Observing our children’s self-directed play helps us to understand them, become more empathetic and attuned, and it is the key to finding more joy in day-to-day parenting. These benefits (and more) are the reason I’ve shared so many play-inspired posts and videos. Most have focused on the parent’s role in nurturing child-directed play and the invaluable learning that happens when we do. I’ve shared specific recommendations for toys (or “play objects,” as infant specialist Magda Gerber liked to call them), but only some general guidelines for play spaces.
So, I was beyond thrilled when several dozen members of an online group I belong to shared their personal photos in response to a parent’s query: “Anybody care to share pictures of toddler toy shelves/organization? I’ve got too many toys out and I’m in need of inspiration! Thanks in advance.”
I love these examples because they are the real deal, rather than Pinterest perfect. They are safe, practical, “yes” spaces, and I’m hoping they will inspire ideas of your own…
Hannah: “After reading Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, I was inspired to clean up my kids’ space. They are 4 (G) and 2 (B). I threw away/gave away/put away a bunch of their toys. They also have a play kitchen on the other side of the living room, a few stuffed animals in their bedroom, and a bunch of outdoor toys that I still need to go through (it’s easy to forget what all is out there since I don’t see it all the time). They actually play with all of their things now, and it takes no time at all to clean the space up. The art supplies are on the top shelf so that my son can’t easily reach them since he likes to draw on everything if given the chance.”
Sara S: “Here’s our organization. The drawers and blue hanging device on the right are for clothes.”
Amanda: “Here are our play spaces. Toys are very sparse but get played with for long periods of time. Wooden car, drum, silks, felt balls, 2 board books, and arches.”
“My nearly 4 year old’s play table, wooden ship, and barn with animals.”
Lauren: “Here’s our play space for our nearly 16 month old. I have toys on the one shelf, a big basket of balls and a few key items out in the floor that are his favorites at that time – currently his box of blocks, a dump truck, a silver bowl and wooden spoon, and a push “mower.” I try to rotate every few weeks, bringing in some new things and taking the items out that he’s shown less interest in.”
Leah: “Here is the space for my daughter. I work from home two days a week, so these are photos of our shared office/play space (no photos of my desk here… it is gated off so I’m fenced in while we work/play). My desk is just to the right of the rocking boat/steps. Perhaps I should mention that she’s 9 months, so I’m sure this space will evolve with her!”
Sara M: This one is in the main area for a 11 mo old and 2, 2.5yr olds.”
“…And this is the gated-off area just for the older boys. Previously, it was the baby’s play area until he got super mobile. Now they can go in there to do those things little brother shouldn’t interfere with.”
Sheena: “His bedroom.”
“I quite often just put his mattress on the floor for a roll around.”
Kirsten: “My son can currently reach the bottom two shelves. We keep a basket of balls and a basket of wooden blocks. He has between 6-8 books on his shelf at a time. We are a bilingual home, so half in each language. He has one wooden puzzle out at a time. Plus some stuffed animals. He likes to pull out the box on the bottom shelf and put things in and take them out. He can’t pull out the other two boxes yet. We have definitely found that less toys means more independent play.”
Sarah V: “I love our space. It used to be a traditional lounge /dining. I live in Hong Kong so space is at a premium. So we did away with tv and dining table. Its quite cozy now. Kids are 14, 4, 3, and 1.”
Mellissa: “I was inspired, too, and just packed up a TON of toys. Plus I haven’t rotated toys in at least three months, so I pulled out some others that my daughter is now obsessing over. Maybe it’s still too much, but I like it for now. The bins on top hold wooden blocks, hand puppets, dress up clothes, and diapers/wipes. And my kids are 23 months and 8 months.”
Stacey: “Spencer’s room-23 months.”
“…Other side-book nook/quiet space.”
Brittney: “These are the shelves in our small living room play area. Like others, I recently read Simplicity Parenting and cut down on the number of toys we have out.”
Danielle: (Play tent in corner folded up.)
Rebecca: “Here’s our space for a 38 month old and 19 month old. It is spread over two open play rooms. Definitely agree less is more.”
“… We use the 4 cube shelving (it’s very sturdy) with only one object in each square or a basket for loose parts. We also use baskets on the floor and a small book case for the ‘kitchen’ items and in the kids’ rooms. We rotate every 6 weeks or so.”
Jennifer: “Our space is for my 4 year old daughter and 22 month old son. The bins contain balls, bristle blocks, dress up items, and cars. Both kids love to create “obstacle courses” with the bricks and foam blocks.”
Emma: ‘Yes’ room
Lynda: “I try to use bookshelf storage, but for some reason the kids prefer it empty.”
