Back to School Feng Shui

Every school year parents and students dutifully trudge through the malls in search of the perfect sneaker or the cool new outfit for the coming school year. However, it’s unlikely that the new shoe or shirt will benefit them at school like a new room arrangement. How so?

According to feng shui, a child’s room that is arranged well can positively impact study habits and create better grades.

Feng shui, the Chinese technique for design and arrangement, suggests that rooms that have good energy, or “chi”, create happier, well-adjusted children. Feng shui theories believe that for a child’s room to have good “chi,” the room must follow certain guidelines to be harmonious.

If so, the room will be restful, promote good relationships others and generate good self-esteem. Perhaps most importantly, harmonious children’s bedrooms encourage good study habits and promote greater success in school.

Follow these eight feng shui tips to help create a room that inspires your child to study more and to do better at school.

1. The room has a desk.
It sounds obvious, but many kids’ only workspace is a bed, the bedroom floor, or the family dining table. Every child needs a suitable study area in the bedroom that includes a desk, chair, and a lamp. Children with study areas are more likely to study.

Better still, having a study area keeps all the school books and papers confined to the child’s room. Feng shui also teaches that it’s best for children to study facing the northeast, the direction of wisdom and learning.

2. Ground your kids.
Buy your kids a globe to promote interest in geography and to help “ground” them and encourage them to study. Add a globe in the Northeast corner of the bedroom, if possible, as this enhances the wisdom corner.

3. Create an “achievement area.”
Every child needs to have recognition for a job well done. A perfect way to gain this is to create an achievement area on the South wall of the bedroom.

According to feng shui, this is the recognition area and it is the perfect place to pin up awards, papers with good grades, letters of recommendation, ribbons or trophies. Hang a roomy bulletin board here to make an “atta’ boy” or “atta’ girl” spot in your child’s room!

4. Hang a crystal in the Northeast corner of the room.
Crystals are used to make computer chips go faster, so why not use them to make your child study better? Hang a crystal in the study location to create more “study” chi and to help sharpen the child’s ability to “process” or think!

5. Put your child in the command position.
Avoid having children face a wall when studying because this represents an obstacle. They should be able to when someone enters. Position the desk so that they can see the door.

6. Display maps and other educational artwork.
Maps are another way to ground and encourage educational pursuits. They encourage “worldly” interest and curiosity and they make suitable images for a child’s room. Avoid scary creatures, pictures depicting violence, or sad or dark subjects.

7. Eliminate TV from the bedroom.
Sadly, too many of today’s children have TVs in their bedrooms. This is a feng shui no-no because it can make children much less likely to study and rest fully. If your child doesn’t study as much as you would like and has a TV in the bedroom, ask yourself what is more important: television or school?

8. Shells and fish are symbols of education.
Conch shells and koi or goldfish are excellent symbols of educational success. Place the conch shell in the Northeast corner of the bedroom. Or, hang a picture of koi or goldfish in the Northeast corner. It is not recommended to keep live fish in the bedroom as water in the bedroom is associated with loss.