5. Create a comfort zone area in room, for cuddling up cozy and reading. Think about using big pillows, plush or inflatable chairs, anything your child might enjoy to sit on and relaxing in. You'll also want to conveniently have some books placed within their arm's reach. You might also want to place some music equipment by that area for them to enjoy. And if there's room, try to add an additional seating space for you to enjoy with them, reading or listening to music with your child, or simply chatting together. If you have a teenager, they'll likely want to have another seating space for you or their friends to use.

6. Together with your child, agree upon a wall paper border that you can use to decorate their room with. This idea can be in addition to or used instead of painting their room. Adding or changing a wall paper border can be a very simple and quick way to change look and feel of your child's room.

7. And... here's an interesting idea my daughter suggested when I asked her for suggestions about decorating a child's room ... ( I simply had to share this intriguing idea with you!) She said, "tell them to get an extra thick room door so you don't hear your kids fighting!"

Can you tell that she shares her room with her sister and something about noise level in their room at times?!

Hmmm... maybe she's got a good idea there after all!

© 2003 by Elizabeth Hekimian-Williams, Giftsprings

Liz Hekimian-Williams is owner of Giftsprings.com, an online gifts and home decor shop where you can find many home decorating novelties including night lights, low watt novelty lamps and personalized acrostic name poem prints. http://www.Giftsprings.com

21st Century men and women follow their passions inside and outside home and stand shoulder to shoulder as equals in most situations. In 2002, Harry and Sally work side by side at office. They argue head-to-head at boardroom table. They run hip to hip on jogging trail. They may not see eye to eye on every issue, but they freely debate them in Internet chatrooms.

So today, not only do Harry and Sally have a solid foundation of shared interests on which to build a real friendship, they also have time and space to pursue a cross-gender friendship and a society that encourages them to do so. In fact, experts tell us that in today’s world, men and women in platonic friendships enjoy dozens and dozens of benefits from their relationships.

Interestingly, men seem to get more out of cross-sex friendship. In a study by a psychologist in private practice on Long Island in New York State, men rated cross-sex friendships higher in overall quality than their same-sex friendships. Men reported they most enjoyed talking and sharing with women - something they didn’t do with male friends.

All that sharing that men find so appealing – organic though it may be to women -- can be a bit of a drain, so les femmes say they turn to les hommes for a different dynamic. With men, women say they enjoy lightness of not having to carry someone else’s emotional ‘baggage.’ Women may also derive a sense of safety and protection from their male platonic friends – much as they might from a big brother. Interestingly, women say chance to learn ‘what guys are REALLY thinking” is number 1 benefit of cross-gender friendship.

So does Harry WANT Sally? You bet. But if he can’t have her ‘that way,’ friendship will do quite nicely, thank you!