When children are young and need their parents’ support there seems to be little need for them to have their own room. However, when they start going to school and want their own independence having their own room to study in, play in and sleep in is important. So what is the best age to give your child his/her own room?
A major reason for families with children to move or renovate is because they want to
provide their child with his/her own room. Research shows that 80% of 1st and 2nd
graders have their own room. However in Japan, 6% of children start using their own
room from 3rd or 4th grade, 18% of children start using their own room from 5th or
6th grade and 60% of children start using their own room from junior high school.
Since the majority of children start using their own room for studying, sleeping and
playing from the end of elementary school, we believe that the best time to give your
child his/her own room is from when your child is around 10 years old.
Children’s rooms are not only for studying but based on their age the room often
becomes the base of their life at home. So the more a child spends in his/her own
room the more independent he/she becomes.
Vice versa, having their own room will allow children to gain their independence.
Having a sense of independence will help them solve problems on their own. Since
their parents will not be there to step in everytime something gets difficult, they
will work hard to solve the problems on their own. Without a sense of independence,
children will give up when things get bothersome, blame what happens on others and
not have a clear goal for themselves. Therefore, it is important that parents help
their children gain a sense of independence as they grow up. One way to do this is to
give them their own room at the appropriate time.
Even if moving to their own room will give them a sense of independence, if parents
force their child to move to their own room they may react negatively. It is important
for parents to prepare properly before encouraging their child to use their own room.
When children are in daycare, kindergarten or the beginnning years of elementary school,
parents should start by getting their child in the habit of putting their own bag,
uniform away. When they enter elementary school, children should be in charge of their
own bag, books, notes and homework papers. Parents should only help until they are used
to their new lifestyle to prevent their child from becoming dependent on them.If parents
encourage their children to do things on their own from a young age, it will be less
likely that they will fight moving into their own room when they get older.
It is best for children to move into their own room when they have gained their
independence. Some children may show independence by being rebellious. Girls often
become rebellious from Grade 3 and boys from Grade 5 so parents should provide them
with their own room to go to from around these ages.
