We can’t put it off any longer. We are going to tackle W’s bedroom. He’s rather happy to have butterflies on his walls – he just doesn’t want them to be pink with a cream background. I can appreciate that. He’s nearly 8, so it may not be his choice de jour. It was truly perfect timing when Dulux asked me if I’d write about how we feel about bedroom decorating and the research that’s come out about it from their recent survey.
Did you know that 92 per cent of kids would spend more time in their room if they could help decorate it and yet, three quarters of parents don’t involve their children in the process. That would be me then, and Lovely Bloke, ahem. I’m sure that 65 per cent did indeed say they felt happy and 58 per cent excited at the prospect of helping mum and dad. I can see all sides of this – the children mostly want a treehouse in their bedroom, whilst I want the room to contain a magic cleaning fairy who separates socks and pants from trousers and puts them in the washing basket.
This has got me thinking though. If these are the things that children want in their bedrooms, how can we help them have it? Surely it’s my job to ask W what he wants and try to give him it – he’s only 8 once, after all?
Commenting on the research findings, expert Developmental Psychologist, Dr. Sam Wass, states:
“Children typically create little things, but the bedroom is the first real, permanent thing that they can influence. Involving a child helps them to establish their own inner space and the image that they want to project to others. And for parents, having a chance to work together with their children can really help to establish a stable, respectful relationship.
“This new study by Dulux confirms this. Children, when given a chance to be in charge of their bedrooms, respond positively: they feel a sense of pride, they spend more time in their bedroom, and they become more inclined to keep it tidy to show it off to their friends. For these reasons, and more, I think it would be wonderful if more parents involved their children when decorating their bedroom”.
I actually spent some time looking at the site with W and he thinks that if we can manage it, he’d like the superhero bedroom. I totally get that this is what he’d like – but can’t see Lovely Bloke feeling that it fits with the rest of the house! There’s also the worry about what to do if/when he changes his mind – we’d lose our marbles if we changed his room as often as his preferences….
What do you think to it? As a style? Will it date? Will it look ok?
If you’re interested, there are some more videos and info here… Have a look. What do you think to them? I think the astronaut could date well? Perhaps better than the superhero one? The videos have been designed around kids’ passion points, from avid bookworms looking for a place to spark their imagination to would-be astronauts looking to jet off to galaxies beyond. Visit www.dulux.co.uk/kids-rooms to watch in full.
This is a sponsored post – I’ve been compensated for my efforts. All words and content are my own, as this is something that we’ve been looking at, for W, for some time!
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