I have 3 teenage girls, and I am super surprised that as a parent, I am at peace with all 3 of them having a messy room. Does this mean their rooms are always messy? Well, honestly it depends on their personalities. They all 3 eventually get to a point where they can’t stand the mess anymore and give into choosing to pick it up. But that time frame differs for each of my girls, depending on how organized they like to be & how they are wired. I have been shocked at times to see how long it can take for them to get to the point of picking up their room!
My pastor is the one who is responsible for the peace I have found in just shutting their doors and moving on. I am so glad I was there the Sunday he talked about parenting and gave some practical tips. I don’t remember much from that sermon, accept the tip that surprised me the most, and that was to allow your teenager to have a messy room.
3 Reasons Why It is OK For Teens To Have a Messy Room:
It Is A Place For Them To Just BE
This was the main reason he gave for letting your teen have a messy room, and the one that really hit home with me. He said that in this day and age our teenagers are under immense pressure to perform, everywhere they go. Social media has taken this to the extreme, where teens are constantly feeling the pressure to be ‘on’ & to present the best of themselves to the world. Presenting self authentically in such a public space is something I talk about often with my girls, recognizing it is a hard thing to grasp for adults, much less for a teenager.
I love this tip that my pastor gave, to give teens a space in this world that they can call theirs, where they can totally exhale and be who they are with no pressure to perform. What better place to do this than in their own bedrooms?