Growing tots with their peculiar needs and ever-growing minds learn faster than we ever can imagine. It is a good idea to decorate your child’s room to stimulate and inspire creativity. Imagination plays a great role in developing your child’s mind and it is a great idea to fashion kids room to be safe, bright and beautiful to encourage creativity.

Modern kids & teen furniture should evolve around themes that inspire versatility. It is important to look into factors that show equilibrium in terms of style and functionality. Kids toys and accessories should be carefully selected for different age groups for you get toys that fulfill on norms for a particular age. You can come across a plethora of modern kids furniture that is fashionable and trendy.

If you like you can also work out a theme and add décor items that allow you to personalize the room as per your child’s likings. Following are some of the furniture items you may like to take a look at,

Baby furniture: You can find baby furniture for almost all infant months. Depending on your child’s age, following are a few important items you don’t want to miss…

Baby Cribs: Cribs and bassinets are the most important pieces of furniture for new parents. Available in a range of styles and finishes to match any nursery theme or color, you can do a lively mural to go along with the theme. These days you get bassinets, cribs, and convertibles that can be used as toddler beds long after the baby has grown. Few of the available features include adjustable mattress height, mattress supports, and release mechanisms, rolling casters as also teething rail.

Crib Mattresses: Mattresses are mainly of two types: foam and innerspring/coil. Foam weighs less while the innerspring/coil is designed to last longer. Bedding accessories include sheets, wedges and waterproof mattress pads.

Infant Changing Tables: One of those high-utility furniture items, changing tables come in different styles to add functionality. Any good changing table should have guardrails and also include safety straps. Additional features include draws and shelves and also wipe warmers. The unit can be used till the baby is about two years of age.

Rocking Chairs: Kids love the swaying movement on rocking chairs and enjoy it thoroughly. It also allows moms to introduce the child to the rocker as a playmate quite early during infancy. There are great rocking chair models that are fun for growing tots. It also makes a great gift for infants.

Playpen: Playpens as also play yards are a great furniture for toddlers. The basic model can be used as a crib that can be easily dissembled and mounted back. You can add accessories that include a changing station, netting for outdoor use and sheets.

Cradles & Dresser: A cradle is useful for rocking the baby till about four months or when the baby can roll from side to side. They are normally accompanied with bumpers, fitted sheet, quilt and comforter. Kids dressers are important for storage and are available in different styles and shapes and colors in the nursery.

High Chair: You get all kinds of high chairs for infants. Apart from the conventional models, you get a adjustable chairs, booster chairs in different materials like steel, plastic and wood. Ideal one should come with an adjustable tray, a safe locking mechanism, some fully reclining chairs are designed to be used for just born infants.

Beds: Twin Beds, Bunk Beds, Toddler Beds: Beds are the most versatile furniture for kid’s room. Bunk beds are in vogue with great themes and easily accommodate twin beds saving on lots of space. Some designs allow you to easily dissemble the beds into separate ones. Twin beds are also popular owing to its functionality and can be easily used to match up with any theme. Then there are beds that come with smart boxes to store extra stuff like toys, bedding and other things beneath the bed.

Kids Chairs and Tables: Kids chairs and tables should be decided after looking into practical details. Does your child need the table for writing and study, or also to keep the computer. Computer workstations for children allow great space functionality with draws and open work area for writing. Chairs should be well-designed allowing the right posture while studying. Look for details while rounding up on the best option. Ask questions as it always helps. You can ask someone about the practical details, someone who has kids and that should be great piece of information.

When I choose a toy to give to my godchildren or niece or nephews, the first thing I look into is the age recommendation. I actually only consider two factors when buying toys for kids – age appropriateness and my budget.

Reading about baby injuries caused by what I consider to be pretty harmless toys made me rethink my selection criteria. It made me aware about the safety aspect of kids’ toys. After a few hours of Internet surfing, I’ve learned that:

1. Toys must not have sharp surfaces or points.

2. Toys for kids under three years of age must not contain small parts or produce small parts when they break, like rattles with small balls in them.

