Comments on: Children pose home staging challenges

By: Debra Gould

Debra Gould — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:12:53 +0000

Sherry, these are great ideas!

By: Sherry

Sherry — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 22:09:05 +0000

I love kids, & as a Stager I include tots-to-teens in every consultation. I meet with each child/teen that’s old enough to pick up a toy. I explain how important they are & how much I need their help to prepare this house for sell. I ask their opinion RE: their room: what they like; what they wish were different? I mention each child’s comments to the parents IN FRONT OF THE CHILD. [Makes them feel important, included, & heard.]
* I explain staging to the younger children as a “make believe time” when everyone must keep their rooms straight & toys picked up, sometimes really fast. I ask them to pick their five favorite toys, because the others must be packed. [I love Debra's suggestions.] Their reward? A brand new room; a media room; a larger yard, etc. – whatever the homeowners are already promising them.
* With teens, it’s different. Its critical their room/bath smell & show successfully, so I offer them a free room consult. What’s the quid pro quo? They MUST promise to keep their room & bath clean & straight until the home is sold: beds made daily; clothes put away; closets straight; baths CLEAN; everything straight. Surprise: they do it. A promise still matters.
* When an outside individual shows often overlooked family such importance & trust, magic does happen. Cooperation is the norm, rather the exception – even with teens.

By: Patricia Adamic

Patricia Adamic — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:34:15 +0000

A great way to get children to help is to have a contest…..Parents can decide on the timing (per day, per week…), and on the “rewards” ( depending on the age, it could be stickers, a small gift, a special treat…). Being tidy becomes more of a game this way and kids love a little competition!

By: Tammy Kemp

Tammy Kemp — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:33:23 +0000

Sometimes it’s really difficult to have children get rid of their things that they no longer play with or use. If you’re in the very early stages of getting your home ready for the market, I’ve used the following with great success: Offer a monetary incentive for each pound of “stuff” that your children are willing to part with. All their discarded items go to charity and your children actually earn some money as well. Here’s the catch — to get them to be really ruthless when going through their things, tell them that one-half of what they earn goes to buy a present for an underprivileged child. It may be a tad sneaky, but is it successful? Absolutely!