The Workspace Next Door: Mate

In this week’s workspace next door we are chatting to Lorena from Croatia. She is, in her own words, a 25 year old full time mom and part time student (marketing major currently at final year of business school) living in Dugo Selo (it is exactly as boring as it sounds). Her son’s name is Mate, he is two (going on sixteen judging by door slamming and doing the opposite of everything she says. Despite his young age, Mate already has a workspace of his own. Since I did exactly the same thing when P got his own room at 1.5 – got him a desk which proved to be a complete waste of money and space, I wanted to know how it worked out for somebody else.

What were the main aspects to consider when deciding on the kids workspace?

He is far too young to be needing a workspace of his own however my idea was to create a playful area for him to enjoy and to slowly introduce him to more of “sit down” kind of activities. I wanted this space to be fun and stimulating without it being overwhelming, hoping that would help him focus on one activity. I kept the color scheme very muted (mostly white and black).

Why did you think he needs a little workspace of his own so young?

I believe having a designed workspace at such a young age can’t hurt. My hope is that this way he is going to associate sitting at a desk with fun as opposed to being intimidated by it. Developing a habit of using a workspace will (hopefully) be useful later when he starts school. I do admit suffering of “young mother sindrome” and working a little harder on all aspects of his development to prove the society wrong on looking down on young mothers

And finally, what does he use his desk for?:)

We use his desk for all sorts of things like reading, coloring, playing with legos, but Mate’s favorite is climbing on it and giving me heart attacks

Thank you so much for choosing us, we so are honored to be featured on your blog! – Lorena

If you want to see more of Lorena and Mate find them on Instagram.

What age were your kids when they got their workspace?

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