The
Title itself suggests that any home needs to be specially designed for
children. This is very true. When we are talking about children we are
referring to children between 0 to 12 years who have their own specific
requirements & their own world of emotions , fantasies, fears & fun.
They are immersed in their own world obviously unaware of dangers of being
injured due to furniture or sharp edges or falling from a height etc etc.
There was a wonderful statement made by an
engineer friend who remarked, “Any home where children can play & run
around Blindfolded is a Well designed Home”.
Children need lots of “Space”
to explore, to have fun. A very mundane response shown by parents while
creating spaces for children is making a children’s room with a ‘typical’
colourful wardrobes, ‘Stars’ on ceiling & also very very typical “Bunk”
Bed. I know of a small child of 5 years who accidently fell from one of such
Bunk beds while playing & injured herself so badly that she needed to be
hospitalised.
If we have children in our
house, the parameters of design of our home can be summed up in 3- S.
1) S
pace
2) S
afety
3) S
ensetivity
1) Space:
When a 6-8 month old baby learns to crawl, it
requires lot of clean unobstructed space all around the house. The baby will
not confine itself to the so called ‘Children’s room’. It will crawl behind its
parents in all the rooms. Rooms should be free from clutter of extra furniture.
As the baby grows up, it will start demanding & determining its own space.
So wiser will be that in certain rooms, do not make furniture beforehand. For
example, many parents with children upto 5 years prefer to sleep on matteress
laid on floor, so to prevent children from falling from beds. Matresses can also
be rolled up & space can be created for babies to play or for keeping their
rocking chairs, play tents, or prams etc. Instead of large bulky beds, you can
use folding beds.
Thus the key aspects is “Never
Pre design a space” if you have growing children.
2) Safety:
Children are curious & are
completely unaware of the dangers of getting hurt while playing. First &
foremost , remove all unnecessary furniture in the house, so that children do
not get hurt by getting hit from it. In small houses, it is difficult to avoid
furniture. But still we can design furniture without sharp corners. In our
house, my wife , a graphic designer, has skill fully detailed a piece of furniture (chk image) with rounded
edges which we have found to be safe with our children.
As far as possible , avoid
Bunk beds. Have low height beds & furniture , which even if children fall
from will get them less injured. Never have electrical switches , at heights
where children can reach. If you have ,
please install child safe switches which are available in the market. Do not
have mirrors or large glass partitions in the house. Children do not recognise
its presence & get hit by walking towards it. Have surfaces & furnishes
which are non toxic, safe & can be wiped cleaned . Any dust accumulating
surface will invite virus & infections. If you have attached terraces, it
will be wiser to have extra railings till almost 5 feet height, which can
prevent children from falling down. Grills are a must for low height windows.
3) Sensitivity:
We should be sensitive to the
needs of “Our Child”, rather than copying from what is general or what some
other parent has done in his home. Every child is special, with its own set of
requirements. Children from different age groups require ‘different’ ergonomics
& react to spaces in different manner. Look closely at how play schools are
wisely designed these days. Books & Toys are kept in reach of children. It
gives a little ‘chap’ a ‘big confidence’ when he or she opens his / her own
little cupboard & takes her own things out & also keep them once the
play is over. Against this , I know of a case, where a smart young boy of
over 10 years of age came & told his
parents that he was now “Grown up” & please remove the silly “Kindergarten
furniture” & finishes from his room. Of course the parents had to oblige
& installed a good study table, a workshop desk , white boards etc. Thus
being sensitive is also to being logical about our own children & their
special world.
Out door spaces for children:
Now let us also think about the
outdoor spaces for children. Ideally outdoor spaces should be such that, when a
small 4-5 year old kid is playing, the parents can keep an eye on them. This
used to happen in older houses, where buildings were not more that 3-4 stories
high & a annoyed mother would call her mischievous kid from the balcony. In
most of the housing societies built today with multi-storeyed apartments, the
developers give a “Children play area”, a small piece of land along open space
with swings & slides. Very rarely children can reach this area without
crossing a vehicular street. Hence mostly, in the evenings, parents escort
their little ones to this children play area & stand there, till their
child plays. This stops the child from exploring own their own. The generation
of parents today who grew up playing, complain that their children play
videogames rather than actual games, but never bother to ask or find out, where
the hell their child will play football or cricket in the housing societies of
today, where one cannot find a ‘Maidan’.
The question remains un answered or in the minds of all that “Do we
analyse the needs for our growing children before making spaces for them in our
homes or outside ?”
Hrishikesh Ashtekar
