Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Perfect Changing Area But......
Nickel 12:38 PM 07-07-2012
So i have the perfect sink/counter for diaper changes. Theres a sink and a large counter area where i can place my contoured changing pad with buckle. I also have drawers to store diaper creams and ointments and sheoves for extra wipes diapers and cleaning supplies. I just need to add the child lock. Its in a large open area with plenty of room but the problem is this awesome sink area is in the bathroom in my master bedroom where i dont want the dck or dcp to be. Essentially the other children would have to play in my room or bathroom while i diapered the other child. Altho there is plenty of toom for two potty seats and theres the reg toilet. I veven thought of moving my bedroom to another room but imy furniture just wont fit. I have a king size bed dressers etc... So what do you all do for diaper areas? I really wanted something close to a sink but none of my othrr bathrooms are big enough. I have a dresser i can use but then i have to drag all the kids to the other room to wash hands and stuff. What do you all use? Where fo you put it? My state prohibts diapering areas from being in locations accessible to children in regular areas. I know i worded that wrong but basically i cant use kitchen counters tables sofa or floor... So how is your toileting area set up? Id like in near the bathroom ad i want to take children over two but i know they may not be potty trained. Ky daughter is so it would be great if she can use the potty while i diaper other kids... Suggestions greatly appreciated!!!! Oh and sorry for typos. Im on my phone and can barely see what im actually typing! Lol
Reply
Truly Scrumptious 01:40 PM 07-07-2012
The area you've chosen is fine for you, but you are going to have the problem of day care parents going in there too. Do you have a bathroom in your hallway? And if you do, could you fit a small changing table in the hall?
Reply
Nickel 02:02 PM 07-07-2012
Omg i typed a whole reply and it didnt enter it... Grrrrrrr

I have. Bathroom adjoining the sleeping area but its very tiny and im not a small person so it would be difficult to get in nd out of with a toddler to wash hands. The hallway bathroom is actually by ghe entryway and i was planning on putting coat cubbies there and then a coat up at the lovong room entryway so the kids cant run down the hall out of site. My house has a strange set up in that the entry way btanches off into two short hallways. One had the bathroom and two bedrooms the second has the office and then leads into living room. In the living room is the fourth bedroom and bedrooms four and two are connecting by a bathroom essentially behind my loving room wall. Bedroom four is ghe room i was going to use for sleep.time quiet play. Then the living room opens up to the dining area and around to kitchen. I have a small "window" to see into living room from kitchen. Then the dining area has the back door and master bedroom door. The master bath is across my bedroom so its not like its right there. So its a great house but not easily set up for daycafe. My office has a gate and my cats are in there and the beds next to the hall bath are for my dogs (yes a room with large dog crates... Like four large dog crates and my vacuum and floor cleaners) and a bedroom. My living room is huge so i was planning on usinv the living room.for play dining room for meals and arts and crafts and the fourth bedroom for sleeping and i guess toileting. The problem is that room is also my daughters room eventhiugh she doesnt sleep in there. So i could move her stuff out but would rather not. I am goinv to put her toddler.crib in my room and just have some toys and cots and maybe a reading corner in there and the rest would all be in the living area. Does this sound like a good set up? I could get a changing table and put it in the sleep room by the bathroom and just tey to lose weight? Lol... I just dont want a ton of dc stuff in the living room because i dont want my pets to ruin it and ill essentially need to put some of it away at the end of they day either in the garage or another room. Does this sound feasible?
Reply
itlw8 02:53 PM 07-07-2012
You must have a sink with in so many feet of a diaper area. And it can not be one used for food prep.

I have seen one provider who placed a changing table in the tub of a small bathroom.
Reply
Nickel 02:57 PM 07-07-2012
thats an idea!!! And it looks like Ill be placing the diaper area right outside the bathroom door. It stinks, but I guess there isn't much else I can do. I just wish my master bath sink was in another room. not that it would fit in my other bathrooms....

I'll just have to figure out how to use the area I do have. I was thinking of moving the sleep room to the other room but that wouldn't really be close enough to the rest of the house, I was thinking of moving my daughters room into the other room but I don't like her room being in the front of the house street side... too bad my garage isn't climate controlled! lol
Reply
Meeko 03:37 PM 07-07-2012
We have one of our bathrooms used only by the day care kids.

My husband built a "table" over the bathtub that is my changing area.
A ton of room for wipes, creams etc. and accomodates the bigger kids (who should be potty trained already...but that's a different thread )

He put shelves in the shower stall and turned it into a closet for supplies. At the back of the long sink counter, we put CD shelves. They are narrow....perfect for diapers. Each child has their own shelf.
Reply
cheerfuldom 04:20 PM 07-07-2012
Originally Posted by Meeko:
We have one of our bathrooms used only by the day care kids.

