Recently, I was offered a larger room because I am the oldest and I have the smallest room in the house. I currently am debating if I should take the offer, but I am almost positive I will. So, I thought, what are some good room change guidelines and ideas?
Here are some guidelines to changing rooms.
- Run a “trial night”. Have the child sleep in the room for one or two days. Don’t bring in all the furniture, just use an air mattress and sheets or a sleeping bag, and a nightlight, if needed. This allows you to see if the child will sleep in the room. No point in moving into the room just to move out because the kid can’t sleep.
- Watch for backlash. If the child’s new room-to-be is currently the playroom and the child’s current room is smaller, when the rooms are swapped any other kids may feel swindled because they now have a smaller playroom just because one kid got a bigger room.
- Are they old enough or too old??? At a young age, things like room size aren’t important, so they don’t need the change. At an older age, it may not be worth it because the older teen is probably moving out soon. I think there is an area of age that fits the bill well: eight to fourteen.
- After moving in… Before moving in tell the child that a larger room comes with responsibilities. He or she will need to clean the room, and to many kids, that ruins the joy. Also, things like having a larger room will mean all your toys go in your room, but shared toys don’t go in your room.
- Keep the change quiet. Don’t tell all the kids until there is a verdict (made by the child and parents), and then, only if it’s a yes. If you tell them early or if it’s a no, the other kids may ask, too. Then they may get mad if you say no because they feel you are being mean by only offering it to one child.
So, if one of your children wants a bigger room, think carefully about it. And, feel free to use my guidelines.
thanks for the tips