Fixing the Everyday: Family Designs that Solve Big Problems

Where Ingenuity Meets Daily Life

Some of the world’s best design solutions aren’t found in high-tech labs—they’re created in living rooms, backyards, and kitchen tables. Parents, driven by love and necessity, find ways to adapt their homes for safety, comfort, and practicality.

In this final installment of the Global Parent Picks series, we explore brilliant ideas from families in Canada, Madagascar, and Nepal. These DIY designs solve common household challenges with simple materials and big impact.

Why It Matters

Design isn’t just for professionals. It’s a mindset of solving problems using what you have. These parent-led innovations:

• Show children the value of problem-solving
• Make safety and comfort more accessible
• Spark creativity across generations
• Teach cultural adaptability and resilience

By introducing these projects to kids, we empower them with the idea that anyone can be a designer—with a problem, a goal, and a bit of imagination.

Project 1: Anti-Slip Snow Boot Rings (Canada)

Problem: Kids walking to school in winter often slip on icy sidewalks.

Parent Solution: A pair of stretchable boot rings made from old bicycle tubes, fitted with small rubber nubs or bottle caps for traction.

Cultural Insight: In parts of Canada, sidewalks are often packed with snow or covered in black ice, especially during early school hours. One parent in Alberta explained how her son slipped and fell three times on his way to school before she improvised traction rings using an old tire tube. The design was later shared among neighbours.

Make It Yourself:

• Cut strips from a worn-out bike inner tube
• Punch small holes and attach textured rubber, metal washers, or bottle caps
• Loop around the base of snow boots and secure with zip ties

What Kids Learn:

• How friction and grip affect movement
• Basic upcycling and safe tool use
• Thinking ahead for seasonal safety

Discussion Prompts:

• Where do you think surfaces become most slippery?
• What other recycled materials could be used for grip?

Upgrade Option: Add glow-in-the-dark paint or reflective tape for nighttime visibility.

Family Tip: Let kids design the patterns or colours on their boot rings. They can even name their creations!

Project 2: Rain-Cover Schoolbag from Palm Leaves (Madagascar)

Problem: Children often carry schoolbooks in the rain with no protection.

Parent Solution: A durable book-carrying pouch that doubles as a rain shield, woven from dried palm leaves and lined with fabric scraps.

Cultural Insight: In rural Madagascar, students often walk long distances to school and are frequently caught in tropical rainstorms. Purchasing plastic bags or raincoats may not be feasible. A father in Toamasina started making woven palm pouches for his children, inspired by traditional mats. His design became so popular that other families requested to learn the weaving method.

Make It Yourself:

• Collect dry palm fronds and soak to soften
• Weave a rectangular pouch shape with a folding flap
• Add cotton cloth as a liner inside
• Stitch shoulder straps or add a drawstring

What Kids Learn:

• Nature-based weaving techniques
• Adapting materials to suit local weather
• Respect for slow craft and material origin

Discussion Prompts:

• How does your bag protect your items in bad weather?
• Can you name other plants that could be used for weaving?

Upgrade Option: Sew a hidden waterproof pocket inside or add a loop for attaching an umbrella.

Family Tip: Customise the bag with initials, beads, or stitching to show ownership and pride.

Project 3: Multi-Generational Storage Step (Nepal)

Problem: Elderly and young family members share homes with limited space for safe climbing or storage.

Parent Solution: A wide, carpet-covered wooden step that works as both a support stair and hidden storage unit.

Cultural Insight: In hilly areas of Nepal, homes are often built on uneven ground with narrow entryways. A grandmother in Pokhara explained how the steep front step was difficult for both her and her toddler grandson. Her daughter and son-in-law worked together to build a soft-covered box step from old furniture, storing shoes and blankets inside.

Make It Yourself:

• Use recycled wood crates or a sturdy wooden box
• Add a carpet scrap on top for softness and grip
• Install a hinge or lift-lid for access to internal storage
• Paint or varnish for water resistance

What Kids Learn:

• Ergonomic thinking in furniture
• Combining function with aesthetics
• Designing with empathy for different generations

Discussion Prompts:

• How can one design be useful to both older and younger people?
• What items in your home could benefit from double-use?

Upgrade Option: Attach a motion-activated light strip inside the lid or add side handles.

Family Tip: Store seasonal items like scarves, flashlights, or tools inside the step for easy access.

Quick Swaps

• Mini Traction Tester: Compare textures (rubber, sponge, felt) for ice grip using toy shoes and jelly trays.
• Paper Leaf Weaving: Simulate palm weaving with construction paper or ribbon on cardboard frames.
• Step Box Sketch Plan: Draw and label a side-view plan for a dream stair-step storage bench.

These mini versions require little time or cleanup, making them ideal for classrooms or after-dinner family time.

Extend the Learning

Looking to bring these projects into broader conversations?

• Create a photo diary of everyday items that could be redesigned
• Host a DIY Design Day: Assign every family member a household problem to solve
• Interview grandparents about how homes and tools were different in their childhood
• Compare design styles across climates (tropical, snowy, desert, mountain)

Books to Explore:

• Design Thinking for Kids by Doreen Gehry Nelson
• Children Just Like Me by DK Publishing
• Made by Hand: A Craft Book for Kids by Carine Khalife

Videos to Watch:

• “Design Like a Kid” YouTube series (child inventors)
• National Geographic’s “Kids Build the Future”
• UNICEF: Community innovation highlights in developing countries

A Toolbox of Ideas

Every time a parent makes something better with what they have, they teach their children a powerful lesson: that everyday design can make life safer, smarter, and more caring.

Ask your child: “What’s something at home we could improve for a grandparent or sibling?”

Encourage sketches, cardboard mockups, or show-and-tell nights at home.

Share your creations with us and visit kids-activities.net to explore more global DIY ideas.

Free Downloads

Fixing the Everyday Activity Pack (PDF) Includes: Boot Ring Build Instructions, Palm Bag Pattern Guide, and Step-Storage Sketch Template + Quick Swaps