Why you should involve your children when updating their room

Do you remember the excitement you felt when planning the nursery for your first child? You likely spent hours searching through Pinterest, magazines, and websites looking for a simple theme that could express how all-encompassing your love was.

However, now that your child has grown, their room likely requires a bit of an update. Fortunately, updating their room can be a fantastic opportunity for both of you to learn first-hand about the various aspects of project management.

Planning

Rather than run out and buy everything without any forethought, we recommend allowing your child to plan the way forward. For example, they could devise their theme, floor plan, and study area. Ideally, try to avoid being critical and guide them through the problems to come to workable solutions. A helpful suggestion is keeping the majority of the room neutral so that accessories and soft furnishings can be amended as your child ages and their interests change.

Budgeting

Reality is always limited by finances. Having your child update their room is an ideal opportunity to explain budgeting, compromise and give and take. Your child can list all of the items they feel are needed for their new space, including paint, furniture, lighting, carpeting, and accessories.

Allow your child to voice their priorities and eliminate what they don’t mind from their initial wish list. They might also want to delegate some items to future Christmas or birthday wishlists.

Ordering

Your child is now ready to place orders, but are they willing to wait for an item? Is it better to get something directly from a shop in town, or order a more distinctive piece online? You could also suggest seeing if friends and family might be willing to give away some useful items or browse through the local charity shops for a bargain.

Donating

It can be tricky for kids to give away their possessions, but generosity is a trait that most of us want to encourage in our children. If you arrange a Salvation Army Donation Pickup, they will send around a truck and movers to collect used children’s furniture, appliances, clothes, toys, and more. Be certain to tell them that the donation is from your child so that they are the ones receiving the thank you for their charity.

Enjoying

Now it’s time to allow your child to enjoy their new space. Work together at finalizing house rules so that everyone agrees with and understands them. Some suggestions we recommend include:

• No eating in your room
• The door to your room is open when guests are over
• Electronics need to be handed to parents before bedtime
• A weekly room tidying day

If your child genuinely wants to change their room, then we recommend you let them do it. You can certainly set some ground rules and give advice, but remember that they will feel more ownership and pride in their room if they did most of the planning and work themselves. Hopefully this means that there will be less angst and arguments going into the teenage years.

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