When you were expecting, you probably spent some time designing and decorating a lovely and comfortable nursery for your baby-to-be. Now that your baby is a lively toddler, you are quickly realising that it is time to upgrade their room into one that is more suitable for a walking/running/growing child.

While new parents decorate the nursery based on their own designing preferences, it’s a good idea to incorporate your toddler into the redecoration process of their room — at least as much as possible. With that in mind, check out the following tips.

Move up to a toddler or twin bed

If you purchased a convertible crib that can transform into a toddler bed, now is the time to make this change. Let your not-so-little one know that they are a big kid now, and it’s really exciting to sleep in a big-kid bed. If you don’t have a convertible crib, you may also opt for purchasing an inexpensive toddler bed frame that works with the crib mattress. Another idea is to skip the toddler bed altogether and go straight to a twin mattress and frame. The benefits of this are many; for example, most tots outgrow the toddler bed within a couple of years, so he won’t really get a lot of use from the new bed frame before it’s time to donate it. In addition, if your kiddo loves it when you cuddle with her before bed or you want to be able to keep him company when he’s not feeling well, you will be extremely grateful that you went with a twin size. You can purchase a twin mattress at a local shop or you can also find one online.

Repaint the walls

While you may have painted the nursery a pale shade of green, you may now have a son who adores anything bright orange or a daughter who loves the colour blue. To help your child be excited about the changes that are taking place in the nursery, allow them to help you choose a new shade of paint for the walls. Bring home a few colour choices from a big box home improvement store and see what your kiddo likes. As Brixy notes, you can also add some wall decals to help your toddler express his personality; you can either use a wallpaper border that depicts either a character or toy that he likes, or you can use the removable decals that can also be changed out once your child moves on to a new interest.

Play up bedding

You can also ask your toddler to help pick out new bedding for the big kid bed; fortunately, there is no shortage of character-themed sheet sets that come in both toddler and twin bed sizes. This is another relatively inexpensive way to add your child’s personality to the room. You can also purchase a high-quality cotton sheet set in a favorite colour and a character-themed comforter.

Increase floor space

In order to have more room for your toddler to play and explore, Land of Nod suggests clearing out as much unused furniture as you can. For example, you could still leave the glider rocker in the room, but remove the bulky ottoman. Large-size baby items like a swing and/or exersaucer can be cleared out and replaced with a soft and comfy small child-sized chair. Add some bins and baskets for toys and be sure your kiddo’s bookshelves are within reach.