Kid-Friendly Designs That Showcase the Heart and Creativity of Architects and Designers
A See-Saw With Sliding Weights so Everyone Can Play Together
Come on, we all know that see-saws are the big daddies of the playground. If these kids could sit on this thing and blast up and down for hours they would – but that isn’t always possible. If a see-saw adventure goes wrong (little difference in weight), then fun might come to an immediate stop in seconds, but kids need to be sure that they’re all of a similar size to have the most fun. Well, one architect was going to get to the bottom of that.
This clever design also allows things to work for children who are different weights, with sliding weights that can be added to the see-saw for this purpose. This kid-friendly design even allows for adult involvement!
The Big Question; Do You Take the Stairs or the Slide?
I mean, what parents doesn’t love taking the child to the mall, but they also know there is a millisecond of doom where the child can go from willing walkers into a screaming demons. We can only presume that this architect who designed this child-friendly home had kids, because they devised the only way to halt demon transformation in its tracks. Yes, this is what they call a wind slide (for the adult version) out of a giant mall! (Fun fact: there is a ball pit just underneath.
We two questions on this design. First of all, which one would you pick? Also, where the fuck is this mall? We’re asking for a friend.
A Playground With Sign Language Prompts so Nobody Is Left Out
Kids are different sizes, different shapes, and different abilities. But it is so easy to leave kids out — particularly if a child is deaf or hard of hearing. That was until the creator of this kiddie paradise ensured that no one would be sitting out from the fun on their visit to this spot. They introduced hearing and deaf children to each other in an easy to play manner by adding a simple sign offering sign language prompts.
The thing we adore about this design for children is, it is so simple and easy. That panel probably needs to be there whatever you do – so, why not make it useful?
A Traffic Playground to Make Crossing the Street a Breeze
You might think of biking when you think of Copenhagen. Copenhagen regularly cycles to the top of the list of best capital cities for cycling in the world, after all. However, while adult locals regularly navigate bicycle lanes and intersections, an architect wanted to ensure children could acclimate to this, as well. So, they created a little traffic playground — a car-free zone where kids would learn safety on two wheels.
This is true child-friendly design at its best; we are pretty sure these koukits had a whole lot of fun mixing things up and learnt some big life lessons in the process. Honestly, some grown-ups could probably use this too!
This Indoor Playhouse Comes Complete With a Functioning Kitchen
Parents, teachers, and caregivers should ensure kids are prepared to be the future as children are the future. And we don’t know about you but this incredible indoor playhouse built by a foster dad is sure to whisk away any boredom. He constructed a fully functional indoor playhouse complete with working kitchen, sliding windows and electric lights whenever he found out he would be adding some new foster kids to his brood!
This design prioritizes family and child’s dreams, and we bet the kids enjoy some marvellous moments using this. However, we do wonder—what are the flower boxes doing on fire?
A Soap Cannon for Children at the Local Car Wash
Kids eventually need to turn into adults and do the boring things we adults have to do every day, but they need to be kids first. And that is precisely why we salute the designer of this epic design when it comes to the world of kids. And no, your eyes do not deceive you. Indeed, this is a soap cannon for kids at the car wash! It seems like such an enjoyable adventure.
We of course hope the “for kids” part is used loosely, in this place. In fact, we can think of numerous adults who would spend the best time ever using this!
This Park Has a Swing Designed Specifically for Wheelchair Users
The unfortunate truth is that most of the world as we know it today is built for non-disabled people. However architects are doing more than ever to change that, and the first step to doing that is changing the way disabled children grow up. And although wheelchair users were seldom afforded the joy of a play park as children, this playground features a pair of swings especially designed for wheelchair use. Because why should they be excluded?
We totally love this idea because this is a family-friendly design that lets wheelchair users feel what able-bodied kids do all the time. Those swings literally seem like you just sit on it and you are in it!
These Sinks Slope for Adults and Children of All Different Heights
Now, any parents out there will appreciate just how tricky it can be to navigate going to a public bathroom with kids in tow. You want your children to be washing their hands after using the loo, sure, but when you have made the sink area just for big people, how the blazes do you get them to wash their hands? Kids reach up for the soap, and whenever they turn the faucet on, they will typically get drenched in soapy water.
That is why the designer of this museum in London did something about it. Such a good design for kids as you can have sloped sinks for adults and children of all heights so easy but a brilliant idea!
