Re: Child access to Common House
From: Laura Fitch, A.I.A. (lfitchkrausfitch.com)
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 06:36:01 -0700 (MST)

Pioneer Valley has no policy about children in the common house - we leave it to individual families to determine when their children are developmentally ready to be there unsupervised. For example: my ten year old can be there just about anytime he wants and asks, while my seven year old is only allowed unsupervised for short durations and specific reasons.

We have learned through experience not to leave collection money and other attractive things out for children to steal or accidentally break. When we occassionally find a mess, we can usually figure out which children made and left it - and so it is not a recurring problem. Kids are usually respectful of each other and common property, and the benefits of giving them freedom and trust make this policy feel good to me.

In addition to the "Kids' room" on the main level, we have a basement area that is quite open with pingpong, pool, and Ms. packman (!). It is very popular with the kids before and after common meals. We have a basement meeting room (lots of windows, with doors that open onto this recreation space) that is often used by older kids. They close the door and play truth or dare!!! In contrast, our first attempt at a "teen room" was a flop. It was in a back windowless corner - and it was for their exclusive use. It was NEVER used. Our multi-purpose meeting room gets used for many things - meetings, yoga, and yes, teens! I would NOT recommend that you DEDICATE a room to teens - I would suggest a shared multi-purpose space - after all, you share the rest of common house with them. Conflicting uses are usually not a problem - adults can always find another space to have a meeting when they find teens actually using the space in a constructive way.

Hope this is helpful, Laura

--
Laura Fitch, A.I.A.
Principal Architect

KRAUS-FITCH ARCHITECTS, INC.
110 Pulpit Hill Rd.
Amherst, MA  01002
413-549-5799
413-549-7918 (fax)

lfitch [at] krausfitch.com



Leland Baker wrote:


I have researched this subject in the C-L archives with Peter Scott's excellent search engine at http://nzpp.virtualave.net/coho/. (If you don't go batty from the popups.) I found many references to Common House behavior, but not to access.

The policy at Highline Crossing (Littleton CO) has always been that no one under the age of 16 or 18 (there are two reigning opinions) is allowed in the Common House without a supervising adult. Some parents want their children to be able to be in the Common House without an adult in the building, but parents would be aware that they were there. Other community members would be empowered to discipline when necessary, or go to the parents. There has been some discussion at the parent and community levels and parents have been charged with composing a proposal.

We would be interested to know what policies other cohousing communities have adopted and how well they work. Also welcome are any insights or suggestions from the many thoughtful and articulate cohousers on this list.

We have a space in our recently finished Common House basement which could be dedicated as a teen room. Do other communities have experience with this kind of facility?

Leland

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