How To Design A Kid’s Bedroom To Help Them Sleep At Night

Decorating a kid’s bedroom can be difficult, especially if they are at a transitional age. Regardless of your child’s age, a good sleep is crucially important for development and growth. Ensuring their bedroom is a comforting space is a perfect way to improve bedtime. Here are the best ways to decorate your kid’s bedroom for maximum effect.

Colour

Certain colours are thought to evoke different emotions and enhance certain strengths within children. The colours that have the most benefits in a bedroom are:

Blue – has a calming effect which lowers heart rate, blood pressure and feelings of anger/anxiety. Use blue in abundance if your child has stressful bedtimes or behavioural problems.
Green – the colour of serenity and health, green is said to improve reading ability and concentration. It also helps young ones to wake up feeling fresh.
Yellow – associated with motivation and happiness. A pale shade like lemon will aid concentration but too much bright yellow can induce frustration. It’s better to dot this around the room in accessories and artwork.
Pink – pale pink is calming and will help sending your child off to sleep. Avoid painting the whole room this colour as children tend to grow out of it and it can eventually cause feelings of anxiety.

It’s better to avoid red as this is associated with anger and lack of focus which is the opposite effect you’ll want for bedtime. While orange is generally a friendly and optimistic colour, the brightness of the tone can also over-stimulate children.

Related: The Toddler Bed Guide

Child playing in bedroom

Zoning a kid’s bedroom

Your kid’s bedroom will be used for sleeping, playing and studying. Using different colours to make zones within the room can help to create boundaries for these activities to be performed in those areas. Blue is the ideal colour for a sleeping zone while yellow and green will work wonders in the play and study zones.

Giving your child these clear spaces to do certain things will help them to focus on that activity and could help with their bedtime routine. Knowing the sleep zone is for sleeping only will condition them to become sleepy in that environment. The National Sleep Foundation says, ‘The repetitive nature of a parent’s exact actions before bed… is very powerful’, and that you must create ‘a reliable set of steps before bed that cue her brain and body that it’s time to sleep’. Allowing your child to relate the sleep zone with their bedtime routine will give it more structure and therefore improve it.

Keep it dark

Children sleep better in the dark, so it’s important to limit the light that comes into their bedrooms, especially in the summer. Street lights, sunrise and light from other houses can all disturb your child’s sleep. Blackout curtains or blinds are a brilliant solution to this problem as they block the light sources from outside.

Child with night light

If your child is scared of sleeping in complete darkness, invest in a nightlight. Sleep.org advises to ‘use one with a red bulb. This dim, warm light is less activating to the brain’. It’s also a good idea to avoid having any lights from devices like TVs or tablets in the room. These can trick the internal body clock make your child feel more awake. Read to them or allow them to read one chapter of their book before bed instead as part of their night-time routine.

Super storage

You wouldn’t want to go to bed in a messy room full of clutter so neither will your child. It’s important to create a serene atmosphere rather than one of chaos. Having ample storage is a sure-fire way to keep a kid’s bedroom tidy. Drawers or tubs are easily accessible for your child to use and can easily be packed away in a cabin bed. Get them to help you make labels for each container, so they feel involved and proud to keep their space neat.

Again, a routine is the key here. Have set times for your child to play with toys and include ‘tidy up time’ as a part of the play sequence. Your child will be used to doing this in school, so they will probably find it easy to embrace in their room.

Child playing in messy bedroom

Involve them

A kid’s bedroom is a very personal space where they will grow and learn throughout their childhood. Let them help you make the design choices and involve them in the decorating process. This will allow them to take ownership of the room so that they enjoy spending time in there.

Do you have any more design ideas for your kid’s bedroom? Let us know in the comments!