A Swing That Allows the Parent and Child to Swing at the Same Time
Raise your hand; who among the adults would want to be able to play in the park with the kids? We are going to take a guess that many of you are raising their hands because that inner child never really goes away. Now most playparks are child orientated, but this park has had the architect bring the parent and child together. This swing also lets the parent join into the swing session too, giving the parent and child an opportunity to swing together!
However, as much as we dig this family-focused layout, we’d also argue it’s slightly flawed. Indeed we believe parents who are perpetually hit in the chest and back will concur.
School Desks With Pedals so Kids Don’t Have to Sit Still All Day
Your kids most likely donot need us to remind them to sit still. They process things at a mile a minute, so just embrace this. So, why would we expect them to stay seated when they are in school? They sometimes need to blow off a little steam or need movement to help them regulate their emotions — these pedal desks are great for that. They also won’t interfere with the other members of the class this way either.
Genius is the only word that comes to mind for this child-friendly and playful design which encourages fun along with learning at the same time within the class! In fact, we can’t help but wonder if they have these in adult!
This Store Gives Free Fruit to Children During Their Shopping Trips
You can usually find most adults in one of two places: either they are loving their trips to the grocery store, or they absolutely loathe it. But while some adults, like this one, are yet to decide, I think it’s fair to say that most kids really don’t like being dragged on these excursions. They become apathetic, they want to eat all the food, and they want to fill Ilsa’s shopping cart with junk food. This store, however, had a solution for that issue.
The family-friendly design allows kids to grab a piece of fruit for no charge and enjoy it while navigating the grocery store, We are keeping them busy and its a healthy version of Pop-tarts!
These Mini MRI Machines Prep Children Ahead of Their Own Scans
It’s easy to scare kids, and an emergency room or medical procedure isn’t the most comforting of places. MRIs are especially terrifying, and most adults dread the time they need to sit in the magnetic tube. So this hospital thought it would be a good idea to give children their own MRI machine to play with so they’d be mentally prepared for the experience when it came. It even came complete with the same noises, to make it as real as it gets.
Having some idea of what they are in for before they head into the machine has to be a godsend for the kids, and this where designs to make it kid-friendly really help.
These Shorter Windows Let Kids See Inside the Construction Site
Kids + Construction = Peanut butter + Jelly Naturally, no children are going to get involved in this building site – not that they don’t love watching it, and playing with toys that emulate this very process. We’d like to raise our glasses to the architect who elected to make these colorful mini windows around this building site.
We bet watching the cranes travel around the site was a thrill for inquisitive children, and we also know some short adults probably got a few miles out of these things!
A Quirky School Bus for Pre-School Children in Japan
So, if you have a child that despises school-time mornings (you know who I mean), then fear not. Kids that refuse to get out of the house in the morning can be just as obstinate — whether they’re in pre-K or they’re in high school — and you probably figure that they’re not going to budge for anything. This is cool but what if they were getting dropped off in a Pokemon-themed school bus? Better still — one that closely resembled Pikachu?
We bet a lot more kids would be hopping up out of bed and running for the doors on their way to school if more schools were modeled after this adorable preschool bus we spotted in Japan.
A Mock City Just Outside of the City to Teach Kids About Traffic
Parents have grave concerns when living in a well populated city. Concerns about how their children will handle the traffic in this more populous environment and how they would adapt to the frenetic nature of both the area and the people seem to make them fear for their safety. Which is exactly why one architect made the decision to build a mock city right outside of the main city, where kids can learn everything they need to learn about the city — just in a more peaceful, less dangerous setting.
What we like about this easy-on-kids design is that this city is actually pretty close to real. Yes, they have a Tim Hortons and a McDonalds in this makeshift city — albeit a much smaller version.
A Child Seat in a Public Restroom to Keep Kids Safe
Although any parent can tell you what it’s like to have to use a public bathroom with a child in tow. I mean, you can’t just leave a toddler outside of the bathroom stall while you’re in there handling your business. But also, you want a little distance, so you can get your business done without your child sticking fingers in outlets or unspooling toilet paper from the dispenser. This solves that problem, thankfully, with this child-proof-ish design.
Offering this child seat in a public restroom means parents never have to worry their kid is up to no good for the brief moments they take for themselves.
