Kelly at GC puts the kids in the basement

[Hisey]

. . .in her brand new house.

Is this the way to treat a blessing? I mean, this is a brand-new home that they designed and are building from scratch. She's putting nine kids in basement rooms, while she has that whole downstairs for herself. There's even an upstairs (looks like an attic, but it's large).

I'm sorry, but my kids don't get shunted to the basement. That's the least desirable part of the house, and usually doesn't even have real windows. It's a funny way to treat those blessing from the Lord who are so all-fired important.

[Pearl]

While I definitely wouldn't want to be her, I can't help but envy her house a little. I guess I'm a bad person. I should just remember that the gift I have been given is not being her.

[gibbsgirls]

Basements are not all that bad, depending on the design of the house. My sisters (3) and I had basement rooms growing up. Our house was built on a hill and therefore had a walk-out basement with large windows across the back. Loads of light. It was our own domain. Had plenty of space for us and any friends we had over. And our parents didn't have to worry about our junk in other places of the house. Plus, it made it easy to sneak out when we were teens. ;) Don't know how Kelly's new house is laid out though, so her situation may be different.

Edited to add: Ours was a beautifully finished basement too. Drywall, carpenting, even a little counter area with small sink & apt sized fridge.

[2xx1xy1JD]

It depends on the basement.

Walk-out basements are awesome.

The key is to make sure that it complies with fire codes and that it stays dry so the air quality is good and mold isn't a problem.

[sableduck]

My husband and his sister fought over who had the basement bedroom. Since this is new construction they will probably have a nice, up to code basement

[User123456]

Given the tornado, having the kids in the basement....isn't such a far fetched idea. I wouldn't know what kind of trama she or the children went through that night, but I can easily see how one could come to that decision. As much as I enjoy the snark here....maybe this parenting decision isn't as snark worthy as others.

[lilwriter85]

I know several families in which some of the kids had basement rooms. My cousin had two daughters and a son from his first marriage and he married a woman who had triplets from a previous marriage, also two daughters and a son. My cousin's kids were several years older than his stepkids. When my cousin and his wife married they got a four bedroom house that had a huge basement. My cousin sectioned off part of the basement into a room for his oldest daughter.

I don't think Kelly's kids have basement rooms are bad. Some of them should have rooms in other parts.

[Jessica]

Here in Yootaw most houses have basements which include bedrooms. Most of our friends who grew up here had their rooms in the basement. Depending on how the house is set up, they are very cool in the summer and stay warm in the winter.

[justlurking]

Co-signing on the opinion that finished basements aren't too terrible to have as a bedroom (or family room, or den, or office area etc.) However, I must state that I am not too impressed by the house thus far. They had the ability to design and build their new house from scratch and THAT's what they came up with?! Looks like something I'd create for one of my Sims to live in. The style is a little too simplistic and looks like it was designed by someone who had very rudimentary skills.

[slp]

We have a house that is built into a hill and has a finished walk out basement. It has a guest suite with a bathroom, a library and a playroom. Two of my daughters sleep in the guest suite (which has a finished bathroom with a shower and toilet.)

We also live in tornado country, so it makes total sense to have a comfy finished basement with bedrooms for the children (and even parents!) there. Then you never have to worry about getting up to run down stairs b/c the sirens are going off.

[emmiedahl]

Are there pictures? My concern would be that there needs to be a way to get outside the house quickly--mainly, a window in each bedroom. In my state, a bedroom is not a bedroom unless it has a window or door to the outside.

In our old house, we had a daylight basement (which is I think the same as a walk-out basement) and three bedrooms and a bathroom were down there, completely finished and full of natural light. One room did not have a window, so we used it as a homeschooling/playroom. I would be too nervous to let my kids sleep in a place that would be a death trap in the case of a fire.

[slp]

Our basement bedroom has a window. The library room/office also has a window and the playroom has a door to the outside with a window in it. There are two ways out of the basement-- the door to the outside in the playroom and then at the end of the hall there is a door to the garage/workroom and it has a roll up door to the outside.

Like I said, ours is built into a hill so it's only 'underground' at the back wall. Looking at the picture of Kelly's house, it looks as though the front door (which I assume is the main floor) is level with the ground, so I'm just assuming it's built into a hill like ours which means the front wall of the basement is actually not underground.

[CanadianHippie]

If it is going to be an unfinished basement I would agree. Otherwise, I say as someone who had a basement bedroom most of her life that it is not such a horrible thing. In fact I had more privacy than I would have had upstairs.

[kayray]

Growing up as a teenager, my room was in the basement. It was a new build house, with a fully furnished basement and my room was awesome. I LOVED being in the basement as I essentially had my own apartment down there - own bathroom, living room area, study area, etc. When the air conditioner broke in the summer a couple times, I was perfectly happy!

My husband and I rent a beautiful basement apartment. Huge new windows, up-to-date modern kitchen, lots of lighting (both natural and installed), tile and beautiful carpet floors, and so on. It is all up to code and I have no worries about getting out in an emergency. Again, temperature is awesome year round.

Not all basements are alike.

[ladypuglover]

Two of my sons have bedrooms in the basement and have huge window wells in both rooms. All the windows in the basement are the same size as the rest of the house, so safety is not an issue. Their rooms and the bathroom are finished but the rest of the basement is not.

