A Toy in the Center of the Room??

[Crazy8]

Is it too crowded to have just about 3 feet on either side of a big toy in the middle of the playroom?? Is that enough space??

My room is only 12 ft. wide and I used to have things coming out from the wall to cut down on running/open middle space but now I've put things back against the walls and tried the big activity school bus in the middle. It feels crowded to me but I am not a 2-3 year old, LOL!!

One side of it is the bookcase and chair so not really needing the floor space for play but the other side holds toys and I'm thinking it may not be enough space to play in front of the toys.

I keep trying to rearrange things but can't get the perfect fit for everything in there!!

[Blackcat31]

In a course I took a while back about room set up and positive environments, it says a good rule of thumb for space is to make sure the child using the space can lie down in the space with their arms and legs spread without touching walls or furniture.

So if your oldest/biggest kid using the area can lie down like that and not be crowded, then your space is big enough. If they can't then its too tight of an area to safely use.

HTH

[DaveA]

Depends on the toy- I would put something they play with on the ground in the middle of the room (ball track, train table) but wouldn't put something that the might climb (small slide climber) 3 feet from a wall or shelves.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I have that same bus and it IS hard to find a good spot for it no matter what. Good luck! I tend to keep it by a wall these days.

[coolconfidentme]

I had a table/chairs in the middle of mine..., until they started running around it. It's back up against the wall; I have a big room though.

[KiddieCahoots]

I was just going to say the same thing!
My kids try to run around my train table in the middle of the room. I have to admit, the look on their faces is priceless when I block the trail with another toy and just smile at them

[Crazy8]

I have that same bus and it IS hard to find a good spot for it no matter what. Good luck! I tend to keep it by a wall these days.

I had it against a wall too. It is such a great toy but hard to find a spot for!!!

[daycare]

I miss my old house.....we had small sections set up with a tiny hallway. shelves were used to create the hall way in our huge rectangular room. You could not run in their if your life depend on it. I soooo miss that room.

No we have two rooms that are much smaller and wide open.

I don't have anything in the middle because we have to nap there, so its WIDE open. I actually don't have any running issues though. Maybe it's because I run them ragged outside that when we come in they all just want to sit and play or read....

I do however, recall the days that I just wanted to pull my hair out from the indoor running.