It's a frequent predicament; decorating a toddler nursery with the right child furniture. Your child has outgrown teddy bears and pastel ribbons, and is all set for a theme that looks more ?mature" but still maintains that feeling of innocence. You also want child furniture that's as practical as it is pretty. After all, your child's grown more active and curious. He loves to play, read, and occasionally subject his toys to the loud banging and kicking.

Design ? The initial move is to settle on a theme. Look at your child's character and individual favorites. Does he adore cars or animals, cowboys or aliens? Is she fascinated with fairy tales or stories of jungle safaris? If you're not certain, then focus the options to two and allow your child to pick and choose ? the room becomes more unique if your child helped to arrange it.

Functionality ? When purchasing child furniture, test out the practicality and design. The stools are supposed to be well-built, and use non-leaded paint. Look for surfaces that are trouble-free to clean and have rounded corners. Desks should be spacious enough to hold paper and crayons, tea sets or books. After all, this is your child's ?work space". Particular incentives are ledges or storage space where you can store small boxes for art materials, puzzle pieces and other knick knacks.

Safety ? The benefit of purchasing specialty children's furniture is that you're more or less assured that they have met safety regulations and are built for a child's proportions (at least he won't topple over as he attempts to clamber up a chair!). And of course, the attractive design encourages the child to sit and play. This is his table, his chair, and for toddlers, that awareness of ownership is an immense factor in establishing self-esteem. He is growing more independent, and the role of parents is to provide just enough freedom in secure surroundings ? like a room where everything is child-friendly. Here he can be left for hours, discovering how to play independently and investigate on his own, without mum perpetually worried that he'll break something (or his neck). That alone makes investing in specialty child's furniture worthwhile.

Tables and chairs encourage your child to spend hours drawing, writing, reading, or engaging in pretend play. This set will serve as the stage for your child's imagination. With no table or chair, your child will be forced to do these activities on the floor, while hunched over, or lying on his stomach. This is tiring and ultimately bad for his posture.

Book cases will promote a child's love for learning, so books must be kept accessible. He should be able to snap up a book when he wishes to, and then return the book himself (unless you want to acquire the habit of cleaning up after him each time!)

Toys can get lost or broken if they are left willy-nilly on the floor. The most effective toy storage ought to have special compartments to segregate the various items in his ever-growing collection. Instructing your child to sort out toys (stuffed animals on one shelf, blocks on another) also aids him in building up abstract thinking.