Michelle's hack illustrates how simple home tweaks can make a big difference to your kid's independence:
My son is 3-1/2. We recently bought a new house and we managed to train him to take off his shoes and coat and put them in the coat closet. But his coat would just get left on the floor. Not really his fault since he can't reach the hanging bar.
My husband didn't want to put coat hooks in the foyer for fear that our main entrance would be a mess (he's one of those tidy husbands). So we went all winter picking up and hanging our son's coat ourselves.
Then the light bulb went off. I put one of those nifty, stick-on hooks on the inside of the closet door at my son's height and presto! He was hanging his own coat in the closet the next day!
I've shared my love of Command self-adhesive hooks and hangers before. You can use them all over the house (and I do, as detailed here). The best part is that you can remove them without damaging the wall or door finish.
As an aside: I find that preschool teachers are BRILLIANT sources of ideas for kid-friendly room design. My kids went to a home-based preschool and I was amazed by how much they could (and would) do themselves simply because everything was accessible and clearly marked.
Calling all fans of stick-on hooks: how do you use them in your house?
The comments of this post contain a bunch of good Command hook uses as well.
I did this too for both of my kids and it’s great! I also use small the hooks in my closet behind the door to hang all my necklaces and bracelets. I use one in the kids shower to hang their shower poofs at a height they can reach. I have one in the garage to hang the dog leash. One inside the door to hang my keys. One on the kitchen cabinet and bathroom next the sink to hang my hand towels. I used the small clear ones on the front of my house to hang Christmas lights and decorations. One in my son’s room to hang his baseball hats. I have one on my fridge to hang the calendar (since magnets don’t stick to stainless!)…the list goes on and on. I’m a fan of 3M hooks!
I’m definitely going to try this with my nephew. He’s almost four and we still haven’t found a way to keep him from acting like a tornado and leaving a path of destruction behind him.
I did this with my kids but you have to be careful not to overload them. We have had a number of them ripped off the wall by a lazy kid that did not want to use more than one hook.
Awesomemom: Very true. Each hook comes with a weight limit that’s pretty accurate. Perhaps hook + label might do the trick?
Such a smart hack. I need to pick up more hooks, pronto!
I only tried Command hooks because of a Parent Hacks’ recommendation, and I’m really pleased with how well they work & are removed.
We use them in our kitchen for school lunch boxes.
We have a little corner with several of these hooks that we use to hang up the kids’ dress up outfits. We have a small house so being able to use wall space for storage is awesome!
We mounted a wooden shelf + hooks (not an option for everyone) in our son’s room and put a little basket on the shelf to hold mittens, hats, etc. It’s really great how he’s able to hang up his own jackets/towel/hats and put his mittens and sunglasses away. We’re revamping his room and want to lower the bar in his closet as well so he can access it.
Some closets have sufficient space behind the door for an entire storage hack. You can alter Anna White’s storage rack with pretty sturdy hanging pegs.
http://ana-white.com/2010/08/behind-closet-doors.html
I’ve tried Command products 3 times (including hooks on the wall low enough for my children to hang their coats) and 3 times they’ve come off the wall. A good idea but not impressed with the product’s adhesiveness.
I use Command Hooks to hold up my broom and Swiffer mop in the kitchen. One thing to the people for whom Command Hooks don’t work: Make sure you follow the directions precisely when you stick them on the wall. We didn’t the first time and had problems with the hooks falling off too.
We have regular hooks in the closet for my 7-year-old’s coat and backpack, so that wasn’t a problem. What WAS a problem was getting him to use them (they are at the right height and everything). I finally hit on the solution: I started charging him 25 cents every time he left his backpack or coat out on the floor. Wow, that solved that problem in a jiffy!