Tiny House and Toddlers

I have been getting some great questions about our tiny house and toddlers. It is great when people ask what we are doing because it helps shape our design. So keep the questions coming!

With another Minnesota winter we thought about what do we do with a toddler in such a small space. Luckily I was prepared by running a daycare in my basement which we only used about 500 square feet.

What I found was as long as I kept rotating toys and we went outside everyday it was warm enough that the kids stayed busy. 

A great thing about Minnesota is all the great inside things to do.

We can go to the Minnesota or Como Zoo. We can go to the library or Mall of America. We can go to the local indoor park. We can walk around a mall. We can go visit a pet shop. We can go to the art museum, science museum, etc.

Here's a great link for more ideas.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/familieschildren/tp/freekidsactivities.htm

For now we are planning to use the second loft as a play area. As our son grows into his own bed we will move a mattress and play area. As we think about two kids the play area will end up in the living room which is fine too. 

Noise! 

Our son likes it quiet! Our plan for now is to use a loud fan. If needed we will do a sound machine as well.

Lofts:

With noise in mind we are doing 3/4th walls on both lofts as well as gates to help with noise/ privacy. We were also thinking perhaps running a thin cable and a sheet across the whole loft to make it darker for sleep. We are used to dark sleeping areas.

The reality is that part of the reason we went tiny is to ensure we are spending a lot of time in nature. Luckily our toddler doesn't like inside so we will bundle up and get out and play!