In the good old days, everyone left their kids to play with the neighbors outside the home. It helped to develop adventure and independence, the character that made America successful. But do that now and the kids run too great a chance of being kidnapped, run down by careless or drunk drivers, or shot by druggies in drive-by shootings. Unfortunately, you need to keep your kids at home but NOT in front of the idiot box all day. Give them books to read or computer games to play in the comfort and privacy of their own bedrooms. Of course, that also means giving them proper bedroom furniture that serves their needs.

photo credit: Tinker*Tailor

Unfortunately, most bedroom furniture designs for kids do not include a desk and chair. Those will be the first additional furniture you need to buy. You really, really do not want your child sprawled out on his bed or hunched over on the floor while reading or playing. This will cause him to develop poor posture, leading to all sorts of aches and pains in the future. Besides poor posture, kids who do not have a proper desks and chairs which fit them tend to keep their books or computer screens too close to their eyes, leading to shortsightedness. Your kid’s desk and chair need not be expensive. In fact, you should probably buy the cheapest one that fits him because he will grow rapidly and you will soon need to replace them.

The second item(s) you want to add to your kid’s bedroom is/are additional storage. Whether you give him shelves or storage chests does not matter as long as they are easy to use and make it easy for him to organize and store his belongings. Boys are not born naturally messy. They learn to be messy when they were young because they did not have enough space to properly store their toys and other belongings. The wardrobe that comes with most kids bedroom furniture is definitely not enough. Boys who grow up to become neat and organized men always had enough shelves and organized storage space available to them as kids. Of course, as a parent, you are also responsible for showing them a good example as well as teaching them how to use all that additional storage space effectively.

Too many parents buy their kid’s bedroom furniture based purely on looks. Far too often, not enough thought is put into its practical functionality. When their kids develop bad habits, they have no one to blame but themselves.