What I was growing up, it was taken for granted that every kid would have a child desk. My parents had very specific rules about how we were to do our homework. Although those rules seemed absurd to me at the time, I now understand the logic of them. We had to sit at our kids desk from the moment we began our work to the moment we were gone. We were not allowed to stretch out on the bed, lie down on the floor, lay around on the couch, or even work at the kitchen table. The reason my parents did this was that they wanted to teach us discipline. When we sat at the children desk, it was time to get to work. When we got up from the desk, it meant that we were finished. That way, we were able to build up a routine. Not only did this routine make it easier for our parents to supervise us, but it also made us more responsible, efficient people.
My wife, by contrast, never had child desks when she grew up. Their house was absolute chaos. Her parents were creative, and her whole family was very intelligent, but they were not very efficient people. They were allowed to have a child desk if they wanted to, but the top priority in the family was self-expression. Most of the kids hated child desks. They liked to stretch out on the bed before they did their home, so this is the way that they got to do it. Growing up in that kind of environment allows a lot of spontaneity, but without the child desk routine, they often didn't get the work done that they needed to. They were all very creative people, but they were also under achievers.
After talking to my wife about how to raise our kids, we have decided to get each of them child office furniture. A child desk seems to be essential. Although we're not going to be as rigid as my parents, we are still trying to establish a routine. Although it might seem like a trivial thing, the child desk made a huge difference in my life. If you compare me to my wife, you'll see that my parents gave me certain advantages when growing up. Because I was used to sitting in my child's desk and doing what I had to do when I had to do it, it is now much easier for me to get work done.
