A Quiet Place

I've been working on putting together a quiet place for my children over the last week or so. You can read about the beginning of this here.

It's amazing how noisy a little one's life can be if you think about it. Background media noise, crying children, noisy pets, constant bus or car chatter, classroom activities, and flashing gadgets are just a few. None of these things on their own a necessarily a bad thing, but combined together into one full day can be stressful. I know I can't handle constant stimulus, so I don't think it's fair to assume my children can handle it either. Which leads me to their "Quiet Space".

We had a tent set up for the kids to play in, but it ended up just turning into a catch-all for a bunch of stuffed animals, that really, no one ever went near, except for the dog. I cleared all of toys out and only held onto a few favorites. I put a few of the most loved books inside the tent, along with one or two stuffies, and a really soft "Sherpa" rug (I don't have the funds right now to buy anything new, so I had to scavenge around the house and found this scrap piece of fabric from an old project), which in time will be replaced with the real thing.

I also compiled a bunch of books to keep in a wooden box outside of the tent in case they want more choices.

So far, it's worked out really well. I showed both of them the updated tent, eh, quiet place, and what it was for. Explaining that if they want to go somewhere to relax, or calm down, and not have worry about anything else, that's where to go. I have made a promise to both of them that if one is inside and needs to be alone, I will make sure the other stays out until they are ready. I have only had to do that one time so far. Right now, I think they are just both enjoying the "new" space, and have been sharing it well.

Now, if I could just have my own "quiet place"...