As your children get older, they start to reach that moody phase that drives us insane! They don’t like your rules; they don’t like your style; they don’t like your ideas, and they let you know about it every time they are in the room. Your children are becoming more independent and are trying to assert their personality. This is all normal and healthy stuff, but it makes for some butting heads between you from time to time.
There are ways you can help your mini ‘adult’ feel like they have more say in what goes on in your home. At the end of the day, it is your house, and you are the one that has turned it into a home for the family. The trouble is, you have done it too well. Your natural gift for all things domestic has undoubtedly been passed on to your kids, so you need to respect them when they are ready to have a go.
Letting the kids pick the next color scheme or rearrange the furniture can be nail biting. You have spent a long time choosing all the finishing touches but now a child is telling you it’s no good! That simply isn’t the case. It’s just that they have different tastes to you. They have different requirements from the home to you. They even have a different lifestyle to you. It does none of you any harm to let them put their stamp on the home. It will even help them be more respectful of it to prevent careless damage.
Rearranging the living room furniture may be a good thing, especially if you can rope the kids into cleaning out the dust bunnies at the same time! Order a couple of bean bags made in the USA that you can customise to their requirements. Placing them in the living room says to your children that they belong there and that they are a central part of the family home. Also let them pick a color from your choice of 4 or 5 paints. They can paint a wall themselves. It may need touching up while they are at school, but it shows them their input is valuable, and their ideas and efforts have merit.
Shop around for a cabinet together. Your kids can then fill it with their own items. Things like books, iPads and small toys can fit neatly in here. Children love to have little places to hide their belongings away. Having one in the main living area will help them feel the room is just as much for kids as it is for the grown ups to relax in.
Finally, let your children shop around for a rug. Kids love playing on the floor. If you let them pick their own rug to sit on, you may be pleasantly surprised to find the mess of toys is suddenly restricted to this area. Some parents have been delighted to catch their children even taking a nap there! Don’t restrict the kids’ decorating to just Christmas.
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