Did it when my oldest turned 15 and, now that she's in college, moved the middle daughter down last year (when she turned 15). It's become the teen hangout. And, since our family room is in the basement, my DH is always down there watching TV. They're not exactly isolated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. In the same scenario, we moved our master bedroom downstairs and the four kids were upstairs.

+100. We did the same. It's not exactly the master bedroom of my dreams since it's on the lower level, but it gives all of us some breathing room. And if someone needs to sleep on the lower level, I'd rather it be my husband and me.

This. I agree with OP that sleeping in the basement wouldn't be my ideal, but I like this option, with the kids all upstairs, much better than one teen in the basement.

Some of you PPs must have horrible children to have so little trust in them. You seriously think a 14 year old is going to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night because their bedroom is in the basement? What's stopping them from doing it now? What are you going to do when he's 16 and driving?

Must be hard being so paranoid.

If it makes sense for the family and the kid is in favor, I'd move his room. No brainer for me.

I'm making my kids move down to the basement once they're 14!

I'd let him, for many reasons the PPs have posted.

Anonymous wrote:Nope. In the same scenario, we moved our master bedroom downstairs and the four kids were upstairs.

+100. We did the same. It's not exactly the master bedroom of my dreams since it's on the lower level, but it gives all of us some breathing room. And if someone needs to sleep on the lower level, I'd rather it be my husband and me.

I would do it with an alarm

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered the parents moving into the basement and letting the kids have the upstairs?

I wouldn't want to move the master downstairs. The bedroom in the basement is not large and there's not enough sunlight for my taste.

Have you considered the parents moving into the basement and letting the kids have the upstairs?

Is your son the oldest child? I would give the oldest first dibs on the basement, if it's not the boy. No matter who lives down there, I'd alarm the doors and windows.

This is totally dependent on your kid. My parents gave my younger sister (who had a tiny room) the basement, and she got into all kinds of trouble. Eventually, they moved her back to the main floor, but not before she'd snuck out with some guy she met on the internet.

So....are you 100% positive that your kid won't sneak out? In your deepest heart of hearts? Because my sister got into situations that I think haunt her to this day because she was able to get out of the house without our parents knowing.

Your son is 14. He's not a little kid anymore, so don't treat him like one. Learn to trust the job you did raising him. He might just surprise you with how responsible he is!

My daughter has the basement in my house. She's 17 now but she's been in the basement since she was 14.
I'm actually glad I gave her some freedom and independence to become her own person. You do have to be mindful that you don't let them hibernate there. I make her come upstairs to spend time with the family.

My parents allowed this for me when I was a teenager and I'm forever grateful. It was so nice to have personal space and not be crammed in with my little sister, and I'm a woman. I can only imagine how much your son wants it.

You raised him properly I assume, and you can put an alarm on the windows and doors. I wouldn't be very worried about him sneaking out.

Your son will be sneaking out and sneaking his girlfriend in. I would only do this with an alarm on the doors and windows that he didn't have the code to.

but I wouldn't want my son to feel separated from the rest of us

You are getting close to the age where my boys started wanting to be separate and I had to work very hard to keep them involved with the family. They often retreat to their rooms and only come out if I can come up with some great idea of something to do or food - I exaggerate a bit. But for this reason, I wouldn't do it.