Many parents spend a lot of time researching curriculum philosophies and staff qualifications when choosing a childcare centre. Fewer parents spend time looking up at the ceiling, or down at floor level, or even closing their eyes to listen. The environment in which a child spends their day is not an incidental influence – it is a determining factor, and understanding how to read it changes the way you look at everything.

The environment as the “third teacher”

The Reggio Emilia philosophy, which was developed in a small town in Northern Italy in the aftermath of World War II, is built around the concept that the environment is the “third teacher”. The first teacher is the family, the second teacher is the educator. The third teacher is the space that surrounds the child, and the way it is set up – who is in it, what is in it, how is it arranged, how does the light fall across it, and who decides these things.

This is not abstract thinking. A room that puts all toys in a high shelf and only takes them out when an adult decides it is an appropriate time to play is a room that teaches children to obey. A room that has toys in easily accessible low shelves is a room that teaches children to make decisions, return things, and make decisions again. One room produces compliant children who need constant guidance; the other produces independent children who can think for themselves. Not a word needs to be said for these lessons to be learned.

What is true for the general principles of education is even more true when it comes to designing an environment for very young children. Toddlers are still developing their language abilities, and cannot say when they feel overwhelmed. Their actions are the only signals – a tantrum in the middle of a 50-minute circle time is a toddler’s way of telling you that too much is being asked of him right now. A clinging baby is a baby that needs less stimulation. The answer is not to force toddlers to learn self-regulation skills (as many centres tend to do), but rather to lower their stimulation levels.

What neuroscience has to say about room design

Ceiling height, natural light, and sound absorbing surfaces may seem like luxuries to consider when touring a nursery school, but they are in fact essential to an infant’s wellbeing. Infants and toddlers have a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress response which causes the body to produce cortisol, a hormone which increases in the bloodstream when the child is exposed to overstimulation. In other words, loud rooms, bright lights, and crowded spaces = higher stress levels in toddlers and infants.

High cortisol levels in early childhood are linked with lower cognitive and physical development, as well as growth hormone resistance. Behavioural problems, sleep disturbances, and reduced learning enthusiasm are also connected with high cortisol levels. Along with adrenaline, cortisol is a stress and “fight or flight” hormone, and it suppresses the immune system to deal with more urgent threats. However, children under 3 years of age do not have the physiological ability to deal with chronic overstimulation.

Soundproofing, or the lack thereof, is one of the most crucial aspects of a childcare centre that parents should pay attention to during their tour. Clap once in the room and see how much the sound bounces back at you. If it does, every chair squeaking, every dropped spoon, every sobbing toddler will echo in this room, overwhelming little ears and overloading their nervous systems. Natural light, on the other hand, has a calming effect on the human psyche. It helps regulate sleep patterns, focus levels, and just generally makes people feel safe. Rooms with large north facing windows are not as harsh on the eyes as the fluorescent lights in many centres are.

Read: The Science of Sofa Designs: Getting the Best Seat in the House

Why big rooms are not always better for toddlers

Most parents would assume that a big room is a good room, but in reality, large open-plan spaces are often detrimental to the wellbeing of a toddler. It is normal for young children to need periods of high and low stimulation throughout the day.

A large empty room offers no visual or textural prompts for a child to know when it is an appropriate time to run around and scream, or when it is an appropriate time to sit down and be quiet. The child that needs to expend energy after a long day of being indoors at home has nowhere to do it. The child who is already hyper has nowhere to calm down.

Well-designed childcare centres make use of zoning to create micro-environments within a large space. A large active area is separated from a calmer reading nook, which is separated from a water play area. Each of these zones makes use of different design elements (different lighting, different materials) to suggest different activities. These activities are then available to children, who will utilise them in accordance with their needs. This zoning creates a self-regulating system which is much more effective than asking toddlers to behave in a certain way.

