Cohousing-L Mailing List: Locking Doors in the CH

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

What rooms in your common house are locked and for what reason? 

The current parent is requesting locked doors on rooms with TVs so his two 10 
year old boys can't sneak in and watch TV. He believes this is a cohousing 
problem and is unique to cohousing and his is an oppressed parent. Not quite 
that strong but that is his argument.

Others who have raised children think it is a parenting and socialization 
problem that locking doors won't fix.

Some don't want the CH to look locked down. The CH should look open and 
inviting.

At least some members who are parents of grown children think parents should be 
supervising their children more closely and the world won't come to an end if 
they watch TV when their parents think they are doing something else.

Some could care less either way.

Some believe that to do anything other than what a parent requests is "not 
being supportive of parents."

We lock a game room for older kids because of the more delicate nature of the 
equipment in there that younger children shouldn't play with.  We lock the 
workshop which has lots of dangerous stuff in it. And the office is locked 
because we keep the facilities keys and records there. The knife drawer has a 
kid-proof latch.

i've asked this question before and not gotten responses. The issue keeps 
getting raised here by parents, only one at this point. We have 20 kids and a 
cluster in the same age group as these two boys.

Please respond. We need some fresh perspectives.

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