Can you help with decorating project?

Some of us do not devote a lot of time to making our kids happy. Instead, we devote a lot of time to making sure they are well-adjusted.

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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I think this would be a wonderful idea. Please let me know when it is ready. I would like to link it to my website.

Living in base housing military parents need some ideas for making their kids' rooms "theirs" as they move around. I think this could be a great resource for military parents!

C Lee

In article , IMS of Road Runner uttered

How odd - I must finally be getting something right, because mine show every signs of being both happy *and* well-adjusted. Hoorah for me! (Mind you, I don't repaint their bedrooms terribly often .... oh dear)

Hmmm... I seem to have raised my children quite fine without the 'individualised personal spaces' - in fact, my two girls at 15 and 17 finally have their own rooms now that their older brother has moved out of the house. It has always been made clear to them that it is our house and that they may decorate the rooms that they occupy without damaging walls or ceilings. These rooms were wallpapered in a Victorian style when the children were very young..... All three children seem to have grown up happy and reasonably well-adjusted. They realise that life is not a free ride, being a member of a family means being part of a team (no, I don't pay you for doing chores - they are your contribution to the family effort - you don't pay me for rides, do you?), and finally, you get out of life what you put into it. The nursery was the same for all three children, including the same crib, bumper pads, sheets, dresser and decorations. Young children could care less about what is around them (and a baby certainly doesn't know that Johnny or Susie saw the items first!) as long as the colours are interesting and easy to focus on. What they are most interested in are the arms that are holding them and the voice that is singing the lullaby! My husband knitted a blanket (simple garter stitch!) for each new child as his contribution to the new member of the family...and that was the only thing different that each child got. The nursery was set up with an eye to safety and function - crib, rocker, dresser, change table. I bought a stroller buggy that lasted through all three, as well. I have seen too many of my friends catering to their children's every whim, trying to make/keep their kids happy - and those are the most unhappy children I've seen! Just my two cents worth.... Cynthia

"She who would like to be obeyed once every Preston Guild" wrote in message news:RlrtM9JHS+ snipped-for-privacy@ntlworld.com...

Don't you think that knowing that they were loved and secure meant a lot more than what material possessions they had? I suspect that some people decorate the children's rooms more for themselves and to impress their friends and relatives than for the children who occupy the rooms.

You betcha. In my experience living in a rather affluent area of the country, it seems to me that the children who get the most *things* have the highest tendency to be spoiled brats.

Children who try very hard to do what they were taught -- to find emotional support in material objects. They are never successful, but it was how they were raised, so they keep trying.....and failing.

IMHO, you're putting the blame on the wrong people. It's their

*parents* who should be the target of your criticism.

That *was* my point. The children don't get the things all by themselves.

My dad flew for the airlines and we didn't get as much stuff as a lot of kids I see today.

You called the children "spoiled brats". That looks to me to be criticism of the *children*.

??? What does your Dad having flown for the airlines have to do with anything?

Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply wrote in news:zvxHe.6887$p% snipped-for-privacy@typhoon.sonic.net:

especially if the 'things' are replacing actually paying attention to the kid. my 5 year old is an only child of an older parent (i'm 50. he was born a month before my 46th birthday), an indulgent parent (daddy) & the only grandchild of my parents. he used to have lots of 'things', but *he* was the one who said he had too much. he's been giving away many of his toys this summer & requested only books for his birthday. he prefers to spend time with us, or playing with his chickens. he says too many toys makes it too hard to decide what to play with. i'd like to think he's not much of a brat... at least not any more than the average 5 year old. lee

Your son sounds like a wonderful, very perceptive child. congratulations on rearing him to be like that. Emily

What a treasure! I'll bet that all of you talk with him and not at him, too.

Our definitions must be different.

Rich parents do not always equal spoiled brats for children.

Ah, I didn't realize airline pilots were included in the "rich" class. ;-)

Maybe not so much anymore, with airlines going belly-up right and left, but back in the day......yes! They were as well off as any successful lawyer or doctor, and that's rich in my accountant's book.

They were in the 60s and 70s when I grew up, and he only had to log 72 hours of work a month to get that good pay. They started slashing pay in the 80s and 90s. At one point my dad's salary was cut in half between the elimination of a position that paid a premium and an across-the-board percentage pay cut to everybody -- one was 20% and one was 30%, I forget which. But that was after everybody was grown and gone. I'm just glad he didn't see his beloved TWA go up in smoke.

"CypSew" wrote in news:5%KJe.569189$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net :