This zoning concept is actually not a new one. It is in fact the same idea as Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, which suggests that children learn most effectively when they are working just beyond their current level of ability with the aid of a teacher. The same principle is applied in physical spaces as well. Childcare Kelston is a community-based childcare centre which makes extensive use of zoning to create child-friendly environments. Their open-plan design is broken up into different learning areas which make use of natural materials and indoor-outdoor flow.

Natural materials and why the colour palette matters

Imagine walking into two different childcare centres. In the first, you see bright primary-coloured plastic toys. In the second, you see timber shelves, light filtering through fabric, and little potted plants at the toddler’s eye level. The second room is beautiful, but it is also fundamentally different in an important way.

It is healthier. The use of biophilic design (natural materials, plants, etc) has been scientifically proven to reduce behavioural issues and increase focus in children. Rooms with lots of plastic can be visually overstimulating and do not allow the eyes to rest, which can cause sensory overload in some children.

Natural materials also promote heuristic play, which is exploratory play with real-world objects. Heuristic play allows children to explore the world through their senses, and it is crucial for cognitive development. Giving children access to real materials (wood, metal, etc) is much more enriching than any electronic toy ever could be, because the context is provided by the child, not the toy. According to architect Simon Nicholson, who developed the theory of loose parts, the potential for creativity and learning is directly proportional to the degree of openness and mobility of the material. Fabric offcuts, pine cones, and smooth rocks are all much more valuable to a child than a talking teddy bear.

Outdoor spaces: the case against the sterile playground

A flat rubber surface with a bright plastic slide on top may be safe, but it can also be unstimulating. Toddlers need to develop their gross motor skills, and the best way to do that is to provide them with a stimulating environment which includes a variety of surfaces to move over and around.

Proprioception is the awareness of one’s body in space, and it is developed through movement over varied terrain. A child who only moves over one surface (rubber) does not get the same neurological benefit as a child who scrambles over logs, slides down slopes, digs in garden beds, and balances on rocks. The most effective outdoor play areas include a variety of surfaces and natural elements, as well as some opportunities for messy play (garden beds, sand pits, etc).

Risk is an important part of childhood development as well. Children who are exposed to appropriately challenging activities are better prepared to handle risky situations later in life. The opposite is also true – children who are not exposed to any risk are less likely to be able to assess risk when the time comes.

Child-scale design and what to look for at floor level

The next time you are in a childcare centre, try squatting down to a toddler’s eye level and look around. What can the child see? What can he reach? What can he understand?

Childcare centres built around the principles of child-scale design make use of low open shelving so that children can see and reach the toys on their own. Mirrors at floor level allow babies to see themselves. Heavy chairs allow babies to pull themselves up with confidence. All of these principles are used to create an environment where a child can operate independently.

The Reggio-inspired philosophy of decentering the educator puts child-sized furniture at the periphery of the room. This makes the main focus of the room the children, not the adults. This is important, as it tells the child that the room is designed around them.

How to evaluate a local centre as a parent

All of this theory becomes much simpler when you are actually standing in a childcare centre, looking around. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

When you walk into the main room, is it zoned or open plan? How are children encouraged to move between activities?

Do the shelves contain a variety of open-ended toys, or are they dominated by single-purpose plastic toys?

Do you hear children’s voices? Do you hear chairs squeaking? How does the sound bounce back at you when you clap? Are the furnishings designed to absorb sound?

Is there access to natural light? Where are the windows in relation to where the children are?

Is the outdoor space stimulating and varied, or flat and boring? Does it allow for messy play and interaction with natural materials?

Do you see the reflection of your own culture in the room? Under Te Whāriki, New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum, the taiao (environment) is considered a critical factor in supporting children’s sense of belonging and exploration. A room which reflects Māori culture is likely to have elements which convey this to every child in the room, regardless of their background.

What the space says before anyone speaks

While educators are incredibly important, and while culture, philosophy, and ratios matter as well, the room itself will teach your child things long before the educator does, and long after the educator leaves. Learning to understand what it is saying is an invaluable skill for any parent.