Amy (from Midwest Montessori): “Here is our daughter Charlotte’s bedroom and play area at 13 months. We adopted the RIE philosophy soon after her first birthday. While we already followed Montessori principles, RIE gave us the answers we needed to accommodate her entry into toddlerhood and the limit setting that goes along with it. The more we implement RIE the more free we feel in our interactions with Charlotte and the more confident we feel in our limit setting. We are so happy to have found a gentle and respectful parenting philosophy that so wonderfully coincides with Montessori. We are excited to implement RIE principles from birth with our future children as well.”
“Here is the reading nook. It’s inside a closet.”
Tiffany: “My son is 2.5.”
Sarah S: “Here is our basement family room. I’ve always wanted to paint it a nice bright white. The train table drawers hold the trains and the duplos. The shelf and baskets were a Craigslist find. There is another shelf in the right corner and parking for all the big trucks. We spend more time upstairs in our living room but only have one open toy shelf. I try to rotate. We also have an Art corner in our kitchen.”
Belle: “Just had a declutter, and our 16 month old is loving rediscovering her space.”
Thanks so much to all of you for allowing me to share your lovely play spaces!
***
Since so many of you have asked, HERE‘s a link to the arched steps in several of these photos.
(Parents have also built their own.)
I share more about cultivating the joyful habit of child-directed play in my book:
Elevating Child Care: A Guide to Respectful Parenting
More recommended reading:
The Best Toys for Babies Don’t Do Anything by Magda Gerber
What is Play? by Lisa Sunbury, regardingbaby.org
The many “untoys” I’ve listed in Unexpected Toy Find! and the Play section on this blog
love this! where is the wooden stepping arch in several of the photos from?
Hi Holly! HERE‘s one place to find the wooden steps (which become a “rocking boat” when turned over…great for older toddlers).
love the calm places. we just got a small trapolin in for in the livingroom while its whinter, for some large moter skils and i use it too, its a greate workout.
Seconding the question about the climbing frame/steps!
Hi Barbaea – The wooden steps can be found on Amazon HERE. These are a RIE staple.
$200? Better to put that money in a savings account and use stairs for free.
Good point, Cindy! I’ve just changed the link at the end of my post…because the steps/boat are now available for $171.00 from a different company. The price must have gone up on the link I had there…
If parents are interested, they should obviously check around for the best deal!
OK…38 month old!?!? Really?? Once they hit 24 mths…they are 2 y olds..3y olds etc …lol too funny …
Anyways, great article and very inspiring!
I kinda disagree- though I hate doing the math lol, it tells me it’s a just turned 3 year old rather than a kid that’s close to 4. That helps a lot in parenting discussions because as we know, a few months can make a world of difference development wise.
Is there a toddler standing on a window sill in the photo from HK? I hope the window locks are safe!
Knowing this mom I’m sure they are.
As I was looking at these I didn’t want the post to end, such a lovely collection of playroom inspiration 🙂 I really liked the green ‘grass’ looking rugs in a couple of the rooms 🙂 such lucky children to have beautiful environments like these 🙂
Yes, very lucky children, Hannah. I totally agree.
It is amazing how strong the Ikea thread is through all of those spaces. (I no longer have photos, but mine was four Ikea cabinets some with doors and the simple toys at my sixteen month old’s level. One of the Ikea cabinets is still in his room and he’s about to empty it as he packs for college.)
Save it for the grandchildren!
Oh. One of my favorite things is sort of in the nook/quiet space. We had a little sheepskin and a really small book shelf. We had them paired in a corner of the room and called it the Book Corner. After a year of starting naps with “a couple books in the book corner,” our two year old announced he needed to “bring the book corner to the play room.” It was then that I realized we had inadvertently named a sheepskin “bookcorner,” which it would stay named until it was eventually outmoded.
so good – all of it!
it’s inspiring me to do yet another toy purge, too!! 🙂
xoxo
Love these pictures. How do people cope with well meaning grandparents that want to splurge at Xmas and birthdays and get lots toys? Not sure how to word it so we don’t seem ungrateful for their generosity but want to direct it tactfully.
If grands ask for suggestions, we ask for experiences rather than things–museum memberships, zoo, etc. Many memberships now even have the possibility of adding grandparents to the family membership if they are close. What better than trips to the museum with grands!? For things, we offer suggestions for items we intend to purchase. If you have multiple close in age children, you can suggest a single larger item you’ve been wanting. If they still must splurge, you can always rotate.
