Would you put 12yo ds bedroom in basement?

[HeidiKC]

My husband thinks it's a fine idea. I like it because we really need the room upstairs, but it has me nervous. Not sure what about. Intruders? Critters? Dampness? I don't know if I'm being silly or what. So here are the details:

 

- Basement is unfinished, dh will build him a bedroom

- Exits: not too concerned about this as far as fire (sneaky teen is a different issue!). He can exit through garage or through a window if necessary.

- I don't think it's too damp down there - we have a de-humidifier down there.

- I will ask ds if he wants his bedroom down there. If he seems scared, we won't do it! So this is all assuming that he is not afraid.

- I realize radon could be an issue and will test for this

- He NEVER wakes in the middle of the night scared or anything like that, even in storms, etc.

- I think I'm more worried about something like intruders, but I don't know why! Are they more likely to break into basement windows? The windows are newer and locked and they'd have to break the glass.

- This one is really dumb... but I am scared of basements and always thinking of boogie man! So even if my son wouldn't be scared, I think I'm just scared for him...like I'd imagine some horror movie. I am terrible!

 

So are there other health issues I'm unaware of besides dampness and radon? Anything else to be concerned about or to take care of?

 

Thanks all!

[----]

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[5KidzRUs]

Make sure to check for radon in the basement. Otherwise, sounds fun!

[Lauren R.]

I personally wouldnt do it, i could put my older kids 13 and 11 in the basement theres a guest bedroom and a room (but it doesnt have a closet) and it would free up room for my other kids but i dont do it, i guess im overprotective :D

 

Instead my 13yo dd and 11yo ds have their own rooms

Then my 9yo dd 6yo dd and 4yo dd share the "bonus room"

Then my 3yo ds and 2yo ds share a room

 

I do this so everyones all on the second floor together just b/c i like it that way. :)

[HeidiKC]

So if you wouldn't do it considering my situation (meaning not your child that would be scared, but mine that wouldn't, etc.), WHY wouldn't you do it? Afraid of intruder, afraid he'd wake and you wouldn't hear him or what?

 

So if you are overprotective...how does it apply here? Seems like it must be a safety issue? (since we're assuming he wouldn't be scared or wake during night).

 

And yes, we would definitely have a radon test.

 

Thanks so much for any input. Here I am at 4:30am not being able to sleep because I'm trying to figure out this bedroom issue!

[HeidiKC]

Oh, and it's not a split level or anything. It is BASEMENT, where I would not be able to hear him down there at all.

[Peela]

I would do it. He will appreciate it in his teenager years.

 

My son has our "den" as his bedroom. It is not a basement but it is a dark room with coloured opaque windows and a door to outside. His teenager friends think its the coolest room ever. It is big.

[bettyandbob]

My concern would be whether I thought my dc would sneak out at night. I have one who I suspect would if the opportunity was available and one who would less likely be a teen who did that. With the kids on the second level with squeaky wood floors and stairs, sneaking out is less likely to happen.

 

When my parents purchased a home in 1975 this was my mom's concern, one model she really liked would have had all of us with ground level or very near ground level windows to exit. Makes me wonder what kind of teen my mom was since she was so concerned (none of us had ever done anything at that point to present a concern).

[Ottakee]

I would but make sure you have an egress window IN his bedroom--not just a window down the hall. Then get a good smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector and go for it if he wants.

 

You can always set up an intercom or even baby monitor if you want to hear him.

[Rebecca VA]

You might want to check your city's laws about using basements with no exit doors. I know you can't remodel a basement and not have exit doors; however, I'm not sure what the law says about persons simply living in an existing basement without an exit.

 

I probably wouldn't let a teen live in our basement because I wouldn't want the teen to feel he/she has an independent domain in the house. He is still part of the family; he needs to be a 24/7 part of our family's dynamic. I would worry that our family's teen would feel too independent and too apart from us. Plus, there's just more occasion for sin of the teen-boy type (since no one can see what the teen is doing alone in the basement).

[Margo out of lurking]

I probably wouldn't let a teen live in our basement because I wouldn't want the teen to feel he/she has an independent domain in the house. He is still part of the family; he needs to be a 24/7 part of our family's dynamic. I would worry that our family's teen would feel too independent and too apart from us. Plus, there's just more occasion for sin of the teen-boy type (since no one can see what the teen is doing alone in the basement).

