Does the children’s room really belong to me? A discussion about independence of a child in the private space of a children’s room.

Abstract

A child’s independence in the children’s room has always been an issue about power and control in upbringing topics between the child and his/her parents. Nowadays the consumption of material items and media and the opportunities they offer created conditions for a child to desire independence and individual search for meaning, however parents of 9-11 years old children get more involved in the issues about the surrounding aesthetic environment and things, as well as the length and contents of the used media. Things and media and their meaning in various children’s rooms are different and they actually depend on the child’s experience and upbringing patterns in the family. This report features modern children’s rooms, the expressions of a child’s independence in a children’s room; and these points are analysed and explained by aspects such as individuality, independence, privacy and parenting style in the family. There is a contradiction about the understanding and perception of expressions of independence between the child and his/her parents.The socio-material approach is applied in this report. The research examines five case studies, respectively, five interviews with 9-11 years old children who have their own children’s room, five interviews with their parents and photographs of these children’s room that express and outline those meanings that cannot be disclosed by interviews. The case study analysis provides an answer to the following question: whether a children’s room really belongs to him/her in case the child cannot choose and independently use the objects in the children’s room in accordance with his/her perception, meanings and sense?

Keywords

• child’s room
• independence
• private space
• parenting style
• conference