This High School Book Stop Is Way More Exciting Than Ordinary Bus Stop
One of the most common assumptions is that practical architecture must forgo aesthetics to accommodate higher functionality. Of course, sometimes you can change things a bit and create a more family-friendly model without compromising much of the underlying usefulness, and that’s exactly what you’re looking at here. This is a bus stop outside of a high school in Holstein GERMANY! And it looks pretty awesome.
This book stop harmonizes with its environment while also providing kids a dry, sheltered place to wait for the bus, and we’re sure you can hang out and chill next to the giant pencil sharpener after school.
Steps for Young Pizza Inspectors to Watch the Process in Domino’s
The world is a vast and wonderful place, and one of the best things that you can do to raise a well-rounded child is to let them experience it themselves, experience the happenings of society first hand. Anyone who designed this Domino’s branch clearly got the memo! Rather than attempting to hold a bunch of children hostage at chairs to stare at four walls while waiting for their pizza, they let them become a pizza inspector in training.
If we were to watch dough for a day, we would have loved to see it when we were kids, so something tells us this kid-friendly design is in permanent rotation! What a great idea.
A Shopping Cart With a Standing Platform for Kids to Enjoy
Even if most parents have faced wandering children in the grocery store, worse than most people’s worst nightmare, So then they just have to try and lure their kids into being on their hip all day. But that’s not easy! That leaves us to only believe that the creator of this family friendly design is a parent of children in the grocery store, as they clearly gauged the challenge of keeping kids occupied in the grocery store.
That standing platform lets the kids fly next to their parents while cruising through the grocery store aisles as if they were Superman. And we just know the kids who entered this store didn’t roam around.
A Mini Airport Playground at the Airport in Zurich
Keeping a kid entertained at the airport for a couple of hours is pretty much a no-go. You can stuff them full of snacks or march them around the concourse — but at the end of the day they end up getting fidgety, and that sets you up for failure before you even board the aircraft. Switzerland’s own Zurich airport had a trick, however. And in the shape of a mini airport.
This airport playground seems to include everything from a little plane to helicopters and trampolines. And the best part? It’s the kind of place that’s very child-friendly and they’ll be worn out before your flight.
A Book That Teaches Children How to Tie Shoelaces in Real Time
There is so much for kids to learn; it feels like we are expecting extra from them, day by day! Architects and designers are needed now more than ever, if only to do more things like this, since this can be exceedingly daunting for them. Indeed, this is a book designed for kids to use shoelaces in real time to learn the art of shoelace tying.
But this kid-friendly design wouldn’t be only for kids. This book could work for anyone who had issues with their shoes, and as many adults still have trouble tying their laces this book could work on real kids too.
This Shipwreck Has Been Transformed Into the Ultimate Playground
Countless children’s playgrounds exist in the world, all made to attract offspring and their kin. But how many of those are offering you something different? Okay, any play park will have some swings or a climbing frame or two, but only those that have been designed by an architect will add something unique to the experience. This old shipwreck playground is one of the coolest things we’ve ever weirdly seen. Just look at it!
We’d like to know is there an age limit on this thing? If not, we know plenty of grown-ups who would gladly spend hours in this playground! Us included.
A Public Bathroom Has a Separate Smaller Door for Children
You ever witness a tiny child attempting to turn an all-too-big adult door? And too small sometimes, where they need to stand on their tip toes in order to get a shot to minimally crack it open. Being in public bathrooms can definitely be a source of tension for them, so kudos to this designer for fashioning a smaller, individual kids door in this rest room. It provides kids that much needed independence that some of them want!
Although we enjoy this kid-friendly design, we have one question. They have to remember to lock both doors when they are doing business, right? Because, you know, you don’t want a small child to walk in on you.
This Carousel Has a Disabled Seat for Less Mobile Children
Just like those a disabled kids wants to get to participate into a play park, they also want to be into a fairground fun. And why should they not enjoy the pleasure of the merry-go-round? Well, this is the park in Hong Kong that clearly got the memo, hence why they’d offer a sea turtle fixed to the floor for children who are less mobile or simply incapable of getting up onto the seahorses or any other of the sea creatures.
In designs like these, out of so many situations you have left so many of us, Family-friendly changes the game for us all. And it gives every child the opportunity to enjoy their childhood.
