How about a real-life room? This was my son's nursery. These are older pictures as he just started Kindergarten(!) and it's been changed to a "big-boy" pirate room instead of a nursery. The crib has been converted to a full and there's a side table to the left now. The ugly carpet and couch have been removed and there's a huge table with a porthole in it's place. The rocking chair is gone now too. The ceiling fan has been painted. See below:

Developmentally, older people are definitely the people younger people want to and probably should try to be like. Even a couple years of age difference can be appealing. It's even better if the older person is able to be sociable/has good social skills and if they also have good boundaries. If the older person is mostly stable personality-wise and able to be dependable, that too is another drawing point. That's something that is developmentally normal. It's also why children and even older 'minors' are vulnerable to adults in a general sense. If people really like someone in their life, then interacting with or seeing that one person can be a major highlight of their day. They may not be 'obssessed' or too anxious, but they still (especially very young kids) will bounce around like you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. That's a developmental thing, they will probably grow out of it, but one hopes they retain enough that they can be honest about liking and acting like they like people when they are older even if they don't jump out of their own skins anymore. People usually say 'hi' as a simple social thing. In some ways it's a social skill. People reinforce for themselves who they know, and who they recognize and they can be sociable enough to acknowledge a recognized person's existence. It's usually not dependent on age grouping so much as whether they personally like you, or just recognize you and want to be polite. The problem is that you can't stop other people's behavior and they have as much right to their thoughts and feelings and behavior and developmental stages as you have to yours. As an aside, the younger people also are more at the mercy of their development and they can't help being interested in and wanting to be accepted by 'older people.' You are an 'older people' and that's that. The other problem with the 'hi' stuff is that you can growl at people who are polite, but older or younger that's a good way to end up alienated from everyone; or with all kinds of unexpected bad consequences. (You can say 'hi' or look at them briefly and smile, or sort of wave or offer some other acknowledgement of their gesture and keep on your way. You aren't obligated to stop and chat if you don't want to. It is in your best interest to acknowledge the gesture though mainly because it helps them feel better, and that eventually circles back around and makes things easier for you later. Minimally, those younger people have adults in their lives who will act as their advocates if the kids feel hurt or otherwise slighted.) part of it's developmental, another part of it will be personality-based (some kids just will like some older teens more than others, the same way older people just have personality issues sometimes for good or ill); it's really challenging for adolescents too because usually that's a time where those people are developmentally primed to be 'independent' and it may be hard to feel independent when also feeling beholden to younger children (adolescents usually want to spend time with their age peers or older people too, and not so much time with younger people) try to cut everyone some slack including yourself

yes, the oldest has add... which I work with to upteenth degree. We actually already have the homework rule... ours is more like even if you dont have homework you have homework... you have to review what you did in school that day to make sure that you understand everything. Which, is why I find it so frustrating that he or rather they lie about having homework. It is not like they get out of doing work, they just end up in trouble for lieing and not doing their homework. It is ridiculous in a lot of ways ... why spend an hour reviewing everything from the day when you could have spent 15 minutes doing the assignment the teacher gave you. They are just playing every angle that they can and unfortunately it's working on a lot of fronts and I am exhausted. For example: the kids were at their moms house this weekend. The oldest had a report to do. I meet BM at 6 monday morning to take kids to school and oldest didnt do his report. I asked if BM knew and he said "well I asked her if I should finish at your house and she said I guess so" Ofcourse I am highly irritated because we had a very specific conversation on satureday about what he needed to do. And, ofcourse, I make him sit there and do his report. But, to top off the entire deal I show DH what he didnt do... he gets onto oldest ss about it makes a big deal. But then I have to go to school that same evening (report did not get finished before school which I made sure DH knew) and I dont get home until after 9 and he didnt do the first thing on the report and DH says that he didnt realize what he needed to do. So, I end up staying up with ss until late late to make sure the report got done. And then, the next morning DH gives the grounded boys doughnuts even though it is his own rule that when grounded you dont get treats. I don't know... I feel like they are doing it to test me sometimes. It's not like anyone else is holding them to right and wrong and doing what they are supposed to do. (well I suppose that is unfair DH does back me up but i feel like if I didn't say this is the problem it wouldnt be brought up) Really, I honestly feel like they are testing how far they can push and I will still stand strong... but then I feel like maybe they are starting to have an attitude of you arent my parent that has never really been an issue before because they weren't teenagers. i tried to disengage tonight and just let DH handle everything but that sooo didnt work... it is not in my nature. I tired to busy myself in my room organizing... I didnt ignore them, I helped them with homework and answered questions but my goal was to make sure that DH made sure they got their homework done and made sure they werent just wandering around doing nothing... but i couldnt help it... I couldnt just watch oldest ss playing with the girls knowing that he had a stack of homework on his bed... ugggghhh it pretty much boils down to I am frustrated!!

I love doing them and always had one going on the table. Then we got cats.... need I say more? They always want to see what you are doing and even though they aren't allowed on the table they jump up to see what you are doing and scatter them. I thought of getting a puzzle keeper this christmas so I could put the puzzle away when not actually working on it, but all the reviews said they weren't much good. Except for the 100.00 ones. I don't want to spend that much to keep a puzzle going. I have a closet full of them and we all enjoyed them when the kids were younger and lived here. Even Dad would join in in the evenings and we would spend WAY too many hours doing them. Look up and see it is midnight alot of nights.