The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-02-04
BY ANN HATFIELD

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(NEA Service Staff Correspondent
New York.-Although the children
have a room of their own, parents
often find 1t hard to persuade them
that 1t Is attractive enough to stay
in. 1t is particularly difficult when
there are children Of different ages
using the same space. The ball rolls
from the older children's side Of
the room so near the baby's pen
that he thinks it Is for him, and
grabs. This gesture is enough to
start an argument which ends in
howls of rage, and Mother has to
come running from the kitchen.
To house the children in one
room has every advantage: the
room itself is apt to be the best and
sunniest; the children use each
Others toys and want to be to-
gether; the door can be closed on
the paraphernalia they insist on
surrounding themselves with.
On the other hand, there must
be some separation within the
room itself; the two older children
are interested in the same toys
the train track has to be let down,
the elaborate station they built OF
blocks must not be moved. Be-
cause the creative y-year-old and his
sister spread things far and wide,
they need a good deal Of space.
The baby, on the contrary, only
needs about q third Of the room for
the first year and a half.
For subdividing the nursery, the
most practical arrangement is q
spur wall composed Of units Of
furniture needed within the room:
chests of drawers, cabinets, and
bookshelves. You construct this
barrier at right angles with the
Wall between two windows If pos
sible so that each section Of the
room has its own source Of light
and air.
The average chest Of drawers for
q child is two to three feet wide,
not more than three feet high,
and about IS inches deep. Since the
children must be able to get at their
things, the two chests are in the
bottom row; 1t Is advisable to sep
arate the chests by cabinet so that
each child can find his own sweater
without opposition from the other.
Of course the drawers open into
their section of the room.
You now have a hurdle some
is inches wide, and three feet high,
extending into the room eight or
nine feet. The height is impractical
because it is so tempting for climb
ing, and gives even children no
sense of privacy. So you pile up
second row, securing the first row
to the floor. The edifice must be
firm, so that drawers which stick
won't cause the whole thing to jerk
out of line.
TIL second row consists of two
bookcases and another cabinet
for sake of design put the cabinet
next to the wall-of the same size
as the units underneath.
The spur wall is now six feet
high, ideal for circulation OF air
anu also for making two rooms out
of one; no sections Of track can get
into baby's play pen by mistake, and
he can mind his own little concerns
without being confused by the play
of the older children.
There are few children OF 6 and
4 whose books fill two bookcases
2x3 feet; the bookshelves, as well as
the cabinets, have to be Is inches
deep in order to fit well above the
chests. Many books for children
are taller and wider than the nor
NAL book size, so that the deep
bookcase is more practicable fof
what books there are in the chill
dren's library. You fill up the re-
naming space with toys which
aren't In use every minute, and va
Fious decorative objects.
II there Is still room In the shelves
give the children q small plant or
two TO stimulate their interest IN
nature,
Since closet room Is apt 10 be lin.
tied, the cabinets are very useful
for coneeaIing clothes. shoes, skates,
large toys and what not. w them
with shelves 90 hooks, according TO
their use,
the plain plywood surface OF the
spur wall shows on the babys side
Of the room, You can paint u q
solid color, paint each Unit u az.
feFent color, 0F paper the whole
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