Growing up, I didn’t have a playroom. Instead, my older sister and I played in a cold, dark, dank basement, and kept all of our toys crammed into one tiny, sad Raggedy Ann & Andy toy box. It wasn’t very inviting for a kid and consequently I didn’t play there much. When I became a parent, I was determined that my own children would have a fun space to play in, someplace where a kid could be a kid, not feel crowded out, and not worry about knocking over some priceless family knick-knack! Well, it may have taken 30+ years, but I finally got my wish when the Hubs and I bought our current home.

It had a finished basement, and we converted this “bonus” room into the kidlets’ playroom. It’s one of my favorite places in our house and where our young son and daughter spend lots of time giggling and having fun. We made the room colorful, brightly lit and put in durable wall-to-wall carpeting (it had some scary, buckling tile glued to the floor when we moved in). The walls feature an ever-changing display of the kidlets’ artwork, so it’s sort of like their own personal museum, with new exhibits going up all the time! We also picked up special paint at the hardware store that transformed one entire wall into a large erasable chalkboard, so our kids can literally “write on the walls” and not get in one lick of trouble for it!

It doesn’t take much to get me down on the floor to play with my kidlets. Usually, all it takes is for one of them to say “Mom, do you want to play with me?” and I’m right there in the thick of it, playing at the train table with my son or sitting down to have a fabulous “meal” my daughter just whipped up in her little kitchen. We also like to team up and construct wild creations with wood blocks, Lego Duplo sets, or crinkle blocks and we have often transformed our playroom into all different types of incredible worlds. Sometimes, we’ll create a motor speedway and take turns running our cars or monster trucks around the track, trying to win the checkered flag. Other times we make farms where the farmer zooms about on his John Deere tractor while little plastic cows get out of the barnyard and wreak havoc on the unsuspecting chickens. And sometimes, we challenge each other to see who can build the tallest building without falling over!

I totally believe in the power of the playroom! It’s not only a space where my children grow their imaginations but it is the place where all of us are making happy memories.

About Our Guest Blogger:

Debra Fazio-Rutt aka The Harried Mom is the mom of two kidlets under the age of five, navigating her way through parenting, playdates and a career. What she’s learned so far is that you have to able and willing to laugh at anything, but mostly at yourself. She can be found online at her blog: http://theharriedmom.com , Twitter: @TheHarriedMom, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheHarriedMom and Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/theharriedmom