The Care of Children’s Bedrooms for a Refreshing and Restful Room
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The culture of a child’s bedroom is something worth our effort and time. If our children sleep as much as experts recommend they should, they will be spending 9-11 hours per night in their bedrooms. ( depending on age)
Bedrooms are a place that should: Feel secure, diminish anxiety, promote relaxation, and provide privacy.
As Charlotte Mason minded mamas, we know our home atmospheres directly influence our children’s education. Something as “small” as teaching him/her to make a bed properly IS education.
Clean, Refreshing Air
Bedrooms must have good, clean air. Children spend most of their time playing and sleeping. Dust, dirt, and poor ventilation are all compounded in a bedroom, more so than a kitchen or other living space. For this reason, it is worth our daily and weekly attention to dust, vacuum/sweep, wash bedding, and keep the room well ventilated.
Dust mites, in particular, can be found in carpets, curtains, pillows, comforters, stuffed animals, sheets and upholstered furniture.
To reduce some dust mite exposure, consider removing carpets and un-needed furniture or other areas mites can be found.
It is critical to wash bedding in HOT water. Lukewarm or cool water will not kill dust mites.
Using anti-allergen pillow covers, mattress covers and anti-allergen sprays are all helpful in the battle for fresh air.
Anti Allergy Dust Mite Pillow Cases | Allergen and Bedbug Protector | Premium Breathable Smooth Surface Cover | 100% Waterproof | Zippered Encasement for Bed Bugs | Set of 2 | Standard Size
Allersoft 2 Pack Allergy and Bed Bug Proof Pillow Cover, Standard, WhiteThe Ecology Works – Anti-Allergen Solution 32 ozPUREFY Anti-Allergen Spray (68oz Refill), Hypoallergenic. Eliminate Allergens and Odor. Baby Safe. Unscented. No Residue. Asthma & Allergy Safe for Babies & Pets. Allergen Reducer for Healthier Life!
I always recommend routinely opening bedrooms windows to air it out. Even on cold days, I will take at least 5-10 minutes to air out our bedrooms.
It is also beneficial to “sun” your bedding regularly. The sun itself is a dust mite killer and freshens the fabric. ( be careful, the sun can also lighten your fabrics)
Nothing smells as good as linens that were aired out in the sun and fresh air.
My children have SO many stuffed animals. After this research on fresh bedroom air, I took them out of their bedrooms and put them into these bean bag seats.
Tips:
- Air out your bedding daily. Pull down the blankets and allow them to air out for at least an hour before you make your bed or your child’s
- Work with your child to keep clothing off the floors and into a basket or hamper
- Open the blinds or curtains to allow the sunshine in during the day
- Weather permitting, open the windows to air out the room
WEEKLY BEDROOM DUTIES
Once per week designate one day to “deep” clean the bedrooms.
- Change the sheets and bedding weekly (with HOT water, this is very important)
- Dust the room completely and vacuum afterward. ( We use old, clean socks to dust)
- Clean under the beds and dressers
- Wipe down the bedroom handles
I use lavender essential oil to make a simple bed spray for our linens. Lavender oil is not only relaxing, but it’s also antimicrobial.
My recipe is simple: I fill a glass bottle (below) with cool distilled water and add 10 drops of pure lavender oil. These are the exact items I use:
Plant Therapy Lavender Organic Essential Oil 100% Pure, USDA Certified Organic, Undiluted, Natural Aromatherapy, Therapeutic Grade 30 mL (1 oz)Amber Glass Spray Bottles for Essential Oils, 4oz Empty Small Fine Mist Spray Bottle 2 Pack
The Temperature in the bedroom
The best temperature for deep sleep, which our children so desperately need, is cool. Experts say between 55-69 degrees is optimal. For us personally, anything under 60 would chill our family, but 67 degrees AND warm blankets keep our little ones sleeping well.
Noise
I have a daughter ( she is 3 ) that cannot sleep well if she hears any noise at all. Do you have any like that? Out of my 6 children, 2 cannot sleep without a little white noise. Unfortunately, I didn’t figure this out about her until just recently. We added a simple box fan to her bedroom and WOW she was finally sleeping more soundly. If your child is easily waking up, consider a white noise of some type. For children that are still napping, use the fan during nap time first to see if that makes a difference.
Bed linens
Our family has a love ( like most people ) for quilts. We love the weight and beauty of a good quilt. We also have fitted sheets, pillow covers, and flat sheets on each bed.
Each bed in our home has 2 sets of sheets for that one bed. I do not like overstocking our linen closet with too many linens that collect dust. Instead, each spring I look through bed linens and replace them if needed, but make sure each bed as just 2 full linen sets.
Toys in the bedroom
I used to allow any and all toys to be in my children’s bedrooms. Not anymore. I noticed a few things happening: My children developed bad habits of not putting their toys away because they were not under my watchful eye.
In the family room, I can see the messes they’ve made and hold them responsible for cleaning it up. In their bedrooms, I didn’t know who made the mess and a bad habit was beginning to form.
The toys I allow in the bedrooms:
Micah and Jonah age 15 and 13 : they share a room. They have a few specialty Lego sets on display but have no “toys” in their room.
Hannah age 14. She has a room by herself and it allowed to have her handicrafts sets in one corner of her room. As a little girl, she had a terrible habit of starting a messy craft and leaving it until her room became a huge mess. She has finally earned the right to have her craft sets as long as she cleans it up promptly.
Elijah and Asa ages 11 and 6. Currently, their bedroom has no toys at all. They have a desk with books and that’s about it.
Lydia age 3. Lydia has her own room and only has a large, vintage dollhouse in her room. The dollhouse is very special and she is forming a habit to put away the pieces into a box when she is finished playing with it.
I think it’s okay to have a FEW toys in a bedroom or none at all. As I mentioned in previous articles, stay diligent to the habits that are being formed in your child. Habits have the potential to be bad habits or good habits…they are formed no matter what.
One organization tip I have is to use wicker baskets. I don’t like to use a lot of plastic in our home. However, I seek out and buy used wicker baskets frequently. I like all the different sizes and shapes to store our items.
A child’s bedroom is a special place. Our children do not have screens or allowed to have media in their bedrooms. I believe as parents, we have to create meaningful places of REST. We live in a day and time of constant information, flashing screens, loud noises…let that not be in our bedrooms.
Growing up, my parents were really careful not to have TV’s in our bedrooms. We had 1 TV and it was in a prominent part of our house. Instead, my parents filled our house with books.
As we talked about in our last post about forming good habits to keep a tidy home, I believe starting with a restful bedroom goes a long way to HELP children feel rested and thankful.
