ignored!
The walls are plain at the moment, it's carpeted. We have lots of toys but I'm not sure they are the right ones.

He likes cars, Lego, imaginex and superheroes.

Its not a huge room.

Help?!

Ok some good tips here. It needs better furniture definitely

Big low tables do he can make Lego stuff on

Our playroom was well used but it was off the kitchen so I was always in view/chatting distance even if I wasn't in the playroom with the DCs. When they were very small it also had a stable door on it so I could stop DS escaping whilst I was ironing or cooking but I could still see in and the DCs could still seem me.

I don't want him to go to an after school club, we are off for the summer and looking forward to hanging out with him. I don't expect him to spend ages in there by himself, I will be in there with him mostly or have friends around. I just want to make the most of it and make sure I have the right toys etc in it.

Our playroom is just off the living room with a small study in between.
DS (almost 3) plays in there happily for 30-60 mins at a time which is the most I'd expect at this age.
I'd get a carpet down, it's not comfortable or warm sitting on a hard floor.
Change toys round every couple of months. So put less in and swap them over.

Why not use it as a room to store his toys, then let him take them where he wants to.play with them rather than "exile" him to a room you have designated for "play". He's at home not school.

I don’t agree with always putting toys away after they have used them. We have a playroom that is used a lot but my children are a bit older. They build fantastic set ups using playmobil, wooden bricks, lego etc and slyvanian families. They go back to them the day after and build on that, and then the day after. I think it helps to develop their imagination. It helps in that it is a room off from the living room and is an end room so I don’t need to walk through it. Everything so often we blitz it and tidy it up. They do however clear toys away from the living room because I like to relax in it at the end of the day.

As they get older it changes and I can imagine it turning into a second living room once they get older still.

Some DC enjoy toys more than others. One of mine loved and still does love them, the other is very sociable and would and still will always choose company over toys.

Also have a DN who almost never played with toys, is quiet, now likes reading and crafts.

I would add a regular sized small table, not a toddler one, and encourage him to use for arts and crafts, small bits and lego building so its up out of reach from baby once crawling. As full height you can easily join him when you are helping him. That way he can also leave 'creations' out for the next day

A cosy chair in the corner with lamp could be his new ' reading corner' as he is gradually going to be able to read more and more as time goes on. Can do stciker books etc here also.The ikea wing chairs are great for this as last forever.

The best playroom we had was the utility room.....

I was an only & happy in my own company so might be off the mark here, but- once your DC are old enough to not need to be watched every second, do they actually want/need a parent so nearby? Where is your playroom in relation to rooms you're mostly in?

In all honesty being under adult "surveillance" would've put me off, I would have felt spied on/performing for an audience and I would've avoided playing in that room. Appreciate that not every child is a lone ranger though.

What works for us is the larger room as a 'family' living room, i.e. full of toys and sofas you can climb on, and the small room as the calm tidy adult space.

All toys are kept in the playroom - there is nothing in the lounge or in their bedrooms. Occasionally toys get brought into the lounge but they always get tidied back into the playroom at the end of the day. Everything is stored in several Ikea units so within easy reach and we have soft mats and bean bags in there so it’s comfy. I sometimes play music through the iPad as well which they both seem to like.

We don't have toys in bedrooms except for a few softies.
Keep the playroom tidy, that helps. We do rotate toys as well but not often enough.

We have a pretty large playroom and my ds (3yo) loves it.
We organized it such that everything is accessible to him. He has an arts and crafts corner- for painting, playdoh, coloring and crafts. Then theres a lego station. This also is where we switch the table top to his train sets etc.
We also have a wall unit cubicle with clear marked boxed for puzzles, cooking items (pots, pans) , cars, toys etc.
He knows exactly where everything is and can find something to play with. He also has a tv in there where he watches for a bit everyday.
He can play for 20-30 minutes on his own then he wants me there with him.

I dont do the toy rotation. Everything has its place and he often forgets what's in the boxes. I think if you create different 'stations' in the playroom he will enjoy it more. We also have a reading corner which he loves to use now and then. If all the toys are mixed up or in a big box its overwhelming.

Rotate the toys
Keep everything visible
Selection of different things to stimulate

If you can’t stand it some backboard paint on a bit of the wall?

I always find eight mine if I start doing something with them they carry in- like building train tracks or playing mini cities with different toys and things

Depends on their age too in terms of their concentration and absorption levels

Somewhere comfy for them to snuggle with a book or for you to do story time

Those pop up play tents are good

All three of mine love dancing, singing and larking about to music so could you incorporate some relevant toys or play some tunes in there for them. Plus side is that it wears them out 😉

*if you can stand it

DD5 loves her playroom, probably because until last year we lived in a much smaller flat with no space. She has a low table for crafts, a normal-sized desk, a sofa, and a ton of those IKEA storage units with the plastic drawers. All storage is labelled, so technically everything has a place (although we only do a big tidy when guests are coming; I don't mind if it's a mess, as long as nothing's getting damaged).

Most successful toys so far are:

IKEA whiteboard/easel, with a rug in front = hours of imaginary school with soft toys doing carpet time.

junk corner: every bit of cardboard crap in the house goes here, and there's also a ton of masking tape (which she can tear herself) plus safety scissors. This has been used every day for weeks now.

Lego

Sylvanian families

Easily-accessible tubs of plain paper, coloured paper, card, pens, glue sticks, crafty bits, stickers, magazines and yet more masking tape. DD really enjoys making 'books', CBeebies-type birthday cards and (I don't know where this came from) invitations to imaginary parties.

Dressing up box

She still does Play-Doh, painting and homework at the kitchen table, and has mostly soft toys and books in her bedroom. But the playroom is definitely her space and I'm so glad we have it, especially as it's our only room without party walls so I don't have to get too stressed about noise.

Have a look at play.hooray-loads of great ideas, often using stuff round the house but will give you ideas. My DS seems to like it when I set stuff up for him to discover. I think it’s still an age where playing alone is tricky though.

One of the greatest ideas we’ve been brainwashed with is that kids play with toys. The truth is that kids play with anything they see and buying them more and more toys is not going to make them play any more.

The best playroom would have a TV and a well stocked make and do area with a table, sellotape, scissors, glue and junk.

Check five minute mum blog for some ideas on games and storage.

Make sure it's very tidy and he can access all the toys and he cleans up before bed time /leaving the house

We had a road carpet in our playroom which obviously encouraged them to play their cars in there...you can get mat versions

And just about everything was labelled on open shelves and a rail for dress up costumes so it looked very bright and they could see everything

The best playroom would have a TV

Why a tv out of interest?

You mentioned he likes Lego- what about putting a Lego storage and play table in there to build on? It’s really easy to make one- I stick base boards (the “fake” Lego base plates from Wilkinson’s are great) onto an IKEA kallax unit with drawers so the Lego can all be stored underneath. You can even stick them to the sides so they can build outwards as well as up.