Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Behavior guidelines for Common House

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

We have the same guidelines that others have mentioned for children. 
The one about the kitchen is particularly important and not one anyone 
anticipated. Other rules reflect the kind of behavior most households 
expect at home but this one is new.

The commonhouse kitchen is much more complex than home kitchens. The 
center workspace makes it much harder to see children. Many people work 
in the kitchen who are not used to having children in there with them. 
There are more "things" for them to get into that cannot be seen from 
the dining area. A child could be there climbing up to the hot water 
faucet and no one would see them.

We thought about putting in a half door to close off the kitchen but 
the division between the wood floor and the linoleum floor has been 
sufficient. Children just don't to in there until they are about 8-10 
and are invited to help with meals. When parents take very young 
children in, they carry them.

Children learn rules very easily as long as they are consistent. If you 
haven't watched Nanny 911, please do if you are having difficulty with 
children. The program is repetitive and full of commercials but is 
excellent except that it calls the timeout mat or chair the "naughty" 
spot, doesn't seem in keeping with the rest of the program.

Sharon
-----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org