New school, new dreams, new room

Letting go of our kid’s hands as they start a new school can be a tough moment as a parent. It’s a time you have to be cruel to be kind, before they get used to this new environment.

Change is hard for even the most experienced of us, so I can only imagine what’s going on in those tiny little heads across the country as they take their first steps into the world of education. It’s a scary thing, but maybe there are a few ways to make change more acceptable.

One way I’ve been thinking about making the idea of school and change more appealing is to do a spot of redecorating. Create a place from your child’s room that is exciting and filled with all the new dreams and ambitions that school can bring.

These are my recommendations:

Do it together

When so much of our lives and our kid’s lives will now be spent at work or at school, it’s more important than ever to do activities together. Plus this is a perfect opportunity to help your child understand that change can be good and new experiences can be wonderful. Make it a fun and exciting activity for everyone.

Go beyond the limits

Involve your child as much as you can in the decorating process, from the choosing, the preparing and the actual decorating. This may seem daunting, but this is a test for you to. You need to start letting your child express themselves, push the limits and be independent. This is a terrifying thing for most mums, I know. When time goes so quickly you just want to bundle them up and keep them your baby forever. But let them be creative and independent, at least just in their own room. This means even letting them choose those clashing colours and patterns if they like.

Reflect their dreams

Education is a time when you start developing your hopes, dreams and ambitions. Yes they might change from year to year, but it’s so important to support these dreams each time. Your kid’s room is the perfect place to support these. I’m thinking wallpaper could be the best way to get across this is a fun way. Just looking through some of the designs in Dulux Decorator Centre’s children’s range, you could express anything from travel, engineering and science.

Rest and relax

The school day is so tiring for little ones, there’s no denying that. So, not only must their room be a fun place to be, it must also be a place to rest and recharge in comfort. Let it inspire a blissful sleep and happy dreams, ready to wake up refreshed and raring to go in the morning.

Make it last

Lastly, with all this fun and fantastical decoration, don’t forget to make the room practical. I wouldn’t want to go through all this work, only for the paint to flake off or dirty marks to spoil the look. Looking through some of my options for painting, there are certain paints that are designed to be hard wearing and durable such as Dulux Trade Diamond Matt, no matter how many little sticky fingers it ensures.

Now go out and create an amazing place with your child. Doing something fun like this will hopefully make going to school and leaving their mummy or daddy behind a little less frightening for your little one.

So good luck and keep your head up as you send your boys and girls of to the big wide world of education.