 

:iagree: I wouldn't be scared, but I'd be reluctant to put my son in such an isolated spot. We are living in a ranch now, and all of us (still!) appreciate being in closer proximity. I'm grateful that I can hear if arguments begin to brew if he has friends over, that I can see what time he goes to sleep, and I'm comfortable with him on a computer in his room because we can see. I'm pretty sure he'd be a little creeped out in the basement by himself anyway.

[Donna]

My ds15 has a bedroom in our finished basement. There is an egress window in his room in case of fire and we have a house alarm system with a controller in my bedroom...I would know if he tried to sneak out even though don't have any concerns that he'd try. (It was there when we bought the house.) The basement in our house is just part of the house and my ds likes the privacy.

 

We bought the home last year so he was just turning 14 at the time. I would have put him there even if he were 12. In your situation, I guess comfort level would be what decided it for me. I am imagining the basement in the house where I grew up that was very dungeon-like with lots of dirt and openings that went to crawl spaces under the house (no possible way someone could have refinished without a lot of work) where I would never have a bedroom for anyone. LOL

[Ginevra]

Personally, I prefer that we all sleep on the same level of the house. It allows us (the parents) to keep tabs on what's going on in the children's rooms. If any child's bedroom is in it's own separate area, you can only "check in" intentionally, which could feel snoop-ish to some teens. If all the bedrooms are in a related area, it's not particularly snoop-ish to be in or near their bedrooms, keeping tabs on it.

 

That said, if I had no other option for bedroom space, I would put them in a finished bedroom in the basement with the parameters you indicated. But I wouldn't put them there if there were other space possibilities in the area where everyone else sleeps.

 

P.S. I had an UNfinished basement bedroom through my teen years. No fire escape, no radon test, no heat, no ceiling, no flooring, one outlet, one bare bulb on the ceiling. :eek::nopity:

[Soror]

Well, I would.

 

We are currently finishing our basement and it will have 2 bedrooms, both have windows. We have interconnected smoke detectors for every room of our house(previous house fire). My son is almost 7(next month) and I would personally almost consider it for his age. Sneaking out is not something I worry about as we live rural. He never gets up at night as it is- I don't know wouldn't bother me- and we are close- we co-slept until he was 5.

[SailorMom]

I would - and my boys would be thrilled (if we had a basement).

Test for mold as well as the radon you're testing for.

Also - how is the insultaion down there? Too hot or too cold?

Re: teenage sneaking out - he'd manage it no matter where he was if he becomes determined enough. Unless you're going to bar his window up in the regular bedroom.... well - you get the idea :)

Yes - you won't be able to hear a thing - so you may want to instate "surprise" visits (basically a parent's version of snealing up on him). Have an "open door" policy with his friends, and when you feel it may be coming on - have a talk about the sneaking out thing.

He's gonna love it :)

[regentrude]

Sure.

My DS12 has a bedroom upstairs, but loves sleeping in the basement in summer because it's cooler down there.

 

I moved into the basement in my parents' house when I was a teen. It did not mean that I was not part of the family - but I think it is actually beneficial for teens to have their own domain, to develop some independence. I loved it.

Edited June 20, 2011 by regentrude

[Chris in VA]

*As long as all the health and safety issues were ok/he wanted to

*As long as you retained check in priviledges

*As long as he wasn't isolating for long periods of time (varies from teen to teen)

*As long as he maintained trustworthy behavior--I'd make it one of the things that would disappear if he ever lies about who/where/what he's with/doing or sneaks out.

 

I'd feel more comfortable, personally, with keeping him upstairs until he was in high school, at least.

[Joanne]

Without hesitation.

[bettyandbob]

I know any teen who wants can. My brother didn't sneak out, he came in long past curfew and would get past my parents room.

 

I'm just against making sneaking out easy. With a ground floor window or door away from the rest of the family, a kid doesn't even need to think about whether he really wants or needs to sneak out. Dh's sisters left through their ground floor windows regularly, their mother never knew. The small barrier of having a second floor bedroom makes a kid think first (I thought about it and didn't).

 

It's like you don't leave two cases of beer in the 'fridge next to the soda when your teen invites a bunch a friends over. The situation might be ok, but why put an attractive nuisance in front them. I think a ground floor window is an attractive nuisance for a teen--some teens just wouldn't be tempted if it weren't there. It's true that there are always those who go for the challenge.

