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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be confused about playrooms?

234 replies

Wowsostormy · 21/02/2022 11:19

I just don't get how they work in the home. I get it more if your child is old enough to play unsupervised, but if they're young you surely have to just be in the playroom with them, in which case why not just have toys in the living room? Because you're probably not in the living room much, so isn't the playroom then basically your living room anyway?

And a child old enough to play unattended could surely play in their room instead anyway?

Explain this to me!

YABU - playrooms are great for X reason I haven't grasped

YANBU - pointless room which may as well be the living room

OP posts:
MajorCarolDanvers · 21/02/2022 13:37

We've got enough room to have a playroom so it keeps the living room and the bedrooms tidy.

grafittiartist · 21/02/2022 13:37

I always think that they would be a waste of a room.
Kids like to be where their parents are- not in a room on their own. When they're little anyway.
A separate room for teens would be useful!

AlwaysLatte · 21/02/2022 13:38

We have a room that was a sort of playroom, although it was more a place to store the toys and clutter. Now it's a snug/tv room for the 14 and 11 year old.

InaccurateDream · 21/02/2022 13:39

It's a massive privilege to have a playroom, isn't it?

I'm not saying they don't have their place, only that we should recognise it's not a possibility for a lot of people. I moved to a bigger house this year and what might've been a playroom is now my office because of WFH thanks to COVID. So I'm v privileged and still don't have somewhere to hide toys :D

Instead my daughter largely uses her bedroom for toys and our living room as some kind of paper-covered craft den.

The good news is my son is 11 now and only really plays with technology so doesn't need a playroom any more (sob!).

CrimbleCrumble1 · 21/02/2022 13:39

I always sat in the playroom with my DC when they were young. It was a nice change from the living room. The room has a TV in it with Sky etc and opened onto the garden.
The DC’s bedrooms also had many toys in as we used the upstairs a lot too and I often swapped all the toys around.

Doratheexploret · 21/02/2022 13:40

Our playroom is still in use even though my kids are teens. It’s now a games room and where my kids do their music lessons. There’s also a treadmill I’m there. When they were little ALL their toys were in there. None in the lounge and only cuddly toys in bedrooms. They’ve always played in there independently.

RockstarDotCom · 21/02/2022 13:40

I loved having a play room when the kids were younger, the main benefit being they could have lots of toys and mess out and still have the rest of the house tidy. I did sit in there a lot with them when they were very young, we had a lovely big comfy corner sofa, tv, and nice views. They did have toys in their bedrooms as well but preferred to be nearer to us and on the same floor. They could also use things like ride on toys without me worrying they would drive them down the stairs. 😬 It probably meant we had far too many toys.

As they’ve got to their teens, obviously the toys have gone, although there’s still some Lego, and now it’s got consoles, a pool table and various other things in. We all use it as it’s where the alcohol is. 😂

ImInStealthMode · 21/02/2022 13:40

Because the living room gets to stay a nice neat 'grown-up' space, and bedrooms get to stay somewhere calm and uncluttered for sleeping.

Dilbertian · 21/02/2022 13:41

@AnnieMay55

Just another perspective on playrooms. I was a school nursery teacher and used to do home visits before they started nursery. It was a reasonably affluent area with quite a few homes with playrooms. Many of you talk about it being good as you can shut the door on all the mess. We experienced rooms with beautiful toys all just being trashed all over the floor and walked on with no respect for the toys. They then start school or nursery and have to be immediately trained that you don't just tip boxes of toys all over the floor and then move on to the next thing. I agree they can be great for craft activities and leaving models built etc but surely it doesn't need to be left in a complete mess at the end of the day. I am sure a lot of you don't do this but it seems quite a popular theme through this thread.
We moved to a house with space for a playroom after dc1 has started nursery. I took a lead from their books: the playroom is furnished with deep shelves and all toys of the same type live in clear plastic tubs on the shelves. Tubs rotated from upper shelves to within dc range shelves. Dc always involved in the tidy up at the end of the day.

No point having a playroom if you don't use it constructively.

(Though I admit to occasionally taking the squeegee from the kitchen and pushing it through the lego/knex/dolls/whatever on the floor to make a path to the next room!)

theeaimee · 21/02/2022 13:43

if i had the money and a big enough house id rather have a playroom dedicated to all my children's toys rather than having it all in my living room and throughout the house. At least then the madness of having a child is contained in one space!

Original poster
Wowsostormy · 21/02/2022 13:43

@GiantSpider

And a child old enough to play unattended could surely play in their room instead anyway?

IME there is a period of time lasting several years (approx age 2-3 to age 11) when a child is old enough to play independently for a period of time but still wants to be near you, not tucked away upstairs. It's not really until they're teens that they disappear into their bedrooms.

