3.5 and 5 year old to share bedroom?

kristalovesjared

We are moving in about a month and I'm contemplating having my girls share a bedroom. My only concern is sleep, of course. Right now we lay with our 5 year old to get her to sleep and at some point in the night, she comes into our bed. The 3 year old falls asleep on her own and stays in her bed all night. Our 5 year old really wants to share a room. I'm hoping she might not feel alone in her room if she has her sister with her, which would be great! I've read a ton of pro's about room sharing and haven't really found many con's. Just wondering if anyone has experience? Thanks!

CarrieB.

My girls are almost 4 and 16 months. We moved the baby into the big girls room officially a couple months ago. She was mostly sleeping in our room in the PNP for the first 6 months and then mostly in the PNP in the office after that. I usually put the baby to sleep in her crib first, read stories to our big girl and then put her to bed. They don't wake each other up at this point. Our big girl was coming into our room a lot before and I think actually having them share a room has helped her stop that.

rsd12

Two of my three boys 9,7, and 5) share a room. They are 3 and a half years from oldest to youngest. Right now the two younger ones share a room. They love it! Lol they have shares since my youngest was 2. Before that my oldest two shared a room when the youngest was born.

I might change it up next year since the older two want to stay up later to read before bed.

2-Step

We moved when our boys almost 5 and 2.5 and put them together. Now they are 5 and 3 and it has gone OK. I will say that they love it, I do think it brings them closer together. They have to work together to keep their room clean and share the dresser. I think those are all good skills and hopefully they are building a good bond. We also get extra rooms for an office and guest room this way, so it works in a lot of ways. I will also say that my kids were phenomenal sleepers when they had their own rooms. Both would get lights out and not get up and go right to sleep. The transition has not gone so smoothly. It took about 3 months for them to stop trying to be wild at bedtime because every night was like a sleep over. Whenever we get off schedule they start it up for a week or so again, if one is feeling particularly wild then the other gets kept up. A few times they have snuck out of bed and caused major mischief, like throwing baby wipes all over the bathroom, However, when the lights go out and one gets scared, there is nothing better than hearing the other one say "down worry, it will be ok, i am here" It melts my heart every time. We've sat outside their door and just listened to them talk for an hour before because they are so sweet to each other sometimes. BUT, it is definitely a struggle at times, and we have to purge toys and clothes regularly to get everything to fit and the room is really never clean and clothes are usually erupting out of overfilled drawers. I know there will come a day when my older son decides he wants his privacy and until then I just love that they will share this bond. It truely does bring them closer. I can't say it's easy on the parents though! One of my kids is a night owl and one is an early riser so sometimes they wake each other up and then we deal with crankiness. For us it was the right, but not easy, choice.

neverblushed

I shared a room with my sister as a kid.  My kids have always had their own rooms.

When my sister and I were small, we liked sharing a room most of the time.  We played together a lot, had toys in common, had a similar bedtime, etc.  I'm about 5 years older than she is, but there was a pretty nice window when I was in elementary school when we were compatible roommates.  We had bunk beds -- it was fun!

By the time we were 12 and 7, I was less happy with it.  I had more homework, wanted to stay up a little later, wanted to have sleepovers with friends, etc.  It would have been nice at that point for us to be able to move into separate rooms, but that wasn't possible.  At the time, I felt like it was the most unfair thing EVER.  Now as a parent, I can see why my parents weren't too moved by my complaints.  Having to share a bedroom with a much younger sister isn't the end of the world.  

Still, if you plan to be in the house for a long time, I would look for a house that would allow your kids to move into separate rooms eventually.