This School Rewards Students With Tokens for the Book Vending Machine
Everyone — from children to grown-ups — respond to positive reinforcement. Though knowing when you screw up is vital, so is knowing when you’ve nailed it, as your own actions can be hugely influential in children’s development. What do you want us to say?! We imagine these kids are going to be healthy, strong, happy human beings because their teachers reward them with tokens for the book vending machine whenever they do something right. Neat idea, huh?
With as many empty slots as are evident in this vending machine, we’re going out on a limb and assuming that this design for children was a rousing success. We reckon there are some real～【book worms】 in that school.
This School Offers Skateboard Racks for Students to Use During the Day
Not everyone can be best at raising teenagers, and it takes an art to get it right. Instead of finding fault with kids who express themselves through skateboarding, this school has given its skater students an opportunity to put their skateboards somewhere private while they get on with their studies. And this reciprocal attitude is what can truly transform a student’s experience in school. Anyway, it couldn’t have cost that much to have these badass skateboard racks installed.
We feel that every school should include this kind of kid-friendly design. Many people think of skateboarding as a delinquent activity, but this design shows it isn’t like that at all and it’s for kids!
A Playground With a Free Sunscreen Dispenser
The need for sun safety has always existed, but it feels like it only dawned on us relatively recently how important it actually is — particularly for children, to be protected for life after all. Yet, parents already have a million things to remember when heading to the park with the kids, which is why forgetting sunscreen is relatively common. They used to fill me with stress, though, this play park has removed the stress of that. They have their own complimentary sunscreen dispenser.
And this family-friendly design is also great for adults in need of a little top-up. That means kids can enjoy longer playtime without parents having to worry about the sun blazing down on them.
This Kid’s Menu Caters to All-Too-Common Responses
A whingy, tired child right when you need to order food in a restaurant — urgh, worst. It is not uncommon to be given the answers of, “I don’t want that” or “I don’t care” making it a half-hour ordeal to decide what you should be ordering for them. So no more worries with this menu design in kid’s favour!! It’s comical and practical, with a kid’s menu featuring an option for each curmudgeonly answer.
We would order “I guess so,” off that menu. However, when there are literally hundreds God knows what (fill in the blank) kiddo is going to want;
This Sandpit Has Fake Bones Buried in the Sand for Kids to “Discover”
If there were a magic bullet for raising a happy, resilient, creative child it would be: Offer them new experiences every chance you can. And guess what? These opportunities don’t need to expensive! Indeed, there are some amazing family-friendly style playparks popping up all over the globe that offer new and different. You know, something along the lines of drilling up your own velociraptor skeleton. At least that is what this specific playpark has to provide.
Sandbox Play As one of the many activities that kids love to play in the sandbox for, you will be able to brush away and dig for hours in a row with a singular purpose, excavating the fossilized bones of the broken dinosaur. They might even end up being a paleontologist or something.
This Shoe Store Offers an Easy Way to Measure Children’s Feet
You might remember having your feet measured as a child with a Brannock device. Now these are still what many shoe stores around America use today but there are kids who have a tough time with this. They may dislike physical touch, or they might have tactile defensiveness. But that does not mean that you have to randomly guess at what size shoe that they wear. This shop has designed a good kid friendly design that does this very easy.
While this floor mat can be placed anywhere so it’s no less effective than these old school devices. Actually, we believe they need these mats in larger grown-up sizes as well!
These Park Mushrooms Are Actually Free Libraries for Kids
Kids can just eat something about mushrooms — I am not sure why. They’re fantastic, they’re colorful and they’re creativity in the most unmatched form. Perhaps that s why the architect of this free library went with a mushroom for their shape. Because seriously, what could be better than a park-based, toad-stool-shaped, free little library? We know kids won’t be able to resist checking this library out as they walk by with their parents in the park.
Always a great encouragement for kids to read, and this design creates a touch of whimsy into their little lives. They will even plead with Mom and Dad to swing by the mushroom library!
These Shoe Inserts Help Kids Learn Their Lefts and Rights
You are in a fight just teaching them how to put their shoes on. However expecting them to be able to tell the difference from left shoe to right shoe on top of that can be too far out of range. Fortunately, there are things made for the kiddos to assist them with that sort of thing — enter these shoe inserts. In case you are wondering, the left shoe has a yellow insert and the right shoe has a right insert.
As long as the kid a) can remember which color goes with which shoe and b) can put the shoes on their feet, they should be able to get their own shoes on and on the right foot with little effort. Yes, it’s as simple as that.