Our eldest is 9 and still doesn't like to be in another room, even doing a puzzle in the kitchen next to the living room. The younger ones are more independent, though. Maybe it depends on your kids...
OP posts:
CrabbyCat · 21/02/2022 13:43

We have a playroom. It's grander than it sounds, we actually have a tiny living room and then what was a dining room next door. We can't knock together because of the chimney in the middle. We store the kids toys in the playroom, because there literally isn't space in the living room, we can't even fit a proper sofa in. We also use it for drying laundry. There's not really enough space with the laundry for them to play in it, so they get toys out and bring them into the living room. I'd prefer to have a bigger sized living room and no playroom, but that's not an option.

oldmums · 21/02/2022 13:43

play room is brill, small settee and craft table in it, tv for older ones, keeps all the mess in one place the rest of the house keeps tidy, i would not be without one, x
also hamster in it so bedrooms don't get smelly with them

Lemonyfuckit · 21/02/2022 13:46

Growing up this was partly to do with the size of rooms and layout of the house - there were two small rooms and one bigger room - so the 'fair' thing was my brother and I each had a fairly small (but same size) bedroom and a larger playroom together. Then when I was older and needed a space for homework I got the bigger room to myself, and my brother had a smallish bedroom but a separate playroom. It worked well for us, and we changed use of the rooms according to needs as we grew.

Caspianberg · 21/02/2022 13:46

If you have the space, it’s also just nice to have a different room to swap into when it’s miserable outside or your home ill busy.
Start in living room with puzzles, into playroom to climb about on bigger stuff, into bedroom to read, kitchen table to draw at, back into playroom etc.
It is definitely a bonus room though, and something I never had growing up ( and wouldn’t have if we didn’t move somewhere cheaper)

StationaryMagpie · 21/02/2022 13:48

my kids are older, and the playroom is invaluable.

The lounge and dining room are adult space, where we have our peace and quiet to watch TV, do jigsaws and our own craft projects, no kids stuff.

The bedrooms are for sleeping and keeping clothes in.

The playroom has the electronics/gaming system/books/toys in, its got a sofa, a desk, a tv cabinet and some of those wire cube racking systems to keep everything in.

It means their sleeping space isn't being adulterated, they can't play on their consoles once they've gone to bed, and we all have our own space to do what we like in.

DyingForACuppa · 21/02/2022 13:48

Playroom is a second living room without TV and with toys.

Or at least that's how my friends do it, we can't afford a house big enough for one!

It must be lovely to be able to close the playroom door once the kids are in bed and go to a living room that's not got kids toys on every single surface though!

User839516 · 21/02/2022 13:51

@AnnieMay55 totally agree with you, people talking about ‘shutting the door on the mess’ or ‘husband and I tidy up before we sit down’. My kids are 2 and 4 and have to tidy up their playroom before they go to bed (and also at various points throughout the day).
Also, there’s a lot of people saying ‘oh what’s the point, young kids want to be where you are’, well yeah you’re with them in the playroom..? Fine if you need to stick a wash on or fill the dishwasher but surely most of the time you’re playing with your young children?

MotherWol · 21/02/2022 13:56

We don’t have one as our home is tiny, but I don’t feel like toys are taking over. There’s a small box of toys in the living room, mostly art stuff and Lego, and DD2’s baby gym. DD1’s toys live in her room, she doesn’t have a huge amount so keeping it tidy isn’t a big deal. We don’t have big, bulky toys like a Pikler or a play kitchen as there isn’t space. Perhaps if we weren’t at the mercy of London housing costs, but I think I’d still prefer toy minimalism over a playroom!

Original poster
Wowsostormy · 21/02/2022 13:56

@SoupDragon

you don't have to tidy the toys away to make the living room look tidy if you have a playroom.

This. I thought this would be obvious 😂

We have a kitchen diner plus an unused dining room which became the playroom. It's been great!

I think I'm just sceptical that the toys would actually stay in the playroom if me and DH were in the living room. I'm fairly certain they would all migrate in the living room. The girls have a shared room with lots of toys in, they never play in it and just bring toys to the living room.
OP posts:
Changingmynameobvs · 21/02/2022 13:56

Playrooms can be messier.

They leave other adults with somewhere quiet to sit.

They allow bedrooms to be sleeping space not exciting storage of toy space.

They can be a bit shabby allowing for messy play and educational posters.

Children need to learn it's ok to be the only person in the room enjoying their own space.

RockstarDotCom · 21/02/2022 13:57

Playroom is a second living room without TV and with toys.

Without tv. 😮 My kids would have boycotted the playroom if it didn’t have a tv in it, 😂

merrymouse · 21/02/2022 13:58

Think of it more as a second more casual living room.

RebelRebelStar · 21/02/2022 14:00

We have a playroom - I love it. 4 children aged between 12 and 2. Tv and sofa in there as well so it's mostly where they watch their tv. We have a LOT of toys (I don't buy much for them at all but they accumulate them from relatives at Christmas and birthdays - we of course buy them a few bits as well. I can't yet get rid of any due to the age range!) so it's great to be able to keep them contained in there and in the evenings shut the door on it (I do get the children to help tidy up though). It also has a smaller table for colouring / playdough etc and doors out to the garden which is useful in the summer.

SamPoodle123 · 21/02/2022 14:00

The playroom makes it so you can keep most of the toys there. As previous poster, easier to keep the living room tidy when all the toys are not there. Also, if you have someone helping to look after your kids when they are young, then the playroom is a great place for them to supervise them if weather is bad outside.

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