3. Toys must not have pinching parts or wires that could poke through.

4. Stuffed toys or dolls should have no ribbons, strings, cords, or necklaces that can be wrapped around a child’s neck.

5. Any toy that can fit through a toilet paper tube is a choking and ingestion hazard.

6. Projectile toys like darts and slingshots are for older children.

7. I should also consider if there are younger siblings that can be interested to the toy because that toy can be a potential hazard for the younger ones.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission bans toys for sale in the U.S. that do not pass federal safety standards on small parts, low levels of lead in paint, flammability limits, and hazardous chemicals.

In August 2008, new toy safety standards have become a law in the U.S. The law requires, among others, lead levels in painted toys to be reduced to 100 parts per million and phthalate content to be below 0.1 percent. It also requires mandatory testing and safety certifications as well as tracking information for parents to easily find out if the toy they bought has been recalled. For some parents, the new law might not be the solution to some problems on child safety but it is a good start.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has a lot of information for parents like safety tips not only on toys but also on baby cribs and play yards, bicycles, pools, playgrounds and playpens. A visit at their Web site, www.cpsc.gov, is enlightening. There’s an updated list of recalled toys and other products in the site that will prove to be helpful for parents.

Parents can even receive direct e-mail notification of product recalls through the agency’s Web site. This is one free e-mail subscription parents should have. They can also subscribe to electronically receive new recalls and safety information at www.recalls.gov.

A blog by independent and nonprofit organization, Consumers Union, is another great site for parents to visit. The site is regularly updated with safety news and tips from the Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as news relating to child safety from publishers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and Time magazine.

There is so much to learn about toys and their safety standards. Hopefully, we all can be made aware of these standards to prevent tragedies.

When I choose a toy to give to my godchildren or niece or nephews, the first thing I look into is the age recommendation. I actually only consider two factors when buying toys for kids – age appropriateness and my budget.

Reading about baby injuries caused by what I consider to be pretty harmless toys made me rethink my selection criteria. It made me aware about the safety aspect of kids’ toys. After a few hours of Internet surfing, I’ve learned that:

1. Toys must not have sharp surfaces or points.

2. Toys for kids under three years of age must not contain small parts or produce small parts when they break, like rattles with small balls in them.

3. Toys must not have pinching parts or wires that could poke through.

4. Stuffed toys or dolls should have no ribbons, strings, cords, or necklaces that can be wrapped around a child’s neck.

5. Any toy that can fit through a toilet paper tube is a choking and ingestion hazard.

6. Projectile toys like darts and slingshots are for older children.

7. I should also consider if there are younger siblings that can be interested to the toy because that toy can be a potential hazard for the younger ones.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission bans toys for sale in the U.S. that do not pass federal safety standards on small parts, low levels of lead in paint, flammability limits, and hazardous chemicals.

In August 2008, new toy safety standards have become a law in the U.S. The law requires, among others, lead levels in painted toys to be reduced to 100 parts per million and phthalate content to be below 0.1 percent. It also requires mandatory testing and safety certifications as well as tracking information for parents to easily find out if the toy they bought has been recalled. For some parents, the new law might not be the solution to some problems on child safety but it is a good start.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has a lot of information for parents like safety tips not only on toys but also on baby cribs and play yards, bicycles, pools, playgrounds and playpens. A visit at their Web site, www.cpsc.gov, is enlightening. There’s an updated list of recalled toys and other products in the site that will prove to be helpful for parents.

Parents can even receive direct e-mail notification of product recalls through the agency’s Web site. This is one free e-mail subscription parents should have. They can also subscribe to electronically receive new recalls and safety information at www.recalls.gov.

A blog by independent and nonprofit organization, Consumers Union, is another great site for parents to visit. The site is regularly updated with safety news and tips from the Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as news relating to child safety from publishers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and Time magazine.

There is so much to learn about toys and their safety standards. Hopefully, we all can be made aware of these standards to prevent tragedies.