You can say things like, “I don’t feel like I have any personal space or privacy in my bedroom. Can we talk about that? It’s upsetting me. " Or you could try to put a knocking policy into place. Start the conversation with something like, “I want to start a new rule in the house about knocking before entering. Can we have a family meeting about that?” You could also say, “I respect your privacy and knock on your door. I want you to do the same thing for me. "
If it’s a younger sibling you’re having trouble with, be sure to post the sign at eye level for them. If the sibling is too young to read, draw a picture of a person knocking on a door. You could also hang a dry-erase marker board on your door so that you can change the message sometimes and even address specific family members in the message.
Avoid saying things in the heat of the moment that you’ll regret later. Be perfectly honest about why you’re angry. Say things like, “We talked about this, why won’t you listen to me?” and “I am really upset with you right now. " Sometimes yelling a good old-fashioned “Get out!” and pointing at the door can be effective, especially with a much younger sibling. Keep in mind that this might hurt their feelings, though. If someone barges in while you’re in your room, stand up immediately to confront them. Walk toward them to keep them from coming in any further and assertively ask them to leave.
Make it clear to your sibling that when they barge in your room, you are going to go tell your parents immediately. You could give them a warning and say, “The next time this happens, you’re going to get in trouble with mom and dad. " As soon as they come in say, “I’m going to tell mom and dad about this right now. " Get up immediately and go get one or both of your parents. Confront your sibling in front of your parents and ask them to back you up. Once you’ve got your parents there, say something along the lines of, “This can’t happen anymore. I deserve personal space and I want us to resolve this issue right now. "
Keep things that everyone uses in a common room of the house, such as the living room, game room or basement. If necessary, create a schedule of use and give everyone an equal allotment of time to use the item.
Be sure to let your family members know that you’ve already taken care of the chores in your room. That way they can’t say they came in to check. Bring a parent in your room to inspect your handiwork, if necessary. If you don’t take care of these things yourself, family members (especially your parents) will be forced to come in and take care of these things themselves.
Even if your family members haven’t started respecting your privacy yet, start respecting theirs. Set an example by treating everyone in the house the exact same way that you want to be treated.
Another option is to get a chain lock at a hardware store and install that yourself (or ask for help). If your parents are reluctant to allow you to lock your door, explain to them exactly why you feel that your privacy is being violated.
Make sure that you can quickly and easily remove whatever you’re barricading your door with, if necessary, in the event of an emergency.
The more things you wedge tightly under the door, the stronger the barricade is, so if you’re concerned it won’t hold, use multiple items. Grab a pair of old sneakers and shove the toe end of both of them under your door. Space them out a little for a stronger hold. Shove a big fluffy towel under your door. Really cram it under there so that it will hold, or use multiple towels.
If it’s someone a little older, ask for their help on something, like going shopping with you to get a parent a birthday gift or even making something creative together as the gift. Giving a family member a little attention outside of your bedroom will hopefully make them less inclined to barge in your room constantly for attention.
Be sure that you do this outside of your bedroom. You need to get them in the habit of hanging out with you elsewhere.
Before you go into their bedroom, knock and wait to be let in. Hopefully this will set an example of the kind of behavior you want from them.
