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Post by epeanymous on Mar 29, 2015 21:50:06 GMT
My oldest is turning thirteen this year. We have been house hunting for a while and have a house we are considering making an offer on. One thing, and I am asking for experiences with this-- the house is four levels, with the master suite on the top level, three bedrooms on the the third level, the main living space on the second level, and then a ground level with a media room and a bedroom. The bedroom has its own door to the outside, etc. It suddenly occurred to me -- it's not like my kid has been trouble or I have her locked down, but is this arrangement asking for future trouble?
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Post by cindyupnorth on Mar 29, 2015 21:53:03 GMT
Ground level? do you mean like a walk out basement type thing? No..I would have not have a problem with this. My girls have always been upstairs, but one has a outside "tower" you could call it that she could climb down. ha. Never been a problem.
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Peamac
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Post by Peamac on Mar 29, 2015 21:55:03 GMT
We made our guest room and study downstairs so the kids would still be closer to us.
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Post by maryland on Mar 29, 2015 21:55:27 GMT
I would have no trouble giving a room like this to any of my kids (12, 15 and 17). My daughters have never given us trouble other than having a messy room! A room on the main floor may help a lot with that. Also, we encourage the older two to go out with their friends, and they usually don't. So sneaking out of the house is never a worry for us! 
I like all the bedrooms on the same floor, but if that wasn't an option, it wouldn't bother me. I wouldn't like having the master bedroom on the main level and there are a few houses around here with MB on main level.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:21:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 21:57:30 GMT
I guess it would depend on the kid. I would not give it to my son because I do not trust he won't sneak out. I'd give it to the 13 year old instead.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Mar 29, 2015 21:59:26 GMT
My sister and I both had first floor rooms. If necessary, we could have crawled out the window to leave the house. It was never necessary.
But frankly, only time will tell if it is a problem for your kid, kwim? There are MILES between 13 and 17.
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trollie
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Post by trollie on Mar 29, 2015 21:59:58 GMT
No way.
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peabay
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Post by peabay on Mar 29, 2015 22:00:08 GMT
I like to have everyone sleeping on the same level - just my preference.
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Post by littlemama on Mar 29, 2015 22:04:17 GMT
I wouldn't have my child sleeping 3 floors away from me, but that is my preference. I like him on the same floor as dh and I.
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Mar 29, 2015 22:18:45 GMT
I wouldn't be worried about my kid sneaking out, she wasn't that type of kid, however I would worry about safety/break ins. Especially with a door to the outside.
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Post by AussieMeg on Mar 29, 2015 22:25:07 GMT
I'm too flabbergasted / excited / stunned / jealous about a 4 LEVEL HOUSE to be able to answer your original question!!  |
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akathy
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Post by akathy on Mar 29, 2015 22:29:33 GMT
It would depend entirely on the kid but trust me if they want out they will find a way no matter where their bedroom is. I'd go ahead and put her there.
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Post by cmpeter on Mar 29, 2015 22:36:05 GMT
That is the same setup we have and our son had the downstairs bedroom. It's bigger than his option upstairs and had its own bath. It's not been a problem for us.
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Post by rst on Mar 29, 2015 22:36:44 GMT
It wouldn't concern me. If down the road you have issues specific to your child and their situation, you could install a lock on that door that is only opened with a key and you keep the keys. Or you could for a period of time switch rooms around so that no child is that far away from direct line of sight supervision.
At some point, with older teen or young adult children, having a room that is a bit more independent is great. That kind of space could possibly work well to host an exchange student, as an in-law suite, or to have a home based office.
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AllieC
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Post by AllieC on Mar 29, 2015 22:43:17 GMT
I'm too flabbergasted / excited / stunned / jealous about a 4 LEVEL HOUSE to be able to answer your original question!! LOL me too. Double story houses are in the minority here (mostly all one level) so 4 levels I can't imagine. OP, this wouldn't worry me for the reasons you are asking about. You really have no idea at this age if having the door to outside may be an issue. It certainly wouldn't be for my 17 year old dd however it would have been a different story for me LOL. My dd at that age wouldn't have wanted to be 3 floors away from us though. I guess if it becomes an issue later on you can do a bedroom switch. |
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Post by Miss Ang on Mar 29, 2015 22:56:04 GMT
My oldest is turning thirteen this year. We have been house hunting for a while and have a house we are considering making an offer on. One thing, and I am asking for experiences with this-- the house is four levels, with the master suite on the top level, three bedrooms on the the third level, the main living space on the second level, and then a ground level with a media room and a bedroom. The bedroom has its own door to the outside, etc. It suddenly occurred to me -- it's not like my kid has been trouble or I have her locked down, but is this arrangement asking for future trouble?It's very likely. My father in law says we should always lock our doors and secure our belongings to "keep an honest man honest". There is no need to offer so much temptation, IMO. I would not do it. (Coming from a mom of a dd that will 20 next month and ds that will be 16 next week.) |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 23:11:11 GMT
It would depend entirely on the kid but trust me if they want out they will find a way no matter where their bedroom is.  But whatever you choose to do, from a fire safety standpoint, please don't lock the door and keep the key. |
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Post by cadoodlebug on Mar 29, 2015 23:15:37 GMT
My friends and I were great kids but when we spent the night at one friend's house we would leave and meet boys our age in the neighborhood and talk. We were 14 or so. This was in the early 60's so a lot has changed. There was never any drinking or drugs, just young teens wanting to talk to the guys. Her room was in the front of a single story house but had a slider leading outside.
