Ten ideas to create a space your [inner] child loves |

Ten ideas to create a space your [inner] child loves

By: Marjory Mejia

Children living on the clouds

The playful, whimsical and beautiful artwork of Yoko Furusho on Pinterest

We need to do some deep remembering and deep listening to respect the unfurling life of a child. From children’s rooms to children’s schools, to children’s playgrounds; rather than creating spaces that are stifling, rigid, boring or diminishing, let’s create spaces that are imaginative, engaging, warm, soothing, vital and evocative.

Helping your child create a space they love can be a road to self discovery, a way of finding out what is that makes your child tick in relationship to all of life. In some ways, this is the biggest gift you could give them, a space to experiment and discover themselves, a space for play, imagination, and reverie.

What I am suggesting here is a more soulful approach to space making in the life of a child, one that engages the child’s potential by fostering creativity, learning, growth and even the freedom to fall and rise again.

What do children want, need, and yearn for?

Some questions to ask your child, and possibly questions to ask yourself if you don’t have any as these questions apply to all of us, not just kids:

What color does your child love? Integrate this color into their space.
What activity does your child enjoy? Make space for it in their room.
What gives your child joy? Pay attention. It might be very different from the thing you love.

Here are some children’s wishes, from the mouth of babes (via a conference publication by childreninscotland, Making Space-architecture and design for children and young people):

So go ahead and make big scrawls and mistakes. Use up lots of paper. Perfectionism is a mean, frozen kind of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend. What people somehow (inadvertently, I’m sure) forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here—and, by extension, what we’re supposed to be [doing]. ~ Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Some feng shui and design ideas to nurture your children’s imagination in a space of their own. Create a space that:

Embraces a creative mess. (not to be mistaken with clutter). Let their space be a playful ground for creative exploration and self expression.
Lets your child discover her/his own dreams. It is important to not clutter your child’s schedule, leave time and space for free exploration, experimentation, play!
Encourages flow. Make sure there is room to dance, strech, move around, release energy, unfurl. How easily can your child move around the room? Make changes that allow space for free movement.
Is flexible, free to morph, transform, evolve. The space needs to change and grow with your child, according to your child’s needs and cycles.
Where less is more and enough is perfect. In this age of consumerism, teaching our young earthlings to care for the earth from very young is essential.
Activates their creative juices. Let your child create their own toys. Instill pride in their creativity. Also a great opportunity to recycle!
Invites nature motifs. Even if you don’t have access to a secret garden, there are ways to integrate the landscape in your child’s space to tickle their imagination and sense of wonder and love for nature from a young age.
Breathes art, science, and creative inquiry. Hang the artwork of your child on the walls. Stars on the ceiling and/or a mural on the wall.
Tickles the senses. Less electro magnectic fields (EMFs), softer and more organic materials if possible, with elements that engage their sense of sight, smell, sound, touch and taste for a truly enriched living experience.
Is unique, an expression of your child’s precious soul.