It’s practically the battleground for World War 3. You know how the scenario goes. Teenager goes and hibernates in their bedroom, doing homework (hopefully), eating, endlessly changing clothes and fidgeting around with electronic gadgets. Well, most of London teenagers’ rooms look like this. Maybe in the country young people spend more time outside practicing “human interaction skills”, but not in the capital.
Slowly, the bedroom fills with scungy plates, stinky sweatshirts, empty crisp packets and old papers. Let’s not talk about the sheets. The parent wants to make sure that the home stays in a reasonable condition so that pest control agencies don’t get called in.
After this, there are two options, which end up with significant rows. In Option 1, the parent (usually the mother but not always) goes in and tidies it up, knowing that this will take less effort than nagging a teenager into doing it. The teenager comes home and finds the tidy room – and complains about an invasion of privacy, things being put in the wrong place (or thrown away). Further rows break out if the parent has discovered contraband. In Option 2, the parent nags, threatens and cajoles the teenager into tidying the bedroom – or tries to, which triggers another row.
So what’s a parent to do?
Should The Parents Do The Cleaning?
Please don’t do it. Even if your teenager doesn’t complain and moan about invasions of privacy but doesn’t mind you cleaning their room, you won’t be doing them any favours. They are no longer toddlers, and they ought to take some responsibility for themselves. What’s more, as they become older and more responsible, they will need a bit more privacy and space that they can call their own, even if it’s half a room. They need a place to keep secret diaries (if any teenagers keep these today rather than posting their lives up for comment on social media) and the like. Besides, if your teenager always washes their sheets, it’s a lot less embarrassing for them if they want to keep the reasons why the sheets need changing (semen or menstrual blood) secret. They also need to learn how to develop their organisational skills.
The best thing you can do for your teenager is to give them some organisation skills and tools (e.g. a chest of drawers that’s big enough to hold all their clothes and a quick rundown of the essential house cleaning tools and their location in the cupboard). Then leave them to it. Close the door and don’t apologise for their room if visitors come to call – even if it’s your mother-in-law. Your mother-in-law probably remembers your spouse’s teenage bedroom, after all, and you might find that your teen’s behaviour runs in the family.
You will have to insist on a few fundamental things that need to be done, so the bedroom doesn’t become a biological hazard:
- Plates, cups, apple cores and banana peels cannot remain in the room for more than 48 hours.
- An overflowing rubbish bin needs to be emptied.
- Towels and sheets have to be changed fortnightly.
- If you don’t put clothes in the washing basket, they won’t get washed.
- If the cat/dog/guinea pig/parrot makes a mess in your bedroom, you clean it up.
- Vacuum weekly to ensure that fleas don’t take up residence
To Teenagers: Why You Need To Clean Your Bedroom
Yes, we know you’ve asked why you need to clean your room. You have probably heard the answer “Because I said so” half a billion times. But here are the real reasons why:
- If you put things away where they belong instead of throwing them all higgledy-piggledy over the floor, you will find them quickly. If you toss them any old, you will spend ages hunting for them.
- Damp towels and stinky, dirty T-shirts grow mould unless washed.
- Fleas love to live in carpets that don’t get vacuumed.
- Cockroaches, rats and other disease-bearing pests are attracted to ignored food scraps and rubbish. You do not want these as pets.
- If your room stinks and you can’t see the carpet, you’re going to be pretty embarrassed when your friends come round.
- Having clear space on the floor means that you’ll have space to work out, dance or play air guitar
To Teenagers – Some Tips For Cleaning Your Bedroom
- Start by getting the atmosphere OK. Put on some fast-paced music (it’s allowed to be loud), open the curtains and maybe open a window for fresh air, and it’s a sunny day. (Hmm, maybe not if you live in Central London – the hustle and bussle of everyday life plus the level of polution in the capital will defeat the purpose of “fresh air” almost 9 times out of 10)
- Peel off the sheets if they need to be changed (weekly or fortnightly is best). Don’t forget the pillowcases.
- Take out any stuff that belongs in another room. This includes that CD you borrowed last week from your little sister. It also consists of all cutlery, cups and plates.
- Put away your clothes or put them in the laundry basket to go to the wash. Do not put away dirty clothes (the stains and stink may become permanent), and do not dump clean clothes into the washing.
- Don’t forget under your bed. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to smell it – or that the mice can’t find it, you may also be amazed at what you find under there.
- Get rid of rubbish and recycling.
- Put away any other stuff that isn’t where it’s supposed to be. If it hasn’t got a good home, rearrange things or create a home for it.
- Put clean sheets on the bed. Even if you want to use a duvet or a sleeping bag to avoid sheets, you will still need to wash these periodically. Sleeping bags will smell like poo if left unwashed for too long.
- Making yourself familiar with essential house cleaning tools is not going to hurt you. Get a grip and help your hard working parents.
What About Getting A Professional Cleaner in London?
Relax Londoners. Living in the capital is hectic and depressing as it is. But should you worry about getting your teenager’s room cleaned if you get a London maid in? Our personal opinion is that the answer is “yes” and “no”. It’s a yes because you may want your cleaning lady or another professional cleaner to vacuum the carpet in there and maybe a few other small routine tasks (e.g. emptying the rubbish bin and taking the dirty washing to the laundry). It’s a no because your teenager still needs to take some responsibility for their stuff and learn some organisational skills.
I am not sure if teenagers across the UK are behaving in the same way, but the London ones tend to know it all and be particularly mouthy towards their parents. Not all of them will jump to the ceiling at the idea to clean their own personal dwelling. Definitely worth a try though.
This is probably a matter of negotiation for you, your teenager and your cleaner. Work out what you expect and who’s going to do what. Most good cleaners will be happy to fit in with what you want – even if this means leaving your teen’s room messy.