Janet,
Would you consider a follow-up post with photos of outdoor play spaces for young babies? I remember you have one post (not sure which one) where you show a photo of your baby outside. It looks in the photo like you had play-yard fencing, a tarp on the ground, and then 2 layers of blankets on top of the tarp. Do you know which photo I am referring to? I always think about that photo but it was a tiny thumbnail and it was hard to see the details. I have struggled to develop a safe outdoor play space that can easily be taken down and moved (e.g. when the area becomes too sunny, or when it rains, etc). I would love to see photos of safe outdoor spaces for babies. Thank you for this beautiful collection of photos of the indoor spaces!
Yes, that’s a great idea, Brettania! Thank you
I’d love to see this too!
I like how many people’s comments reveal that it’s not just about organizing toys well, it’s also about owning a small number of quality toys. I wrote two blog posts this week about owning fewer toys and about making sure those few toys offer diverse experiences – small motor, big motor, art, music… See http://www.good days with kids.com
I love so many of these play areas! Maybe it’s just my kids, but if I had as many parts and pieces and books available to my 23 month old and just turned 4 yr old in their play space, they would constantly be all over the floor. Is it just my kids that like to scatter and dump their toys? They pull EVERYTHING off the shelves, dump the containers, and leave the floor absolutely covered with whatever I’ve given them to explore in their area. And they do it in about 10 minutes. My 23 month old will also stack the baskets/bins/books up and then climb to reach higher objects down to add to the mess already covering the floor. Would love your thoughts on this. Currently I have minimal toys and books available because I’m so tired of constantly picking them up. I know less is more, but I feel like currently they’re a bit limited.
I have 3 boys and all are the dump everything in sight type, so I feel your pain.
I think your right to limit their toys so it’s less annoying to clean up. I try to limit as much as possible, and rotate toys from our storage room every month or so.
I’m also finding that less of one thing is better. Instead of having a full basket of small blocks, I’ll just make it half full. So it’s half as much to clean up.
Recently I went through all their car collection and put most away and only kept out 6 cars, one truck and a helicopter. Much less to dump, and they actually play with them more because they aren’t overwhelmed with choice.
These pics are great – though they make me envious because of all the space (we have a typical small British house with tiny rooms). But what I REALLY want to know, is what have all these parents done with the many many soft toys and coloured plastic “things” that family and friends give every birthday and Christmas. There’s only so many times I can blame the dog….
I tried to join the facebook group you mention in this post, but I have been waiting for 2 months already for approval 🙁
Oh my gosh! How inspiring. I would be sooo embarrassed if I has to post a picture of my toddlers toy room. Let’s just say it would be my entire house. I am on vacation and now I know exactly what I am going to be doing over the next few days. Thank you for sharing! Can someone tell me where the green grass carpet came from? Look forward to seeing the outdoor play space?
All wonderful!
Did everybody have a good tidy up first. Our rooms never look as tidy as these.
Thanks for this love all the photos. I needed this inspiration and looking forward to reading the article about toy rotation. I always feel like I have to many things out and feel overwhelmed by it often so the children must feel this way at times also. Thanks Kelly
I always love seeing other families’ play spaces. We own the same Ikea cube shelves, but what I rarely see in these photos is any sort of safety feature securing them to the wall. If you re-post others’ photos, PLEASE make a note to say that shelving should always be secured to the walls. Especially taller shelves (I’ve watched my 2 year old try to climb them – it happens!).
Does anyone have suggestions for living in extremely small spaces? How do you “fence off” a baby space in shared living areas. I want my baby to be safe but I also know that our living situation for the next year or maybe more won’t allow us to devote a whole room…or even a closet…to a yes space.
Thank you for sharing! Lovely ideas for my 18 month old son who had so many toys I have no idea what to do with them. So I’m definitely going to read Simplicity Parenting and dive in the RIE principle. Greetings from The Netherlands
My baby boy is 10.5 months old. Thought about getting the wooden steps/boat. He will be an only child, though. Can he play with the boat alone? Thanks!
Yes! He is at the perfect age for using the steps can definitely enjoy and experiment with the rocking boat on his own.
In the 6th picture (with the fireplace)… where could I get a play table like that?
I second the request for ideas on how to put a baby-safe yes space inside a larger room! We share a bedroom with our son and I’d love to have a dedicated play space where he can pull everything out and get it messy. My concern is that he’ll swiftly learn to climb up the shelving and over onto our bed.
I love this! Thanks
Hello,
Any idea where the alphabet rug is from?
I don’t understand how these are yes spaces, I am looking for inspiration for yes spaces for my just turned 2 year old, and she would climb every shelf in every picture.
How can I make a yes space for a differently wired 4.5 year old and a 2 year old so I can focus on meal prep etc? They are both extremely active and I would have to section off a part of the living room in order for it to be near the kitchen.