 

Now, when you know you have a serious sneaking out issue you need more than a second floor bedroom.

[snickelfritz]

If he was ok with it and all of the safety aspects were taken care of, yes.

 

2nd floor bedrooms are supposed to have means of escaping a fire (safety ladders), so I don't see how that's really a deterrent to sneaking out.

 

Anyways, I wouldn't NOT put them in a basement for fear of them maybe sneaking out.

Edited June 20, 2011 by snickelfritz

[Tarreymere]

We had a basement room years ago for one of the older kids. Spiders were an issue in our house.......we didn't realize how many liked our basement. On the plus side, the basement is a really safe place in case of tornadoes!

[Tarreymere]

I wouldn't worry about sneaking out, you can always put an inexpensive alarm on his windows. My great delinquent daughter lived in a second floor room and had alarms on her windows, mainly to alert us to the fact she had taken off again. Typically we would dash into her room on hearing the alarm only to see her butt disappearing around the corner of the street. This is the one that I did nail windows shut on and did literally chain to me to try to prevent sneaking out. The girl in the basement, who had an outside door right outside her room, never did. And yes, basement girl is twenty-five today and married with a child and would tell me if she really did sneak out then and had fooled me.

[J-rap]

I'd be more apt to put a family room in the basement, than one bedroom. I always liked having all of our children on the same floor. Maybe when a little older (mid-teens) I'd have considered a basement room...

Edited June 20, 2011 by jjhat7
had written "but" instead of "put"! :)

[Dawn in Ohio]

We recently finished our basement and added a bedroom for our 11 year old son. He is so happy to have his own space! He likes arranging his stuff the way he wants and knowing that no one will bother it. He likes being able to go to sleep in complete darkness-- the brother he used to share a room with always kept a light on. He hasn't been scared to be far away from the rest of us.

 

It took me a little while to get used to the new arrangement. I was sad to have him so far away. But I've gotten over it. Given our home and our kids ages, I think it was the best decision.

 

What is funny to me, is that the son with the basement bedroom still spends must of his free time playing in his brothers' room. He still wants to be around his siblings and that makes me happy.

 

And he hasn't been sneaking food from the kitchen. That was my other concern.

[Pippen]

...but I think it is actually beneficial for teens to have their own domain, to develop some independence. I loved it.

 

:iagree: I think 12 is a good age. We moved my oldest into a lower level room of our bilevel when he was ten and I remember having all the same fears. He was fine, and it was good for me to ease up on my protectiveness.

[Scuff]

I had a basement bedroom at about 8. As long as yu have a fire exit and a dehumidifier, he'll be fine.

[KatieJ]

3 of our 4 homes have had basement bedrooms, altho one was a split entry so it had daylight windows down there. Yes, each of our kids has slept in a basement bedroom. We had a few "teenage" escape escapades, but until then, they were fine down there. They had their own bathroom too which was a plus.

[mom2scouts]

You might need to make sure it's legal. In most cases, it isn't legal to have a bedroom in a basement unless there are full size windows for egress.

[dirty ethel rackham]

My concerns would be fire safety as well as ventilation. Is the air down there healthy? Is the window doable? Is there any hidden mold? Also, will he be using that space as a personal "cave"? Does he need more natural light to keep his moods normalized?

 

If there is too much privacy, then I would not be cool with it.

[Dobela]

Yes, I would at this point. I didn't think I could but since moving to our new house my son's room is now across the hall. He likes to listen to audio books or music at night and will often set the player on repeat so it plays all night. It is low enough for him to hear so I just catch brief sounds that make no sense. Recently one story had the sound of a phone ringing and it was just enough to wake me up everytime. He has always been allowed to do this so I can't completely justify making it stop completely, although the repeat play feature is not allowed any more.

 

My son is also reaching the age where he is needing some privacy and time apart from his little sister. A place for quiet contemplation.

[Whereneverever]

I would. Our house has a finished basement with 2 really nice bedrooms and a bathroom. My oldest DD is already petitioning to be moved down there. :tongue_smilie:

[journeytolily]

We've been discussing this same thing. Our basement already is partially finished (meaning it's clean and has a floor, and is not dungeon-like) and does have one completely finished room, a family room that we do use. There's another room behind it that I want to finish off for our son. He will be 8 next week. We are adopting an newborn at some point in time, so I want to separate the girls, putting the youngest in with the new baby, older DD can have her own room, then DS in the basement.

