Children’s bedrooms are not generally bastions of restrained good taste. As children get older, their bedrooms cease to be a nursery and become the part of the house that is their own, where they can rest, do schoolwork and expand their interests and personalities. Children should be allowed to have a say in how they are decorated.

The priorities of kid’s bedroom furnishing are comfort, a place to do homework and plenty of storage. Hamsters, gerbil and guinea pig cages should be banned from children’s bedrooms, because they are really nothing more than big litter boxes in which the animals defecate and urinate. And cats and dogs should not be allowed to sleep on children’s beds. Also, children need their sleep, so children should be allowed to have a television or computer in their bedroom.