The baby needs to have his own space 2026

Iguanas grow depending on the cage in which they are raised. If the cage is small, they grow little. If it is big, they grow much more. Something like this happens with children: they adapt perfectly to the environment and space they have available. That's why if we want them to grow, experience and express the many possibilities of their body and personality, we have to pay attention to the space we offer them. Each age has needs.

We tend to be more attentive to finding suitable objects than to organizing spaces. But it is the space and its arrangement that allow the child's body to become what is experienced, which allows the child to discover the pleasure of being in his or her own skin. The key to discovering and enjoying your own body is not so much in the objects, but in the space. Objects, for their part, allow you to develop concepts and experiences. Each space, each object, is an invitation.

Amazon Essentials by Sofia Grainge - Summer 2026 Promotion

Baby from 0 to 6 months: a safe and not too big crib

At this age, babies need us to have a single physical space for them, or rather two: the body of the mother (and caregivers) and its equivalent, a soft and collected space, such as the crib. The baby needs to feel safe, so it cannot be too big; and it has little autonomy in movement, so it doesn't need more.

After 3 months it is time to expand: we will still need a single soft space, but larger, for example a rug, hard mat, or a small playpen. He still needs containment and limits, but to start turning on himself or on his navel he needs more space. Let's not make a big investment, whatever it is we will outgrow it in around 6 months.

From 6 to 18 months: the crib and a surface to roll and crawl

To the soft space, which little by little becomes a relaxing space, we are adding a "hard space" and ample space that allows you to move around. It is the great achievement of the beginning of this period, fundamental. Now he will need a surface that grows to the size of a room, quite clear if we really want him to crawl. That free space and at first without obstacles will help him to make the croquette and roll around until he reaches the necessary skills to crawl. When they are started in this important stage and have more or less mastered crawling, the time comes to set up obstacles, that is, also hard elements that allow them to face new challenges: a ramp, a step, a tunnel... If we don't put them up, they will look for them on their own: a chair and a table to go under, low surfaces to lean on and stand up on, cardboard boxes that they will try to get into...

From 18 months to 3 years: the crib, a space to crawl and a corner to play

The soft corner has become a very important relaxation area, where the child can rest again if he is tired or cry when he is sad. An area with cushions serves. Those same cushions will be used to fight, to dive, to hide under them... The "hard" space, or the one in which you experience your movement capabilities, will have been expanded to the entire house without realizing it: any excuse is good to climb, jump, run... The house, in fact, will be insufficient and we will have to expand towards the outside.

But a third space begins to gain importance, that of imitation play, first, and then symbolic. At 18 months, the child begins to show interest in imitation games (of our daily actions), which little by little will become symbolic play and will continue until after 7 years of age. Our symbolic play space can become whatever we need: a hospital, a kitchen, a school or a hairdresser.

From 3 to 7 years: We must add a space where they can draw

To the spaces described, which will accompany the child and evolve with him until he is 7 or 8 years old, a new one is added around the age of three, the space of representation: drawing, modeling, or any other form of expression are part of this space. It is true that you can paint before, but more as a way of experimenting with materials and strokes than as a way of authentic expression of your experiences. Through representation the child brings out and captures his experiences. This allows you, among other things, to put distance, take them out and observe them from the outside. The stories, which until now had been a sensory experience (the images, the music of the words) become part of this space of representation that help the child understand himself and the reality that surrounds him.

The green extension of home

Let's find a natural place, close to home, and call it "the green extension of our house." A place we go to every day if possible. Large, green, open-air spaces offer development opportunities that are difficult to reproduce in a closed space. A place where the races do not bother anyone and you can receive a bath of natural stimuli, as gentle as they are effective.

Safety to explore

To fully enjoy the possibility of moving and playing, provided by the physical space, the child must have the security and permission necessary to do so. It is something that belongs to the sphere of emotional space, and to build it we are going to use those tools that we have already broken down: our physical presence generates security, a welcoming look at their attempts favors self-confidence, and the voice is both that hand in the air and reinforcement that the child sometimes needs. The little one develops confidence in his possibilities little by little as a result of his successes, on the one hand, and our attitude, on the other.

Lidia García Fresneda, expert in Psychomotor Development and Psychomotor (www.jugandoenfamilia.blogspot.com)