My Sydney Real Estate

SENDING a naughty child to their bedroom was once considered punishment but not any more. And parents have only themselves to blame. Behind the closed door is often a fantasy world of colourful themes, decorations and bedding. Murals bring dull walls alive, giant chalk boards replace boring cupboard doors, and even funky chandeliers hang from ceilings. In fact, its rare to see a bedroom simply painted in traditional pink or blue. Instead there are fairies,princesses, knights, under-water creatures, dinosaurs, safari animals and even decor for budding rock stars. Retailers say doting mums and dads are spending thousands to create the ultimate room for their child not hard when you consider the explosion of products on the market and the fact that its becoming normal for parents to give all children their own bedroom, regardless of sex or age. An online poll by Mothers Inc, a parenting website, found some people spend up to $20,000 preparing for the arrival of a new baby. Founder Claudia Keech says the many products on the market in the past decade are aimed at older, cashed-up parents willing to indulge their offspring. In a funny sort of way it is almost like parents having a second childhood, she says. If you can afford it and you want to celebrate the arrival of your baby or do up a room, then enjoy yourself, as long as your child enjoys it too. Kaddie Pavlovic from Miss Tati & Friends, an online business based in Victoria, says it is not uncommon for parents to spend up to $7000 at her store. Pavlovic started her company earlier this year and expected bed linen to be the most popular seller. Instead, its the big-ticket items that are most in demand. Miss Tati & Friends hand-painted beds are priced around $1350, while co-ordinating chandeliers range in price from $250 to $1200. It actually surprised us. We thought people would buy in bits and bobs but they are decorating the whole room, Pavlovic says. If they buy a bed, then they are co-ordinating the linen and the bedside lamp. People are looking for rooms that stand out from the ordinary, something that is creative and imaginative and different from the standard white or brown bed. Jodi Sharp, from Treehouse Childrens Decor in Marrickville, agrees parents are spending more on bedrooms, co-ordinating everything from the wallpaper to door knobs. Theming the whole room is very popular, she says. When I had my kids, that did not exist and you just picked something that was cute. Removable wall stickers from companies such as the Wollongong-based Bright Star Kids are also growing in popularity because they can be changed often and without damaging the wall. The Bright Star Kids collection includes themes such as under the sea, groovy gardens, fairies and the farmyard. KEEP IT SIMPLE BUT dont feel pressured to buy, buy, buy, as there are sound reasons to keep childrens bedrooms uncluttered and free of technology. Televisions and computer games in bedrooms have been linked to childhood obesity and can be distracting when it comes to switching off the brain and resting. Dr Matt Bambling from the Australian Catholic University says there is another reason to keep technology to a minimum. Most electronic items have an electro-magnetic field and, although they are quite weak, they stretch much further than people think, he says. A young childs brain is quite sensitive to these fields. As a result, sometimes unexplained sleep problems and nightmares can be connected to something like an electrical clock being too close to a bed. I have actually taken a meter around some kids bedrooms and it is amazing the readings you get from some benign-looking things. Even some adults have reported sleeping better after moving electrical items away from the bed. Sleep expert Gerard Kennedy, a senior lecturer in psychology from Victoria University, in Melbourne, believes its a big mistake for parents to make a childs room too busy. This typically happens when parents are having problems getting a youngster to sleep. They are trying to convince the child to be in there so they put more and more gadgets and stuff in there to entice them to stay, he says. What the child really needs is gradual reassurance that it is OK to sleep. Night lights or torches can also work wonders when helping little ones … [...]