5 steps to making a washroom more child friendly

Updated 17-02-2020

I have twins, aged 3, one boy, one girl and a 4 month year old baby. The little girl is a determined little soul, she loves fireworks and parties and generally getting stuck in. The little boy on the other hand has always been nervous of sudden or loud noises. A firework display last year put him into his shell for a full week, dogs barking send him running and he cowers from loud hand dryers and visibly gets shook up.

It seems this is not an uncommon problem, as many parents share the same story. We really think architects and the facilities that cater for little ones could do a lot more to improve the experience at this delicate time, when many children are potty training or just getting to grips with the whole experience. Many children reach school age and are still feeling nervous about public toilets and unable to control themselves properly, which can lead to early forms of bullying.

Here are a few tips for making washrooms more 'friendly'

1. Make sure there are plenty of toilets available 

Michael Gove has been called the 'toilet snatcher' for removing the minimum requirement to have 1 toilet per 20 children in schools. ERIC, the charity set up to help Children and teenagers suffering from continence difficulties, has campaigned hard to reverse this decision. Facilities need to put users first before cost cutting.  See the press release here

2. Make toilets attractive for younger users.

Child friendly panelling can make the whole experience much more appealing. Check out this example from www.schooltoilets.co.uk

3. Make dispensers colourful and friendly.

Modern Teaching Aids offer a coloured dispenser click here that has smooth corners, doesn't scratch easily and has friendly colours.

4. Pick the right hand dryer!

You must consider the hand dryer carefully. Decibel levels can be unreliable so consult us directly on this, we have a wealth of testing on different categories of hand dryers conducted both at BRE and in conjunction with the Quiet Mark. A small amount of noise is good as it can mask potentially embarrassing sounds coming from the toilet, the Japanese always have music in washrooms for this reason.

Check out our Quiet Mark approved hand dryers and Quiet hand dryer section.

Another thing to consider with hand dryers is giving them an approachable or attractive look. Puff the magic dryer is a nice concept or we can custom design anything you want onto a hand dryer cover.

5. Make sure there is enough space!

Cramped washrooms can cause anxiety and make hand dryer noises more unsettling. Noise levels are amplified in small spaces considerably

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For more information or for help in finding your ideal hand dryer, please contact us on 0114 3540047, use our contact us page by clicking here or click to visit the website.  You can also use our Intelligent Search Tool that helps you identify the perfect dryer for your location by clicking here

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