Teenagers and their bedrooms

[CLL]

Can I just say to mums of messy, moody teens ....

my son left home to go to Uni 4 hours drive away when he was 18 and hes now 22 and has stayed there

I miss him desperately and only get to see him 3 or 4 times a year

If there was one thing that I could change about his teenage years it would be that I nagged less and got to know him a little better

I know its annoying but try to cherish them while they are still with you , even if they are moody and messy and drive you up the wall

I moved away when I was 22 but we moved back when I was 29 (now we live on the adjoining street to my parents). I never thought I would move back but once I had my little boy I wanted to live next to my mum again! Funny most of my friends have moved back, from London, Dublin, Dubai etc. maybe when he gets older you will see him more, 22 is an exciting age and I know that I appreciate my parents more now than I did then.

[step11]

Often I think I've done all the washing then walk into the utility room and its reappeared.

I have the same issue. Basket always seems full

[Kiddleywinks]

I had a shoebox when I was at home, literally a bed and a single wardrobe - for a teenage girl? Seriously?!.
The door, when opened, touched the wardrobe and the bed, or at least it would when I cleared the 'floordrobe'

Mum, fed up with my untidy room (I literally had NOWHERE to put anything and had asked for shelves for 3 years!), decided to remove my door to 'shame' me into tidying up.
As I had nowhere to tidy things up to, my door stayed off for almost a month before she got fed up of looking at it and put the door back on.

That weekend, I finally got my shelves, the weekend after that, I left home


Fast forward to my own DD, it's her room. If she wants to live like a pig upstairs that's fine, (not allowed food up there) but she doesn't get to have people over unless her room's been tidy for a week.
Her friends shame her into doing it, I have a much easier life as I'm not on her case all the time, and if it's not in the wash basket, it doesn't get washed.
Thankfully, the older she's getting, the tidier she's becoming

[Daisy De]

I rarely go into my children's rooms, they are both grown up, one still lives at home, one has left but still has his room as him and his girlfriend are always here or so it seems

Gave up long ago on the tidying issue, I seemed to be the only one who was stressed about it so I de-stressed, kept the doors shut and let them get on with it

[littlemiss60561]

The Washing does my head in., Takes a lifetime to empty the Basket and then 2 loads appear instantly. I took a photo of the bottom of the basket once after my ds was born ( about 3 months after actually...it took that long to see it! ) just to make me feel better!
My friends daughter was the worst. She (16) was asked to put her clean clothes away. Mum went to do the next load and found the pile back in the wash. Silly girl hadn't even unfolded the clothes! How naughty lol
I'm not too bothered by the mess, it's her that lives in it. I do get annoyed at the 6 half drunk water bottles lining the shelves ( but at least they were on the shelves I Guess...) the best thing I find is to say she can invite a friend to sleep ver. Her room is gleaming! I can't really say a lot as our room is bed/ storage room so even when tidy it looks a mess! One day.... One day... I will have it how I want it!
I sent my 2 yr old in to teacher her how to make a bed yesterday! He gave her a step by step guide and loved it! She laughed but that was all..
I think SS are ridiculous for commenting mushy pea. I hope your ok x

[sarah707]

Dd's room is lovely now she has left home I won't go in there when she comes back over the holidays

I have to start tidying at the door in my son's room so he has to do it now - usually in 10 minutes before the cleaner wants to get in there on a Friday morning!

I have locks high up on both doors. They are my children's spaces and not for work ... it says so in my risk assessments

[adedwards68]

Oh that annoys me too, the folded clothes in laundry basket

[jillplum]

I have 3 teenagers and I close their bedroom doors and let them get on with it. I only get on at them when either the mess starts creeping out onto the landing or I am really short of cups downstairs lol. I only childmind downstairs btw.

[phoenix2010]

I moved away when I was 22 but we moved back when I was 29 (now we live on the adjoining street to my parents). I never thought I would move back but once I had my little boy I wanted to live next to my mum again! Funny most of my friends have moved back, from London, Dublin, Dubai etc. maybe when he gets older you will see him more, 22 is an exciting age and I know that I appreciate my parents more now than I did then.

Actually after a rocky few years and totally not being appreciated despite bending over backwards and regularly sending money , he recently asked me to move there as he misses me and would love to have me and his little brother near

Alot to consider though , not least starting my business all over again

I hope that one day he wont be so far away

[clareelizabeth1]

Well my ds is now 5months doesn't even have his own room yet and this thread is making me dread the mess in his room already. Lol

[doris127]

My teenager put a pile of folded, ironed clothes back in the laundry basket once - I was so cross I made her do all her own laundry for 3 months. She hasn't done it since!!!
However she does have a tendency to hide odd socks - I have a drawer full of socks that have no partners which annoys me. When she starts wearing mine or dh's socks then I turn into evil mother and make her excavate her room to find all the odd socks!!!

[little chickee]

The simple solution to all of you with laundry problems is that once your teens get to a certain age - 16 maybe they have to all their own washing and ironing.

I had to do all my washing and ironing from 14. If my mum found anything belonging to me in "her" washing basket it was taken out and i got a row!

I was the worlds most untidy teen and i soon learned when i had no clean school clothes or going out clothes to keep up with it.

[adedwards68]

Problem with that was some of mine just wouldn't iron. I felt so ashamed when they went out looking scruffy and un-ironed. Or perhaps that was ' the look'!

[ChocolateChip]

The simple solution to all of you with laundry problems is that once your teens get to a certain age - 16 maybe they have to all their own washing and ironing.

I had to do all my washing and ironing from 14. If my mum found anything belonging to me in "her" washing basket it was taken out and i got a row!

I was the worlds most untidy teen and i soon learned when i had no clean school clothes or going out clothes to keep up with it.

I must be really harsh- I had enough of finding freshly ironed clothes back in the laundry basket (and other horrors in his room) when my ds was 10 and he's been doing his own ironing since then. I don't make him actually do the washing but he has to help with sorting socks and putting wet washing in the drier when it can't go on the line. Hasn't cured the messy room one iota but at least I'm not spending all MY weekend sorting it out!

[Nicola Carlyle]

I must be really harsh- I had enough of finding freshly ironed clothes back in the laundry basket (and other horrors in his room) when my ds was 10 and he's been doing his own ironing since then. I don't make him actually do the washing but he has to help with sorting socks and putting wet washing in the drier when it can't go on the line. Hasn't cured the messy room one iota but at least I'm not spending all MY weekend sorting it out!

My daughter is 7.5 and she empties the wash baskets, helps me sort into piles, loads the washing machine and drier and pairs EYERYONES socks lol. She also puts her own ironed clothes away. Reading that back it sounds lovely but believe me it ain't lol. She is 7.5 going on 14. Her room is a tip. Her almost two year old sister puts her own clothes in the wash, why can't she lol? x

[Mickey Mouse Clubhouse]

My daugther is nearly 14 and we swopped her from the big room to the box room didn't go down well, but her sister who is nearly 5 needed the big room to put all her toys.

I do moan at her but to be honest she doesn't have much room to put anything away and does use her sisters room for her handbags and school pe kit which is kept in the wardrobe.

There was just no way around it and I do say to her when it gets really bad if you don;t do it then I will or her dad says he will do it and that scary as he would just get a black bag and put everything in it

I do try to not moan at her too much as she is a good girl reallly x x

[chriss]

much rather have the rooms messy than empty when they leave home