When we built this house(8 years ago), we put oldest down in the basement alone in the second largest bedroom of the house. Oldest and youngest are very, very hot blooded and both love have a cool place to sleep. But, it isn't the youngest down there with oldest now. It's our senior who lurks down in the dark with his older brother.

The 2 little ones have the 3 bedrooms upstairs along with the loft and my husband and I have the master on the mainfloor. We planned on spreading the boys out as we have almost 2 sets of kids. The oldest three were all born withen 4 years and then years later we had the last 2. 5 boys in 12 years is quite the spread to co-sleep. All the kids prefer having the elbow room away from each other and the 2 basement dwellers lover their man-cave rooms.

Now, I have to remember to nag my headship that we have to fix up the 3rd bedroom upstairs for our Navy son's visit this winter. No room down in the basement where he would prefer but hopefully we can make it man-cavey enough that he enjoys it during his stay.

[keen23]

Yeah, a basement done right isn't so bad. I lived for a year in the basement floor of my dorm at college. It was like living in a quiet cave. I also spent another year in a basement apartment in Providence RI. The front of the apartment was underground, and had to be accessed by going downstairs from the main entrance, but the back was ground level and opened out into the yard. It was one of the better apartments I got to live in.

[lovefromgirl]

Given the tornado, having the kids in the basement....isn't such a far fetched idea. I wouldn't know what kind of trama she or the children went through that night, but I can easily see how one could come to that decision. As much as I enjoy the snark here....maybe this parenting decision isn't as snark worthy as others.

Was going to say exactly that. One middle-of-the-night "get down to the basement!" was enough to give me (worse) nightmares for ages. I'd have insisted on a hobbit house if I lost everything in a tornado. Any other situation and I'd be snarking as hard as usual, but I can't fault her for trying to keep her kids safe.

[maybeizfundie]

A finished basement can be very nice. I've seen quite a few split level houses where the "underground" part is specifically designed for bedrooms, and designed in a way that includes plenty of windows and exits. And after what they went to, I'm guessing the kids are *just fine* with that arrangement.

[LynnKaboom]

I wish I could move into the basement- my current second-floor room is fucking freezing in the winter and sauna-like in the summer. The basement, on the other hand? Is always nice and warm in the winter and cool in the summer. But then I would literally be a basement-dweller, so maybe that's not such a good idea.

[Hisey]

I guess am in the minority about thinking it is strange to put children (mostly young children) in the basement. Maybe I just haven't seen enough finished basements that I would like to live in.

However, I think it is odd for another reason. Kelly has 3-4 kids who are under 6. Doesn't she want to be near them? Who will hear them if they cry or get sick at night? My youngest, at nearly 8, still comes and visits us at night if she gets scared. Isn't odd to have the parents a whole floor away from the kids? Is Bria expected to tend to everyone? Almost all of Kelly's kids are under 12.

[Trynn]

Some basements are really freakin' nice looking. As in, more decked out than my house will ever be. I would have to see the basement, and depending on how things are set up, I don't think this is at all a dumb parenting decision.

Unless the basement is really full of mildew, mold, and has no windows.

[dilannsmom]

I would not be comfortable being on a different floor than my daughter (who is now 11 and very self sufficient). I remember when I was little my mom worrying how she would get my brother and myself out of the house as my dad traveled a lot! I guess that has rubbed off. I couldn't stand not being close by in case of an emergency. I would at least want to be near my littles in case of an emergency.

But, that's just me.

[Kelya]

Yeah, around here basement rooms are considered shitty- too much flooding and snow and hard to heat for our long winters. If a family has a nice finished basement in a dry area (rich rich rich people!!!) its for an older child or a college aged child, no one puts little kids down there, what if they got scared or sick and needed a parent?

Plus what about in a fire? Would a young child know how to open those half basement windows and such?

[aggythenostic]

I'm way more disturbed that while everyone around her is living in a shelter - she gets the grand new house and feels that by sparing a thought or two to those that got NOTHING - she's deserving! And holy! I particularly love this:

Nutshell: we are building quickly and God is amazing. Period. So far my husband has overseen the whole building project (it still costs less for him to be out of work and do that than to hire a GC–and can I just say, my husband rocks!) and most labor has been volunteered

Yeah, your unemployed husband IS a blessing. And I'd love to know how your dad is progressing through two stents without health insurance. But mostly I wonder why YOU, Kelly - get all this largesse. You live on your parent's property. You give nothing back to the community but your [heh] sage advice. You've chosen poverty, as you are the pampered daughter of at the very least middle class people. I never, ever hear about you doing one thing for anyone who isn't a SuperChristian like yourself.

Why do you rate, you ignorant meth-browed moron? I'm really curious.

[Deleted03]

Given the tornado, having the kids in the basement....isn't such a far fetched idea. I wouldn't know what kind of trama she or the children went through that night, but I can easily see how one could come to that decision. As much as I enjoy the snark here....maybe this parenting decision isn't as snark worthy as others.

^ this!

She's a crazy lady, but I totally get putting the kids again in a basement in a tornado ravaged area. They had a very very close call, and even though they may never see another tornado there, I would put the kids in the basement.

Plus some people just use their kids' bedrooms for naps and sleep at night, so not that important to have a window to look outside...