Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.When you become a parent, you’ll do anything to get it right. That includes acquiring any tool or trinket proposed by your auntie or soothsayer to make your job easier.Before our daughter was born, we listed things we “needed” using advice from parents we knew. Even my minimalist friend listed no less than 45 “essential” items, including a special baby changing bag — as babies’ stuff can’t be carried in adult bags, obviously — and a contraption known as a wipe warmer, because a room-temperature wipe was apparently unacceptable. It’s forgivable. Kind of. After all, you want to scrape through operation newborn 100 per cent prepared. But you’ve got to wise up by the time you get to children’s furniture. Most of it is a complete waste of time. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably trying to sell you something. When I started looking into cots, I hoped it would be simple. But no. There was a wicker basket for when they’re born, a slightly bigger starter cot that you can attach to your bed for co-sleeping, and a full-size one for when they outgrow that. Plus a travel cot. The high chair is a similar story — from clip-on ones to freestanding, foldable and fabric (one even rolls into a ball). I wanted to put parameters on baby objects entering our home. But . . . we did need somewhere to store what we had bought. My social feeds were insidiously packed with adverts for kids’ stuff, including charming furniture sets. Within a few clicks, we had sourced a children’s wardrobe and a chest of drawers with a changing table on top. Although both items required home assembly, it was almost too convenient. They helped turn a slightly haphazard office filled with scattered books into a cute nursery. A swath of brands have launched offering castle-shaped storage, rocket-shaped beds and pastel-coloured mini chairsBut there was a substantial gap between my miniature fantasy and the practical reality. The kids’ wardrobe, being small, leaves a massive gap above it; space that could been used for storage. Plus it barely accommodates all the baby’s things. Why didn’t I just get a proper-sized one? This one is unlikely to last much beyond toddler age. We only used the changing table for a matter of months before she learnt to flip, making it safer to change her on the floor or bed. We still use the three drawers beneath, but we should have just used a regular chest of drawers in the first place. As for the cots — it turns out the travel cot is the one we use the most, because it’s much easier to move into our room when we have guests. I admit it isn’t as pretty, but it’s also available at a fraction of the cost. At the cusp of her first birthday, I’m thinking about how to redistribute all the stuff we don’t need. Or ever needed. We all know kids’ clothes have a short shelf life, and we were lucky enough to receive lots of hand-me-downs which we can now pass on. There are also rental sites that offer the chance to use and return kids’ clothes monthly. Why didn’t we buy secondhand furniture — from sites like Vinterior, Kaiyo and Preloved? It all felt so unnecessary and wasteful.I’m keen to adapt and repaint the furniture we already have. Turning a vintage travel chest into a dressing-up box, or using picnic baskets for toy storageIt’s easier to streamline our consumption if we ignore the deluge of parent chat and online ads subliminally indoctrinating us to think buying more is a question of survival. But it’s also a question of thinking smartly and sustainably. The global children’s furniture market reached $42.2bn in 2022, and is forecast to hit $85.06bn by 2031. A swath of brands have launched in recent years offering castle-shaped storage, rocket-shaped beds and pastel-coloured mini chairs. Mainline brands are also diversifying with miniature equivalents of their interiors ranges. The statistics are galling in an era of so-called furniture poverty, with as many as 1.2mn children in the UK alone lacking a core item of furniture in their homes. Child experts say that kids’ furniture is necessary to help them thrive and learn. This makes sense in limited instances such as high chairs and school furniture. But the claims about safety and durability can be over-egged — any form of storage can be screwed to the walls, it doesn’t have to be child-size, and like all furniture, its quality depends how it is made. Environment is bound to impact a child’s development, but teaching kids to be adaptable and resourceful by repurposing furniture instead of buying their own doesn’t have to be to the detriment of their surroundings, and can in fact help them learn. Investing in a few quality pieces that can grow with your child makes the most sense. The Vitsoe modular furniture by Dieter Rams and the Tripp Trapp Chair by Peter Opsvik for Stokke can both be adjusted as your child grows. But I’m also keen to adapt and repaint the furniture we already have. Turning a vintage travel chest into a dressing-up box, or using picnic baskets for toy storage. On the flipside, there is a part of me that wished adult furniture design could embrace more of the playfulness of children’s furniture. I mean, surely more of us would lighten up with a few craft trolleys, play pods and treehouse beds? The kids can wait till then.Find out about our latest stories first — follow @FTProperty on X or @ft_houseandhome on Instagram
