Helping Your Child Decorate His or Her Room
Getting Kids Involved in Decorating their Room as a Summer Project
It's summertime and the kids are home from school. After the initial fun wears off and the soccer and swimming lessons are over you’re stuck with bored kids who don’t know what to do with themselves.
How about giving them a project that will boost self-esteem, keep them busy, and teach them a few lessons in the process? Sounds like a win-win solution to everyone. So roll up your sleeves and let your child redecorate his or her bedroom.
Children, of any age, need a space that they can call their own. Something that lets them have their own identity and express their personal preferences and achievements. As soon as you’re able to give up the idea of the perfect child’s bedroom, it’s time to let your child start having a say in their own decorating scheme.
Build excitement by letting your child have most of the control and authority in decision making (of course you get ultimate veto power) and bring home some design books to spark imagination. But then, rather than just jumping in and letting your child go crazy, approach it as you should approach all decorating projects, with a plan. This is where the learning part comes in to play.
Give your child a budget for their room re-do and if they have an allowance or a job, and if it’s appropriate, let them contribute a little to get those extras they just have to have. Once you’ve established a budget amount, then create a wish list and let your child brainstorm and write down everything they want in the room. Together the two of you can price items and decide how much the dream room would cost. If it’s within your budget, go wild and have fun. If not, begin the process of eliminating the extras and keeping the essential items or begin bargain hunting to find better deals. This process will sharpen you child’s math skills and teach them a little about restraint and budgeting.
Then the fun and the real work begins. Plan your decorating project by mapping out the best order of your tasks and then start decorating. Gauge your level of involvement by your child. Some kids will need a lot of help and others will just want the help. Some kids are very independent and will want to do most of the work themselves but whatever your child’s predisposition, be there if they need help and provide positive reinforcement so they not only take pride in their work but they learn that decorating a home is fun and a great way to express themselves.