A Bus Stop in Norway Has a Swing for Kids to Enjoy
A lot of kids wait around the bus stops a lot of the times. Be it because their parents get the bus to school every one day, or just because, their parents don’t own a vehicle- whatever the reason, a not-insignificant amount of time is spent waiting that is not really engaging & not very enjoyable. Which is why when it came time for one designer to design this bus stop architecture, they decided to spice things up a bit. They ditch the cold bench and instead suggest the kids a swing to sit on the seat.
We understand this swing is for kids, but something tells us there are a lot of adults getting use out of this thing too. We certainly would.
This Play Park Has an LED Slide to Make the Darkness Less Scary
There is no doubt that some of the children are usually afraid of the dark. Some sleep next to night lights and others refuse to leave their homes when the sun goes down. However, the family-friendly design lessens the creep of the dark and there is no denying that this LED slide is among the coolest stuff we’ve ever come across. And we start to wonder what this looks like while you’re throwing your weight through it!
Well, anyway, most little kids are home by dark. Something tells us local teens probably enjoy this one at night.
This Cloth Screen Stops Kids From Crushing Their Fingers in the Door
RH Children + doors = recipe for disaster! Geez, the majority of parents have been there with the nail-biting screams of a kid whose fingers got caught in a slamming door, but it’s the hinges or something that seem to allure them. And that’s why this preschool took action. It was a kid-friendly design that separated the children from the hinges and actually pretty clever.
Just slides over the top of your door hinges, and keeps kids safe behind cloth screen In fact, this design for kids is so successful that a lot of countries have made them a requirement in public places.
This Life Jacket Loaner Station Keeps Kids Safe by the Water
A lot of parents wish summer days at the lake with their kids, but sometimes it is simply too dangerous. It is well known that kids require supervision at the water any time they are near the water so parents can get so worried that they just stay home instead. But it made a safer trip to the lake with the kids about as far from this design as you can get. Well, you have a life jacket borrow station to get to!
The concept behind this family-oriented design is that families borrow these life jackets for their kids to use, before returning them for the next family to use.
This Shopping Mall Has a Giant Tree-Themed Playground Inside It
Shop with kids you say it is difficult. And I find you can offer your kids free milkshakes or fries to shop for an hour but soon they tire of that too. Shoutout to this shopping mall for realizing kids needed a little more than going from one-storey to the other. And we’re betting this giant tree-themed playground is doing it. There’s all the fun of a big slide, climbing frames and more to be enjoyed there.
We suggest that kids immediately fall asleep when they leave this family-oriented play park. Probably fine, I guess, for parents who want to just mac around a mousy child for the next several hours.
This Bathroom Has a Smaller Bathroom for Children Inside of It
What Is A Bathroom Inside A Bathroom Called Bathroom-ception! The Europa Park Hotel in Germany gets it just right with their hotel guests with kiddos. Yes, the grown-ups get a bath in this communal family room, but not a toilet and not a sink. Rather, this family-oriented designer set about putting a second, tiny toilet room in this huge bath intended for adults. This provides children a personal space.
This may sound like a gimmick, but it’s actually a pretty good god damn idea. – In this way, children will learn responsibility for their own space and give parents a little room to breathe.
This Playground Has a Mini Excavator for Kids to Get Hands-On
There are plenty of kids who grow up with their childhood trailers filled with tractors, construction tools, and big machines. Naturally responsible parents would never even let their kids near these massive and incredibly dangerous toys — but that doesn’t mean they can’t play with the kid-friendly version. And this park delivers, with a mini excavator housed in the sandpit. The answer is yes, and this gives kids the opportunity to dig to their hearts’ content.
Now this looks a whole lotsk of fun, and likely, why this park is so popular with local kiddo’s! In fact, can you all confirm this?
This Mcdonald’s Restaurant Offers a Table Drop-Down for Children
Restaurants are built for ordinary grown-ups. Even restaurants where they are also aimed at kids! So furniture is usually oversized for kids — the chairs often are sat on in dangerous ways to reach the tall tables. So the child-friendly design will not allow that — instead this McDonald’s restaurant chose to implement a drop-down feature for its littler patrons. And, of course, turned the chairs compared to them cooler as well!
We can totally see families getting their fries and nuggets at this restaurant, which is totally kid-friendly. And the best part? The kids also get to join in on the action.
