Do You Let Your Children Decorate Their Rooms?

January 22, 2009

A friend of mine has a son who is about to move out of his crib and into a bed. To get him excited about the move, she began showing him pictures of "big boy beds" in catalogs. To her chagrin, he took to a rather wild bedding print that she never would have picked. He now tells everyone that his bed will feature these crazy sheets and she is researching quilts that will keep them undercover throughout the day.

Did you let your tots pick out their own bedding and room decor?

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7 Comments

pioneers 4 years 17 weeks

Kids need to express themselves, and decorating their rooms is a great way to do just that. My best friend growing up was super sheltered and had absolutely no say in how her room looked--her posters even had to be approved by her mom and framed properly. Her parents couldn't believe the audacity of my mom to let us decorate ours (yes, it was a collaboration) and dismissed it as a lack of boundaries. Then in college, my best friend OD'ed on coke and regained consciousness just before her parents came back in the room, with just enough time to take out her nipple rings and cover her tattoos. Do I think that has everything to do with her room? Of course not. But no freedom does crazy things to people. Just sayin'...

nevadamtnbear 4 years 17 weeks

Akitkat - I'm not hating the new format, but I'm having a very difficult time adapting to it. :) As for the question - I chose other because I think ultimately, a parent has the right to exercise discretion. BUT, that is more applicable to an older child than a toddler or younger kid. I think if a kid chooses some crazy wild colors - let them. It's their room. It enables them to express their individuality and preferences in a harmless way. If a tween or teen wants to put up pictures of half-naked people in their room, or offensive things, that is where a parent has the right to exercise parental discretion. But, in as much as colors, patterns, and the like, I say let the kid have fun. It's not like it can't be changed.

Akitkat118 4 years 17 weeks

by the way, i HATE this new website format... anyone else?

Akitkat118 4 years 17 weeks

I don't see what the big deal is. A child's room doesn't have to MATCH the parent's decorations, nor does it have to be sophisticated. If the kid wants a character, let them have some accessories. As they get older you can gradually make their room into colors and tones that match the house. But like lickety said, you can always shut the door. so who cares that the friend of the person who posted the article has a son who picked crazy sheets. If it makes the kid happy and more willing to actually GO into their room and go to sleep, don't you want that?

lickety split 4 years 17 weeks

i do. i remember when my middle daughter was 2 and moving into her big girl bed. she picked tweety bird for her room theme :faint: at the time i couldn't believe it and felt like it was HUGE that i allowed tweety bird to cover her bed, windows, etc. in retrospect, it was nothing. i just closed the door if i wanted to. i think it's fun, and important, to let kids choose how to do their space.

SKC Sparkle 4 years 17 weeks

This is kind of similar to an earlier discussion about whether to let your kids pick their clothes. I think it should be a collaboration (as princessAlexi suggests). As long as it is safe (and paint over-able), let them have fun!

princessAlexi 4 years 17 weeks

I like to think of it as a collaboration. I pick a few colors & narrow it down & ask them which one is their fave. I also get their input on what kind of theme or feel they want the room to have and take it from there. If we're out and they see something they'd really like to incorporate into the room then I'll usually try to add it in and base some other accesories around that as well.

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