by Michelle Shelton

Created on: November 02, 2008

Do you want your child to thrive or survive in your home? Do you want a creative, fun loving, engaged child or a withdrawn, unhappy, depressed child? Depending on what you want to get out of your child, there is a deep seeded philosophy that could make decorating a teens room, life changing!

It is scientifically proven that the mind sees in pictures. If my son has photos of pot smoking, death emulating idols..could it be possible that I might allow my son to create this type of thinking? What if he chooses to emulate the series "Jackass"? Is that in his best interest? It is such a fine line as a parent to walk between control and guidance. Although there are ways to create a safe place for your child to actually create the life they seek after the teen years.

The last lecture by Randy Prasch was brilliant. It supported me in connecting with how very little time we have in this life. One of the things I loved was the way his parents allowed him the freedom to create and be creative. Although tossing the teddy bears and breathing new, quasi-adult life into a room can be emotional for mom, it is really supporting your child in growth.

If you haven't seen the Youtube video on the last lecture, I would encourage you to do so because it truly is a touching story of a man who lived life to the fullest. The part that stuck out to me was his great attitude and I truly believe that stemmed from Randy's upbringing. His parents allowed him the freedom to do things to his room that many parents would never allow. It was untraditional, different and out of the box. Isn't success something that actually stems from the untraditional, different and out of the box? Yet, when these things rage out of balance it can be a frightening experience for a child and their parent, couldn't it?

Randy's mother and father were brilliant when it came to allowing their son to be creative. Randy painted an elevator on the wall of his bedroom. An elevator to take him places he wanted to go and yet it would bring him back to the safety and security of, not only his home, his very room. In my opinion it was different and even brilliant! What a great lesson for a kid to know that he could venture out into the frightening world and still come back to the safety and security of his family. Isn't that how it should be? I think so!

Perhaps before mom goes in and tears into a kid's room, a conversation could happen about what the child actually wants in life. Perhaps the room decorating could be a shared

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