Do you kick your kids out of their rooms when guests come to town?

Depends on the guest. If it is family, then they can sleep on the floor. If it is a dignitary from a foreign government hell-bent on destroying my country should he not get a bed to sleep on, then of course he gets the bed.

How old are the kids and what are their feelings about the matter?

When I was a kid we had out-of-state family friends sleep in my room. I was disappointed that I couldn’t sleep in my own bed, but I understood that they should be able to sleep in my bed instead of sleeping on the couch or something else of that matter.

Eh, I’ve been kicked out of my room when I was a kid. No big deal, just kind of annoying.

no. i would have the guests sleep on the matresses. especially since they are unexpected.

in fact, i would have the guests sleep in the living room. the kid’s rooms are off limit.

If we have visitors in town they usually stay at a hotel. Our house is not very big. Three bedrooms, one bath, with five of us, two large dogs and two cats. If we do have anyone over they sleep on the couch.

No one would want to stay in our sons room anyway. they’re stinky teenagers!

If necessary. Not a biggie. In fact it can be fun for the kids with the right guests.

I’ve had that happen to me, when I was a child. My grandmother or an Aunt. I really didn’t appreciate it.
This is why someone invented the pull out couch.

In my families, kids give up in deference to adults and it’s no big deal but rather an enjoyed opportunity to exercise hospitality. Having guests is the chance for kids to roll out their social niceties in preparation for becoming adult hosts in the future. Besides, kids are more pliable (pure cartilage) and can hack being on a sofa or on the floor better than adults most of the time

This question reminds me of Sixteen Candles. :)

@jonsblond heh…funny! True!

In my house, it depends on the guest. I think it is now abundantly clear that my husband’s dad and stepmom should always stay at a hotel. we pay They show very little respect for everyone else, that it’s very important that they do not stay with us. Someone might not make it through the night, if they stay with us! My brother-in-law falls into that category, as well. It’s really a biggie there, though. That’s a different story, though – he’s just an ass.

Other guests, they stay – we have a guest room, but when my cousin comes in – her daughter comes here, too. And a 90% chance another cousin will fly in…it gets crowded! One of the kids gives up their room and sleeps with the other kid. It’s always interesting to have the 15yr old share a room with the 6yr old. It will go really well or be a nightmare.

Unexpected guests can be a bit annoying, but bumping a kid – it was never an option in my house! Yield to the adult, kids bunk together.

It’s more fun for kids to sleep out in the living room than it is for adults. If you have a backyard and it’s warm enough being summer, you could set up a tent in the backyard and it’ll be an adventure for the kiddies.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic tent idea, great idea!

I have never run into the situation as a parent, but I was bumped from my room for out of town guests whenever necessary.

My grandparents slept in the guest room when they visited, but if both sets of grandparents came or we had more than two guests then I got booted without question.

Next in line? My parents got booted. It wasn’t disrespect toward me to move me, it was hospitality toward the guests. They would sleep on the air mattress before they put guests on one. Well, unless the guests were kids.

We got the boot when I was young. But my mom would rent a bunch of movies and buy candy and soda. We would dork out and pass out on the couches. It was actually considered a treat.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic I like the tent idea, I think I am going to do that for at least a couple of nights.

@johnpowell, I am going to go with the candy and soda thing too, that will go a long way to help them enjoy this.

I have moved the oldest into my room when we have guests because he has a queen size bed, but this is the first time all three of them are getting the boot! It might not stop with the three people arriving in a couple of days either. Deep breathing, the only way to get through the next week or so.

@Supermouse Do you have any valium? ;~)

I don’t have to. When there were kids still living here, they would much rather sleep in the tent in the back yard than in their room, anyway. Usually our guests stay in a nearby hotel.

My parents have told me to do this several times. I get the whole “make the company feel at home” shtick. The only time I’d protest is if it’s for an extended period of time.

Actually, our couches can be more comfortable than my bed, so I wouldn’t mind leaving my room a few nights in a row.

When I was a kid if there were lots of guests so the guest room was occupied, the extras got my bed. I didn’t mind so much, because I had my room during the day and my parents made it fun. Most young kids don’t mind, as long as their temporary bed is comfy and there’s some added little treat. @The_Compassionate_Heretic ‘s idea is great if you can swing it. Or you can set up a fort for the kids to sleep in inside.

I got kicked out all the time as a kid. I didn’t mind it. As others have stated, it was actually kind of fun! It was usually when a bunch of cousins would sleep in the living room. We would wait for the adults to leave and play games/watch movies all night. Good times.

My parents used to do this a lot to us.
As you all know, I am not currently with my daughter (hoping this will finally change next week) but when we did live together, she liked to sleep with me. So it wasn’t really “kicking”. Whenever we had people with a baby over (usually my girlfriend and her own daughter), she’d gladly leave her room and come to mine. But of course she’s 4 now and 3 when that happened. I cannot imagine asking her to offer her room to a visitor when she’s a teenager.

If they were unexpected guests, they would not want to sleep in my teenage daughter’s room. I try not to go in there myself. It’s a pig stye. If we are planning for company. I make her do a top to bottom spring cleaning, and they can use her room.

Let me clarify that her room is not so filthy that the Board of Health would be called in, but it is way messier with clothes , shoes and magazines and books everywhere most of the time and more messy than I care for. She’s a great kid with no problems. It’s not a fight I want to have with her when I don’t have to sleep in it. If a messy room is the biggest problem I have with her, I am lucky.

We also have an outdoor kitchen with a sleeper sofa which is always available for drop Ins and unexpected guests

Any kids would share my kids’ rooms, girls in my daughter’s room and boys in my son’s. Both kids have enough bed to house three adults or many more children.

The adults stay at a hotel, one with free breakfast and happy hour.

Otherwise we do have a sleeper sofa and a couch for folks to sleep on, but they have to really like dogs.

Only if their rooms are clean..

We’ve had our kids give up their beds from time to time. It doesn’t happen often, because we have a spare room with both a bed and a pull-out couch. I don’t think we’ve ever more than one of the three kids give up a bed at the same time.

My kids like it. Usually we use our middle son’s room for extra guests because it’s closest to the bathroom. He gets to take his sleeping bag into the playroom or into our room. The other two kids get jealous and want to sleep in their sleeping bags too. We end up rotating each night—one kid in the sleeping bag, one kid sleeping in a sibling’s bed, etc. They’re young enough that, like someone else said, it’s an adventure. I can see how that can quickly change as they get older though!

no, I don’t kick my kids out of their room, if they want to move for someone, that’s fine, but otherwise, we have two sofas (one pullout) and plenty of floor space.