Growth Chart Ideas For A Kids Room
My husband grew up in a family of ten kids that had ages spanning fifteen years from oldest to youngest
. There were five boys and five girls. No, there were no twins, triplets, or other multiple child groupings. They were all solo births. As you can imagine they came in all sizes and were always comparing. Who was strongest, who was tallest, and who was fastest. The list is endless.They did not have anything like a formal growth chart to keep track of their progress or to see who was taller than whom. I'm not even sure there was such a thing as a growth chart that many years ago. What they did have was an enterprising mom that used the door jamb in the hallway and a number two pencil to mark and track their progress.
Today you can get growth charts in a variety of materials, styles, and designs. Hopefully, I can help you sort through the various choices you are faced with and narrow it down to what you and your child may prefer.
These are some of the questions to consider when picking out a growth chart:
Do you have more than one child? (maybe ten like my husband's parents) If you do you will want to decide if there will be the sharing of one or more growth charts. The upside of sharing is it is easier for your children to compare against each other - kids love to compare. One growth chart helps to keep the cost down so you can pick out one that is much nicer and more durable rather than several lesser quality ones. One chart takes up less wall space than multiple ones. This can be a big factor if your kids share a room or you have limited wall space.
The down side is it creates a problem if you want to personalize it or want to get one that reflects the personality of your child. Having come from a family of ten kids, my husband definitely understands the differing personalities.
Will you want to get personalized growth charts? The biggest benefit of a personalized growth chart is that your child will be excited to have his of her own special growth chart - kids love to see their name on things. And personalizing it adds that "keepsake" value for the future. As previously mentioned an obvious downside is, it is personal. It would generally be used by only one child and you would probably be compelled to get one for each of your children. Kids want things to be fair after all.
Do you have children that are sharing a room? If so, available wall space would be one factor to consider. If it isn't a very big room - like the seven by ten foot room my husband shared with his two brothers - wall space can be prime real estate. There may only be enough room for a single growth chart or may be no wall space at all. In at case you may want to go with the paper type and mount it on fiberboard or other suitably sturdy backing. Then you would be able to store it when not in use and take it out when it is time to see how things are measuring up.
Does the room have a common themed decor? Many children's rooms are decorated with a theme in mind. If this is your situation, you will want to choose a growth chart that is compatible with that theme. Involve your child in choosing a growth chart theme that is compatible with his or her personality and one that compliments the color scheme of the room. This lets your child know his or her opinion is valued, helping to build self-confidence and self-esteem. There are so many themes to choose from I am sure there is the perfect one out there for you and your child.
What type of material should it be? No matter what the material, most manufactures understand these will be used by children. They also know kids are messy. So, they make them easy to clean and fairly durable. Even the paper ones are made of very heavy paper and are designed for light cleaning with a damp cloth.
The ones made of heavy paper are design to be pasted directly to the wall like wall paper. Another material often used is vinyl. Some vinyl growth charts are designed for sticking directly to a wall while others are designed to hang from a hook or nail. Growth charts that seem to be more popular lately are made of cloth, often canvas, and are hung from the wall on a hook or nail. Wood growth charts are also a popular material and are hung much like the canvas type.
Advantages of the cloth/canvas growth charts are their portability and are easy to set up. An advantage of the vinyl type is they clean quite easily and, if they are the type that hangs, they too are quite portable and easy to set up. The biggest advantage of the paper type is they are generally less expensive than the others. If you want portability with the paper type you may want to mount it to a fiberboard or similar backing. The wood type has the same advantages as the cloth/canvas types but are not quite as transportable (they don't roll up quite as easily).
As you see, there is quite a bit more to a growth chart than a door jamb, tape measure, and pencil. Growth charts often become a treasured keepsake, so choose wisely. I think the all around best choice is one that is personalized and one you and your child pick out together. If they have a favorite theme so much the better, find one that has that theme.
Most of all make it a fun time of growing together! You both will remember it for many years to come.
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