Kelly at GC puts the kids in the basement

[kayray]

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

Whether your kids are in the basement or not, I think all families should practice - regularly - a practice evacuation. Kids on a second floor need to know how to get out too!

Also, while I have no problem with basement bedrooms (given I had one, and rent in a basement now which is definitely not what people seem to expect in basement apartments), I do not agree with ANYONE having bedrooms in "non-code" basements (windows not large enough, etc) - whether they are kids or adults.

[Kelya]

Whether your kids are in the basement or not, I think all families should practice - regularly - a practice evacuation. Kids on a second floor need to know how to get out too!

Yes, they should. Is there anywhere in my post I indicated that somehow children living on an upper floor don't need to know basic safety procedures?

Around here basements have weird half slide windows or windows that crack open only so far and would need to be taught specially to a child.

[snarkykitty]

I'd love to see the floor plan. The entire first floor and perhaps a full second floor with the only bedroom the master bedroom? They must have a lot of extra space.

Also, is the property very flat? I can't imagine full windows and a walk-out basement if the property is flat. If it's not a walk-out (which often are able to have full-sized windows), but rather a bulk-head, that's concerning. I'd have to see the other sides of the property to see what they're actually doing.

[NurseNell]

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.

Use baby monitors.

Lots of homes have beautiful finished basements, with exit doors and the bedrooms have full size windows. My preference would be for a basement bedroom, cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and a safer place to be during bad weather.

[ophelia]

My little brother (19yo) has also his room in the basement and it's awesome. It's the biggest room in the house and has got it's own entry so that he can have friends coming and going at all the time which he LOVES! so it really depends.. but when Kelly does something like that I also have a bad feeling about it.

[maybeizfundie]

Last year our living circumstances didn't allow for me to be on the same floor with my kids (7 and under, at the time). I was nervous about it, but it was actually fine. We used a baby monitor, so I could hear if they called me, or just if they were messing around when they should have been sleeping. I'm much more comfortable now that we're on the same floor and our room is close to theirs, but it wasn't as bad as I was worrying about when our rooms were seperate, and honestly it wasn't more than slightly inconvenient for anyone.

[Rosa]

I do worry about escape windows, though - if they were using a licensed contractor, I wouldn't worry, but Unemployed Husband is doing this himself so who knows if he's following code?

We get tornados here, and I've been scheming to get a semi-underground house for years, ever since a really horrific toddler-in-tornado story that happened here when my son was little.