Do you have a Child Friendly Listing?

[Paula]

Hello everyone,

Creating a welcoming space for families seeking child-friendly listings can be a rewarding experience, as it helps expand the target audience for your listing. Do you consider your listing to be child-friendly? We'd love to hear from hosts who have taken steps to make their listings more suitable for families with children.

What amenities do you offer to make families feel comfortable and at home? Are there any safety measures you've put in place to ensure a worry-free stay for parents? 

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

[Mar125]

@Paula 

I don’t mind children in my listing, as long as parents seem to be easy to work with. 

The only time i had bad experience with is a single local mom that overstayed hours and claimed refund for her “uncomfortable” stay. 

The child’s parents is the key part of the stay, not the child.

[Jennifer3225]

No such thing as a bad child.. more bad parents right?  😉 

[Mar125]

@Jennifer3225 Exactly Right! can’t agree more.

[Cyan5]

My space is not advertised as young child or infant friendly. I have a new to AirBnB couple requesting to stay 12 days with their infant. I told them my place is not set up for, nor do I have amenities to keep infants safe.  I am concerned.  Does any one have any suggestions? Thank you!

Cyan 

[Helen744]

@Cyan5 an infant Cyan is a different situation to a toddler , often parents co sleep and or bring a small sleeping cot as well as everything needed for the baby. Babies if truly infants are not moving around much and dangers such as stairs or water are generally not a concern. For the future maybe have a porta cot , high chair and some childrens books etcetera but it is up to you really .. H

[Shaun502]

hey all we currently have a “kiddie’s corner,” whereby we provide a paw patrol table with fun and educational activities for kids traveling to our home. You can not forget the kiddies as well☺️https://www.airbnb.com/h/thelockport

[Rie9]

Hello all! I'm Rie from Okinawa JAPAN. 

I created a kids' space in my living room with an IKEA bunk bed and a kids' chair and safe toys (nothing that requires batteries) underneath.
My husband made the mast and sails to look like a boat.
The guests love it.

I think little children tend to be nervous when traveling.
Stuffed animals and small, form-fitting chairs can calm children🧸🪑

[Rie9]

[Stephanie]

@Rie9 though intended for children, I would quite like one of those pirate sharks myself 😎

[Robin4]

@Paula 

Thanks to @Breanna for the heads up on your thread Paula.

I have learned over the years, a happy child makes for happy parents!

1/.....If you are going to accept children you have to appreciate they are just like adults except considerably more work. They are not like a suitcase that just sits in the corner. They will touch everything and their attention span is limited so it pays to have a range of activities to take their attention away from your walls and furniture.

2/.....Children come in a range of sizes and abilities, it helps to have a comprehensive range of child aids. Until Covid the only child aids I did not supply are a baby car seat and a bassinet.

I have a good Graco travelling cot with change table which folds up and stores away easily in a cupboard when not in use....

Although a host cannot charge for infants under 3 years of age I do supply a well waterproofed cot mattress, sheet and blanket for their use. I also supply a high chair, but since Covid have stopped supplying childrens toys and expect that parents will be bringing their valued toys with them.

I do supply childrens theme bath towels which are an absolute  positive........

They have a choice between Frozen, Toy Story and Star Wars and squeal with delight when they get to choose their own favourite.

My main childrens drawcards are external and having a considerable size fully gated and fenced garden gives them plenty of play scope with some special attributes.

It's perhaps not quite as special since our 'Betts' left us in February......

Children that were here for a few days were scared of dogs when they arrived got to just love Betts and would spend every moment they could playing with her. 

Betts tolerated just about anything from guests because guests meant food and pats, both of which ranked highly in her day to day wish list!

I am not ruling out a replacement, we need an animal in our lives! A dog can be a good hosting aid but you do need to pick the breed well, many breeds are not child friendly.

The other things the kids go wild over is the opportunity to drive one of my wife Ade's gophers...

 They have plenty of fun driving it around the pathways in the garden. Not something that you would buy simply to have a child friendly listing but as it is on hand the kids love using it! A lot of times it's their first time actually driving anything motorised, snd it's an experience they remember. We lock the speed control to a crawl and either parents or we will supervise!

The other thing they get a kick out of is playing my piano in my mancave!

Having 4 grandchildren of my own who live in another state, I love having children here in our listing, it partly makes up for what we are missing, we have had some nice stays and in many instances the kids don't want to leave.

And when it comes to review time children contribute considerable influence!

Cheers.........Rob

[Stephanie]

@Robin4 my first thought was to comment "happy parent AND grandparent" in your case but you mentioned it at the bottom! 

Though some spaces can't be made child safe, it is always a relief for me, as a mummy, when a listing has things like a high chair and baby gate - little things that are just so appreciated by parents!

I do so often struggle to find any listings that are comfortable with my 3 year old here in the UK though 😭

Thanks,

Steph

[Robin4]

@Stephanie 

Steph, Peter would go off his brain here. He is coming into that age where he is vocalising and exploring the world. 

I like to think Ade and I  have a big part in those years where children want to have as go at being adults ......

Abi looks at the gopher and says, 'What is that for' and I say "Abi, that is Ade's gopher, she can't walk any more and that is her legs. Hey would you like to drive her gopher"

There is this.....'Oh no I couldn't do that', so I say 'well if mum and dad think it's ok, would you like to have a go?'

Steph, all of a sudden they are not told what they can't do something, they are encouraged to be an adult and have a go, you should see their face!!!

Steph, I almost feel like God!

Abi gets control of the gopher and shouts out to mum and dad to see how grown up she is. She suddenly has a confidence she never had before.

I have had that parent come up to me and say....."Thank you so much, Abi was being picked on at school, look at her now, the next time she goes to school she will show the rest of her class how she drove a scooter all by herself"! 

I don't set out to be a trail blazer Steph but hosting is not just about Adults, we all have children. If I am going to accept children into our listing I have to appreciate there is going to be extra work involved.....and I am happy to do it and hopefully have them look back on their stay here as a real learning experience! 

Cheers.........Rob

[Breanna]

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1/.....If you are going to accept children you have to appreciate they are just like adults except considerably more work. They are not like a suitcase that just sits in the corner. They will touch everything and their attention span is limited so it pays to have a range of activities to take their attention away from your walls and furniture.

---

Love this perspective @Robin4!

I have had the opportunity to design a few nursery schools in the past and the biggest battle is between how the boss wants it to look vs. how the children are actually going to interact with the space!

Also loving the theming of @Rie9's space! That barrel really pulls in the pirate theme ⚓ 

[Mark116]

@Robin4   Sorry to hear about Betts, it's always so hard to lose our animal friends.