Create a Self-care station for your toddler on a budget! Toddlers are notorious for tantrums, and wanting to be independent in everything they do, yet often lack the complex skills to do many of the things they would like to all by himself. This is an easy way to promote independence through real-life skills! I was able to create a simple self-care station for my daughter fairly inexpensively, and in a small space!
Here are some things to consider:
How much space do you have to allocate? If you have multiple spaces, you may want to have various self-care areas for different things (ex: a dressing or getting ready area).
What skills do you wish to work on? I chose to incorporate teeth brushing and hair brushing, as our station is set up in our bathroom.
What features would you like your station to have? For example, you may wish to incorporate running water, and a sink into the area for your toddler.
If incorporating a mirror as well as text, make sure you give your child a little "growing room". With the command strips it has fortunately made it easy to raise the height of the mirror as my daughter has grown. (Tip: I made sure to put the affirmations above the mirror a bit higher to anticipate moving the mirror up).
Here is the finished product (with links for each item)
Items for self-care station
-Vinyl stickers from Etsy (you can customize the words, size, font, and color!) These were SO easy to apply to the wall!
-Mirror from Lovevery (ours came from a subscription play kit, if you are wanting the exact one Mercari is great for single gently used items like this)
-Holder for self-care items was repurposed from a piece of a bathroom storage item. Here is a similar holder.
-Command strips were used for the mirror, and a command hook for the washcloth.
We went with a pretty simple set-up, and I couldn't resist adding affirmations around the mirror for Eloise! She loves to stare at herself as she is brushing her teeth, point to the affirmations, and always gives herself a kiss after she is done! Here is Eloise brushing away at her very own self-care station! (Note: don't be surprised if initially your child wants to brush her teeth 10 times per day after setting up her station haha-I promise the novelty will wear off-but what a wonderful way to introduce independent brushing and get your child excited about it!)
I would love to see your self-care station set-up! Continue to follow along for more fun ideas for you and you little one(s), both here and on IG @OTMomwithablog! Enjoy your toddler, and get creative!
-Katie the OT Mom