 

My DH isn't crazy about the idea. But I feel like since DS is used to being down there already, he will be fine. The window is not currently an egress window, so I think DH is dreading having to put one there. The other parts of making it livable (adding a closet, drywall, painting and carpet) are pretty easy to do.

 

DH is also afraid that DS might try to sneak out. I told him that we can put on one of those alarms - they are quite loud, and very inexpensive. I'm pretty sure that we would hear it. Anyway, there are a lot of things to consider.

 

I think at 12, your DS would certainly be old enough to be down there on his own, as long as he feel comforable.

[LidiyaDawn]

You might need to make sure it's legal. In most cases, it isn't legal to have a bedroom in a basement unless there are full size windows for egress.

 

Wouldn't those sorts of laws only apply if you were *renting* a basement room to someone? I would think that if you own your house (or even if you rent it) that YOU (and your family) can sleep wherever the heck you want. Basement, bathtub, kitchen floor… it's YOUR home!

 

As to the question… our dd14 has the basement here. This place (rental) has basement, main floor, and upstairs… the main floor has just the kitchen and living room (and "hall" with closet), the upstairs has two bedrooms (ds12 in one, dh/me/newbie in the other) and a bathroom…the basement has a sleeping area (not really a "bedroom" as it doesn't have a door, closet, etc -- but it's finished, carpeted, all that.), a smaller area that is currently used as "i don't know where to put this", and a laundry room that also contains a sink & stand up shower… oh and the furnace room, which also has the deep freezer.

 

She likes it, as she basically has her own little "apartment" what with the shower and all down there .. but she gets wigged out now & then when she finds a spider or beetle. (As if we never find them anywhere ELSE in the house! She takes it personally if they're in HER room.)

 

Right at the moment though, she's sleeping on the floor of our bedroom because she's so in love with our newbie. :D

 

Obviously we don't have any problem with basement bedrooms.

Edited June 20, 2011 by LidiyaDawn
typos

[TracieT]

I, too, prefer to have everyone on the same floor. We have two bedrooms up and one down. The downstairs one is twice the size of my boys' room upstairs, but I'd never sleep if they were downstairs. I'd worry about someone breaking in, a fire, etc. (of course, my kids are only 4 and 5 right now) But if there were a fire and we were separated by stairs that would just be awful. Or the nights they wake up sick...I like them right there. We use the downstairs bedroom as the playroom and it will be our schoolroom.

 

Our house is 70 years old, but our last house was brand new....I wouldn't really want anyone sleeping in either basement. Just the dampness, the darkness, the dirt that falls from the above floors....I don't think basements are very healthy.

 

However, dh is turning our basement into a great hangout place right now. So even if the boys always share a bedroom, they will have plenty of place to go to alone. They can have their own space, but for sleeping (where a good amount of their time is spent and therefore I feel should be a very physically healthy environment) I see no problem with them sharing.

[journeytolily]

Wouldn't those sorts of laws only apply if you were *renting* a basement room to someone? I would think that if you own your house (or even if you rent it) that YOU (and your family) can sleep wherever the heck you want. Basement, bathtub, kitchen floor… it's YOUR home!

 

I think the term "legal bedroom" means that you can advertise it as another bedroom if you were to rent or sell the house. I agree that if you live in a house (renting or owning), you can sleep wherever you please and you will not be thrown into jail!

 

I told DH that we shouldn't worry about the egress window right away - DS could climb thru the one that's there more easily than the kids can open their bedroom windows to escape (they stick like crazy). But he has said that he could never live with himself if something were to happen to DS. I see his point..still...I know DS could get out. Personally, I think this is an excuse to not put DS down there. DH and I obviously don't see eye to eye on this!

[HeidiKC]

I probably wouldn't let a teen live in our basement because I wouldn't want the teen to feel he/she has an independent domain in the house. He is still part of the family; he needs to be a 24/7 part of our family's dynamic. I would worry that our family's teen would feel too independent and too apart from us. Plus, there's just more occasion for sin of the teen-boy type (since no one can see what the teen is doing alone in the basement).

 

Yes...I don't think I could put a finger on it, but exactly what you said is a concern.

