My wife and I don't have kids yet but we turned our basement into a kid's playroom. Why would we do such a thing? Well we have lots of friends who have kids and when they come over now the children have a place to play. It was always uncomfortable for both our guests and us if they brought their children because there was no where for them to go. They would just have to sit there in the living room with all the adults and soon they would get figity. This often caused our friends to leave early just because of their children.
Before we made the change, our house wasn't a kid friendly home. Friends would come over and when they brought their children, there was nothing for them to do and nowhere for them to play. It felt like we were constantly having to keep our eye out for the kids to make sure they didn't touch certain things or break anything. Turning our basement into a kid's playroom was one of those basement ideas we thought would help fix that problem.
We decided we needed a room where our guest's children could play and get away from the adults. In our new basement playroom they don't have to worry about breaking things and they can make noise and not bother us as well. The kids can also have more fun than when an adult is constantly looking at them.
All we did was to go out and buy a lot of cheap toys for all ages. We got some toys at discount stores and a lot of real cheap toys at garage sales. We even got an old Nintendo and have it hooked up to one of our old TVs downstairs. Having a variety of toys for all ages makes it easier for kids to get along when they are thrown together. There is something down in our basement playroom for any age.
Our basement playroom is carpeted and that is important. Kids tend to be rough and fall all over the place so you don't want them playing on cement. We also put an extra floor heater in the basement playroom to keep it warm. We have removed everything that is breakable or of value so that we don't have to worry about things getting broken. We also know and accept the fact that the walls and carpet is going to get a little banged up. Kids will be kids, you know.
When there are children down in the basement we are sure to leave the door open so we can hear if anything goes wrong. Someone also checks on them periodically just to make sure everything is OK. Our basement playroom has worked out well and we are glad we made the change!
