Bedroom Ideas For Tweens

Tween bedroom with locker storage shelves.

Easy bedroom ideas for tweens. Yes, tweens are close in age to the gradeschool stage, but developmentally, they morph into little teenagers.

You'll know you're there when CDs and radio replace TV and children begin learning the names of the Top 10 songs.

Tweens have fewer traditional toys. They have fallen out of favor and are replaced by smaller, pricier, more technological toys like CD players, Xboxes, and MP3s. And now, the kids need places to put these things.

It's time to tweak the desk setup, remove childhood knickknacks, and clear the shelves for adolescence. These bedroom ideas for tweens embrace this transition, so you can, too.

Embrace the Teenage Transition

Bookshelves can be double-bolted to hold a CD player/radio combo unit with speakers. Of course, the desk is home to that homework must-have: the computer.

MP3s, PlayStations, and TVs aren't bedroom decor in our house. But if you decide to house your tweens' stuff there, create a small entertainment area and set ground rules for its use.

These include no electronic games until all homework is finished and lunch made for tomorrow.

Set a daily time limit (an hour or two each school day) for these indoor energy-zappers. Yes, I know they love them.

But we're the parents, remember? To avoid the socially challenged nerd syndrome, we sometimes have to kick them out of the house.

This is also the stage for sports, hobbies, and lessons. Now, the stuff in his room is more focused, but you'll still need to make room to store dance equipment, volleyball gear, soccer equipment, etc.

Naturally, you'll also need a place to display ribbons, trophies, and certificates. It's time to revisit the preschooler setup from (seemingly) so long ago.

A canopy on a bed can make a dramatic frame for hanging your child's ribbons from riding, swimming, soccer, or other activities.

Bulletin boards work wonders, but they are rarely big enough to house all the awards that come with today's sports teams. (Whether that's the right approach for kids is another story entirely!)

Bedroom Ideas for Tweens: Make Room for Sleepovers

Bedroom ideas for tweens hideaways.

The tween years are the golden age of sleepovers. This is one reason why the bedroom is oh-so-very crucial for tweens. Don't fight it; make it less painful for you and them with these bedroom ideas for tweens.

If your tween has a single bed, now's the time to add that trundle. Or make sure there's enough floor area for a pair of sleeping bags.

Your not-so-little-anymore darlings are finally fully capable of caring for their room and clothes. (A heavy sigh of relief is appropriate here.)

You provide drawers, shelves, a shoe rack, and a hanging clothes rod or two; your tween can take it from there. She'll quite possibly insist on taking it from there, so let her, with limits.

Don't be surprised if there's some rebelling against the "babyish" room your tween grew up in, no matter how it was decorated.

Green light Tweens' Design Ideas for Paint and Linens

Paint and linens are comparatively inexpensive decor ideas, which is why I gave the flag colors and '60s fabric throwbacks the nod.

My philosophy is that tweens can decorate in any way they want, as long as it doesn't permanently damage the room and is not offensive.

But I put my foot down when my tween began campaigning for a new bed. The bunk bed is suddenly so babyish.

A canopy bed, queen-size, please, suddenly topped her most-wanted list, which is where it will stay for the foreseeable future.

I say no to expensive makeovers at this stage of the parenting game. In a few years, she'll again be in the market to reinvent her private chambers. Take a deep breath here: She'll be a teenager.