[HeidiKC]

Thank you all for your replies. As I tossed and turned last night, I realized I'd just be too uncomfortable for lots of reasons (many that people mentioned). Well, then when I asked him about it today - problem solved. He said "too scary"!

 

And now that we're not doing it, I can tell you all that I never should have seen "The Blair Witch" (8 months preggers with this ds!) because I'll never think of basements the same way again! AAAAAHHHHH!!!

 

Thanks again. Your responses helped me sort things out in my head!

[lewelma]

I have not read any of the other posts, but thought I might suggest you test the basement for Radon before you have a child sleep there.

 

Ruth in NZ

[glennis_b]

My guys would be fine.

[trailofsparks]

If you and your ds decide to move him to the basement, I would not build the room until he has slept down there for a few weeks, just to be sure he's OK with it.

 

My dc is a couple years younger, but does not like sleeping in the lower level - was fine w/it for a couple weeks, but after that, ended up sharing a sibling's room. I am glad we didn't do anything except paint to prepare the room.

 

Do you have a dog that could sleep with him downstairs? Would you ever consider installing an alarm system?

[5wolfcubs]

I know you already decided but I wanted to share as this thread brought back fond memories...

 

We moved to a new house when I was 12, a ranch with a walk-out basement. Since I was the oldest, my dad built me a beautiful bedroom -- insulated the floor, carpet (my choice of color), drywall with paint (my choice of color). My mom bought me a comforter and made me curtains (again, I got to choose!).

 

After a year, my sister who was 3 years younger and I traded places. She moved to the basement and I moved to share a bedroom with my youngest sister (by 9 years!).

 

I was lonely in the basement. My sister who moved down there wanted the peace & quiet. We all lived happily ever after. :)

[TracieT]

Thank you all for your replies. As I tossed and turned last night, I realized I'd just be too uncomfortable for lots of reasons (many that people mentioned). Well, then when I asked him about it today - problem solved. He said "too scary"!

 

And now that we're not doing it, I can tell you all that I never should have seen "The Blair Witch" (8 months preggers with this ds!) because I'll never think of basements the same way again! AAAAAHHHHH!!!

 

Thanks again. Your responses helped me sort things out in my head!

 

Oh my goodness...that one scene where the person was standing in the corner of the basement has stuck in my mind for all eternity. Dangit....I have to go to the basement for some laundry now and I'm totally freaked out! :tongue_smilie:

[Tree House Academy]

I don't want either of my kids on a seperate level of the house than me. MY 12 y/o ds would not be ready (maturity wise) to live on another level of the house either.

[Running the race]

I moved into our basement at 10yo, though it was my idea. I'd have no problem with it.

[Donna]

Which house alarm system do you have? I'm looking for something like what you are describing.

 

The controller says Gemini. It is attached to all the windows and there are motion sensors in the family room/kitchen (all open) and living room...the only places with any form of entry into the home though we usually turn those off when the alarm is set and we are home. There is a controller by the garage door and up in our bedroom that beeps when the downstairs controller is touched.

 

It was already installed in the house when bought it but I imagine almost any home alarm system could be set up in this way. I think the family who owned before us had a dad who travelled alot for work leaving the mom and kids home alone. There are some strange security measures for such a small home.

[NanceXToo]

My concern would be whether I thought my dc would sneak out at night. I have one who I suspect would if the opportunity was available and one who would less likely be a teen who did that. With the kids on the second level with squeaky wood floors and stairs, sneaking out is less likely to happen.

 

When my parents purchased a home in 1975 this was my mom's concern, one model she really liked would have had all of us with ground level or very near ground level windows to exit. Makes me wonder what kind of teen my mom was since she was so concerned (none of us had ever done anything at that point to present a concern).

 

LOL I was thinking that, too. When I was in my very early teens, I was sneaking out AND sneaking people in, and it was easy, because we had a split level type house and my mother had decided to take the downstairs portion for herself and leave us upstairs and it was easy to do things without her ever hearing or knowing.

[mom2scouts]

No, it doesn't only apply to renting. Dh is an architect (and I'm trained as one) and if you do any remodeling that needs a building permit, and therefore a building inspection, they will likely flag that immediately. It's probably against most city or state ordinances to put a bedroom in a basement, although people do it pretty often. We remodeled our upstairs bathroom a few years ago and the building inspector wouldn't even sign off until we put smoke alarms inside every bedroom!