A guide to choosing wallpaper for your new baby that he won't hate when he's 4 years old.

Disney Babies, Elmo and friends, little ducklings, Beatrix Potter, Noah's Ark, Candyland jungles, sailboats and stars and moons and teddy bears and choo-choo trains - and those are just a few of the thousands of wallpaper patterns that are available for the single most precious room in your house. Decorating a nursery for your soon-to-be bundle of joy is a joyful task, but the choices can be overwhelming. If you're choosing wallpaper for your nursery, there are some guidelines and advice that will help you choose nursery wallpaper that he'll love just as much when he's five as you do on the day you bring him home from the hospital. Decide on a motif. If you've already chosen some of the furnishings or bedding for your baby's room, you may have a pretty good idea of the sort of nursery you want to create. Whether you opt for Disney characters, sailboats and fishes, fantasy castles or frolicking lambs, you'll find nursery wallpaper that supports the theme. Keep in mind though that your child is going to grow faster than you can imagine, and it won't be long before she's got some very definite tastes of her own. By all means, indulge your fantasies if the motif you want is cutesy nursery with fluffy lambs, bunnies and teddy bears - but opt for wallpaper that's easily strippable when she's ready for Barbie and Hello Kitty. Keep it simple and bright. Babies distinguish bright colors and simple shapes long before they can discern anything else. Those puffy clouds and smiling stars are there for YOUR benefit, not your baby's. If you're looking for something that will stimulate your new munchkin's brain, pick wallpaper with bright primary colors and simple shapes. One of the neat wallpaper tricks is to opt for a simple striped pattern accented with a strippable wallpaper border in complementary colors. It's a simple matter to replace the ABC nursery blocks wallpaper border with Crayola crayons when he's two, and Elmo and Friends nursery wallpaper border when he's four and bats, balls and gloves when he's six. Make it FUN. If you do decide to opt for a busy style wallpaper, choose one that will be fun as she grows older. Wallpaper murals can become a 'toy' of sorts, a background to imagination as your child grows older and starts to notice the world around her. Try three 'simple' walls with a repeating pattern, and wallpaper the fourth wall with a jungle nursery wall mural, or - if you can find one - Where's Waldo? Pick wallpaper that's easy to clean. Trust me on this one. Your adorable cooing bundle will grow into a curious toddler who'll finger paint on the walls with Mommy's lipsticks and practice her letters on the ABC blocks. Whatever pattern or style of nursery wallpaper you choose, make certain that it's washable!