My husband built a "table" over the bathtub that is my changing area.
A ton of room for wipes, creams etc. and accomodates the bigger kids (who should be potty trained already...but that's a different thread )

He put shelves in the shower stall and turned it into a closet for supplies. At the back of the long sink counter, we put CD shelves. They are narrow....perfect for diapers. Each child has their own shelf.
wow! I love this idea SOOOO much. My daycare has a dedicated full bathroom but of course the tub is never used. I'd love to make that a changing area. Would it be possible to post a picture of what your hubby made? or pm or email me pics?
Reply
Truly Scrumptious 04:47 PM 07-07-2012
Originally Posted by Nickel:
thats an idea!!! And it looks like Ill be placing the diaper area right outside the bathroom door. It stinks, but I guess there isn't much else I can do. I just wish my master bath sink was in another room. not that it would fit in my other bathrooms....

I'll just have to figure out how to use the area I do have. I was thinking of moving the sleep room to the other room but that wouldn't really be close enough to the rest of the house, I was thinking of moving my daughters room into the other room but I don't like her room being in the front of the house street side... too bad my garage isn't climate controlled! lol
My garage isn't either, and we couldn't afford to convert it. So, we put insulation in the garage doors and I took the thickest canvas tarps I could buy at Lowes and put them up with a staple gun,and filled in any visible cracks with spray foam. I then painted the walls of the garage and the canvas, painted the garage floor with floor paint and now we use the garage for cubbies and I set up a little kitchenette out there with a day care table for the kids to eat at. Behind a fake wall that divides the garage, I store all my day care supplies. In the winter I use one of those little heaters that blows heat like a blow dryer and I don't need anything in the summer, it stays comfortable out there.
Reply
Meeko 06:33 PM 07-08-2012
Originally Posted by cheerfuldom:
wow! I love this idea SOOOO much. My daycare has a dedicated full bathroom but of course the tub is never used. I'd love to make that a changing area. Would it be possible to post a picture of what your hubby made? or pm or email me pics?
Got one somewhere...will dig it out.

But it's very basic. Hubby made a "table" that stands on the corners of the tub...he just used 2x4's...nothing elegant! (it's an oval garden tub, so has a wide area in the corners to support the legs) Then I just put up a curtain along the front and we store extra blankets in the tub!

We covered the top with flooring tiles to look nice and then a piece of thick plastic (Walmart sells it on a roll in their sewing area) It can be wiped down easily and replaced cheaply if need be.
Reply
Nickel 08:38 PM 07-08-2012
I would love to do this but my bathroom for daycare is just a sink and toilet I'm looking at purchasing a changing table and placing right outside the bathroom door. I was going to use a microwave cart, but Im not sure it would be high enough and hubby said it's ugly. Nothing a fresh coat of paint can't fix!!! lol

Oh, well. I would like to see how you made the table work.
Reply
Heidi 06:09 AM 07-09-2012
I use an old dresser in the playroom closet.

Ok...wild idea here....how many bedrooms do you have? Do you share your dc space with or have a seperate room?

IF you have enough bedrooms, and you currently share all your space, would you consider taking another bedroom and using the "master" as your 100% daycare space? Can you see that room from the kitchen so that you could put up a gate and make meals while keeping an eye on things? just a thought...
Reply
MizzCheryl 09:15 AM 07-09-2012
Originally Posted by Heidi:
I use an old dresser in the playroom closet.

Ok...wild idea here....how many bedrooms do you have? Do you share your dc space with or have a seperate room?

IF you have enough bedrooms, and you currently share all your space, would you consider taking another bedroom and using the "master" as your 100% daycare space? Can you see that room from the kitchen so that you could put up a gate and make meals while keeping an eye on things? just a thought...
Before I built on my daycare room I used the mater bedroom as my living room. That way I could use my big living room area as my daycare. It is right beside the kitchen. We just took the sofa, PC and Tv in the bedroom and made a little den or living room in there.
Reply
Crazy8 10:08 AM 07-09-2012
I would never have the changing area in the master bedroom bathroom if I was actually using that room as my bedroom, no way, no how, don't care how perfect a space it was!!
I just have a changing table in my daycare room/playroom. I use the hall bathroom or kitchen sink to wash my hands afterwards. We don't have any rules about how close the sink has to be, etc. Its a bit of a pain to leave the room to wash my hands after every change but the alternative is leaving the room to change the diaper so I guess its the same thing. I have a small half bath on the main floor, no room for changing area and personally, I'd rather have as few rooms as possible affected by my daycare so I like having everything in the one room.
Reply
Heidi 10:13 AM 07-09-2012
Originally Posted by Crazy8:
I would never have the changing area in the master bedroom bathroom if I was actually using that room as my bedroom, no way, no how, don't care how perfect a space it was!!
I just have a changing table in my daycare room/playroom. I use the hall bathroom or kitchen sink to wash my hands afterwards. We don't have any rules about how close the sink has to be, etc. Its a bit of a pain to leave the room to wash my hands after every change but the alternative is leaving the room to change the diaper so I guess its the same thing. I have a small half bath on the main floor, no room for changing area and personally, I'd rather have as few rooms as possible affected by my daycare so I like having everything in the one room.

Reply
Nickel 11:51 AM 07-10-2012
You're right. I think I'll just skip the bedroom all together and just buy the changing table. I'll figure out somewhere to put it. Better than having kids and parents invading my personal space Thanks for all the advice and replies!
Reply
Tags:changing area
Reply Up