Get ready for it……. because it’s coming. I have two grown daughters and I can recall, like it was yesterday, when they came to me and said “Daddy…. I want a “Big Girl Bed”. I knew precisely what they wanted. But being a parent, is asking the questions that you already know the answers to. So I said….”What do you mean, a “Big Girl Bed”. They proceeded to tell me that the small twin size bed we had in their room was for little girls…….certainly not “Big Girls”. It seems big girls have sleep overs, and twin size iron beds just don’t accommodate more than one person. A
lso…..as children grow up, they tend to do a lot more in their bed’s……study, read, watch TV, talk on the phone. A “Big Girl Bed” is seen and used more as a personal couch for all your daughters friends. And a twin just doesn’t cut it.
So be ready. We bought both of my daughters iron beds. The reason for that was two fold: First – There’s a remarkable amount of storage space beneath them, if you get an old authentic bed. They’re approximately 13″ off the ground, with a ton of storage space. We in fact had four large drawers constructed that had wheels on the bottom and pulled out from under the bed. It allowed my one daughter the exact same amount of space a big dresser would.
My other daughter is more social and has “sleep overs” just about every weekend. So beneath her bed we put a pop-up trundle unit, to support an additional two people. Yet the trundle hides away underneath the top bed frame when it’s not in use.
So storage and added sleeping space, with a trundle are two great reasons to look at an iron bed. One of the other reasons is the “Princess and the Pea” syndrome. Every little girl fancies herself as a princess at some point in time. If she hasn’t, it’s your job as a parent to make her feel like one. Self esteem is something we need to be continually reinforcing as they grow up. Making them feel like what we’re telling them they are, has a remarkable effect on children. If you constantly tell them they’re lovely and intelligent, yet do absolutely nothing to support that……your verbal empowering will almost certainly not fall on as fertile a ground as when you praise them on a test they bring home with a good grade. Or have a dialogue about something current and newsworthy. Ask for their viewpoint on things. Listen to what they say and what their beliefs are. Take the time to get to know what makes them joyful…… and sad.
When you tell them they’re pretty…… do you reinforce it? If you tell them they’re your “Princess”, do you make them feel like a princess. My youngest daughter just turned 16. Each and every morning, I get up and make coffee for my wife and I. When my daughter informed me she liked coffee, I started bringing her a cup of coffee every morning to. It’s not a big deal. But it makes her feel special. I can’t think of a much better way to start every day, than to have someone make you feel like you’re special.
I can think of no greater pleasure in life than to make the child you helped bring into this world feel as special as the day she was born. The time will come when they’re prepared to fly the nest. How they end up flying, will depend on the time and work we put in to giving them the tools they need.
I hope you’ve found this blog informative . I invite you to revisit my website
to answer any and all questions you might have about antique iron beds.
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