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Post by christine58 on Mar 29, 2015 23:18:29 GMT
I'd make it my guest room unless you really need her to have her own room. My concern would be safety in a fire.
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CeeScraps
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Post by CeeScraps on Mar 29, 2015 23:18:44 GMT
I wouldn't....our dd is a great kid and she is now 17 and still great. I just wouldn't put her on the main floor and we could of. Make that room an office.
Remember it isn't necessarily your child that could be a problem, it's her friends -- both boys and girls. If she has a gf stay the night and the girl wants to sneak out.....you've made it easier for them to do that.
If she does have an interested boyfriend you've made it very easy for him to sneak in/out.
I just wouldn't want to be concerned. I wouldn't want to give her the room, then because of whatever or whomever have to take it away. It's more hassle than needs to be. Besides having an office or craft room on the main floor could be a good thing!
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luckyexwife
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Post by luckyexwife on Mar 29, 2015 23:19:59 GMT
I'd be more worried about hauling laundry around with all those stairs!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 23:20:33 GMT
Not only would I worry about her sneaking out at some point. But someone else sneaking in. Also, I wouldn't want to be aging in a house with the master at the top level. Handling stairs, arthritic joints or any post surgery is going to be a bear. To me it simply doesn't sound like a livable house.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Mar 29, 2015 23:21:02 GMT
I wouldn't....our dd is a great kid and she is now 17 and still great. I just wouldn't put her on the main floor and we could of. Make that room an office. Remember it isn't necessarily your child that could be a problem, it's her friends -- both boys and girls. If she has a gf stay the night and the girl wants to sneak out.....you've made it easier for them to do that. If she does have an interested boyfriend you've made it very easy for him to sneak in/out. I just wouldn't want to be concerned. I wouldn't want to give her the room, then because of whatever or whomever have to take it away. It's more hassle than needs to be. Besides having an office or craft room on the main floor could be a good thing! I was just coming back to edit my post but she said exactly what I was going to say. Peer pressure from friends is what I would worry about. |
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Post by anxiousmom on Mar 29, 2015 23:22:03 GMT
Depends on the kid.
My oldest? No way on God's green earth would he be allowed to have that kind of access to the outside world. He wouldn't just be tempted, he would full on take advantage and like a slippery snake slither out the door before we even knew he was gone.
My youngest? Sure. He is more of a rule follower and is a bit less likely to test the boundaries than his brother. I would worry a lot less that he would be sneaking out.
Got any kids you can double up until you identify the kid that can be ... trusted? with that kind of potential freedom?
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Post by MichyM on Mar 29, 2015 23:25:59 GMT
I had a ground floor room as a teen, I snuck out dozens of times. My 25 YO son had a ground floor room growing up, he never snuck out. We've talked quite a bit about his teen years as adults...
Bottom line, it depends on the kid.
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Post by chaosisapony on Mar 29, 2015 23:32:24 GMT
It depends on the kid. If one wants to sneak out, they are going to do it regardless of the floor they are sleeping on. Also, it sounds like there are plenty of bedrooms in the house so why not give it a try and if there are problems simply have them move rooms?
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Post by 950nancy on Mar 29, 2015 23:38:00 GMT
We live in a tri level and moved the oldest to the lower floor when he was not quite two. He adjusted within a few weeks and never wanted to come back up. His brother joined him two years later. We taught them how to smash a window if needed (by five) and we have an alarm system so that made me feel better. We also had a doberman that slept by their beds. There are so many what ifs, but I like the idea of giving your kid tools to deal with situations when you aren't around.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Mar 29, 2015 23:40:22 GMT
I would think the kid with the ground floor level bedroom, and own exit would be the SAFEST in terms of a fire.
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Post by epeanymous on Mar 29, 2015 23:55:35 GMT
I'm too flabbergasted / excited / stunned / jealous about a 4 LEVEL HOUSE to be able to answer your original question!! Big city. We build on the vertical around here. I am guessing the footprint of the house might fit in your master bedroom, but we would be able to see over the treetops. |
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Post by epeanymous on Mar 30, 2015 0:07:47 GMT
Also, for those suggesting making it an office, or having all of the kids upstairs -- we have five kids right now and will be having #6 this summer. There is no converting anything to guest quarters. If we can accommodate everyone who actually lives in the house, that is going to be a win.
That said, we do not have to buy this house, and there are others configured differently. This is the first we've seen that we both liked that otherwise met our schools/price/style criteria. A lot, and I mean, a lot of the houses in this city have basement/ground level bedrooms, which is not a plus (we do not want to move to the suburbs because we both work full-time but are professors with flexible schedules, so living near work/our kids' schools is what makes our life work).
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