siblings sharing a room

coleraysmommy · September 2011

I have two boys,the oldest is 4.5 and little brother is almost two. We are getting ready to buy a big boy bed for little brother and are considering buying a bunk bed and letting the boys share a room for a little while allowing the additional bedroom to be their playroom. They play with all of the same toys and honestly the toys are taking over and it drives me crazy. I am looking for advice from others who have done the same. I am worried that we will make this purchase and put them in one room and regret it. I know we will separate them again but I would like for this to be something that would last a few years. Please share your advice. tia

DandelionMom · September 2011

My girls lasted about a year in the same room. They were 4 and 7 when they started sharing. At first it was fine. But after a while we switched them to their own rooms because we were having issues with the older child waking the younger child too early in the morning and the older child needing her own place to craft and sew.

I thought mine were too young for bunk beds and the room fit two twins just fine.

Consider how you'll handle toys that could be choking hazards. Consider the kids' sleep schedules/needs.

jettagurl · September 2011

We plan to move the boys together and the girls together in the spring....the boys will be 2.5 & 6, and the girls will be 2.5 and 4. We have a separate play area (the basement is all toys/kids stuff), so we are just changing the sleeping arrangement. I plan for this to work until oldest boy is about 11-12, and by then we'd let just the boys split, or all four split (will have a finished 5th bedroom in the basement at that time). Regardless, even while sharing, we'll have a spare bedroom if someone needs space, doesn't feel well, etc.

I think if you can stress that the bedroom is for quiet time (zero playing), then they should be fine.

[Deleted User] · September 2011

The user and all related content has been deleted.

lsufan · September 2011

I think it may depend on their personalities. My older two started sharing when they were almost 4 and almost 2. The transition went smoothly, and we've had no problems with that arrangement. At the moment, we're temporarily living with my in-laws, and all three are sharing a room. That's more of a problem, but it's because of my 2 year old. He was never a good sleeper, and it sometimes takes a while to get him settled down enough for them all to get to sleep.

Carol*Brady2 · September 2011

I have a 2, 4.5 & almost 7 year old that all share. They always have & it's been fine. In fact my DD1 has had the optionto have her own for a year (& I've recently even redecorated it specifically for her) but won't sleep apart from her sisters. They are all super close & I think all those nights together has contributed to it.

squishywife · September 2011

my older girls started sharing a room when Noel was 2 and Morgan was 17 mons (that is when she went to a twin bed). They have shared a room like that for the last 2.5 years. It's been fine. They adjust to each other noises. Both girls haven't been the best sleepers, but they don't wake each other up (even when I can hear one of the in our room). Falling asleep is sometimes a problem if one is singing or talking and the other wants them to be quiet. We have a three bedroom house, but we have multiple living spaces (finished basement, den, living room, screened-in-porch) so plenty of places to get away. We plan on having one more baby eventually and so either there will be 3 kids in one room (if its a boy) or 2 and 2. That is what is going to have to work for our family.

superslug · September 2011

Both my boys have shared a room for over a year. It's been a success in our house. I honestly don't see them going in separate bedrooms for at least another couple years. They both sleep sooo much better than they did before we had them together. They never get up in the night, they go to bed easier, it's just been the best thing ever for us.

Ciarrai · September 2011

My girls have shared a room since DD2 moved out of our room at about 4 months. Like some of the pp said, a lot has to do with the kids' personalities. I think a lot also has to do with your attitude and how you handle it. At our old house, we actually had enough rooms for the girls to have their own until DS came along, but we have a lot of OOT family and we just didn't think it made sense to give up our huge guest room for a one-and-a-half year old. Then when DS came along, the girls moved together to their "big girl" room (what used to be the guest room) and DS took the nursery. The new house has an extra bedroom and we did give the girls the option of having their own rooms but they looked at us like we were nuts. It's just a given in our house and we never really gave them an option before now. They do have bunkbeds now and have for about a year. They made me nervous at first, but I got used to them...until DS learned to climb the stairs and I found him at the top one day. Fun times. Either way, I don't see my girls splitting up until at least middle school or maybe even high school if ever. They honestly don't know how to sleep apart.

Biggest thing I can say is to give them time and space. They need to work out how to sleep together and sleep through each other's night noises. It takes about a week for the novelty to wear off or maybe longer at your boys' ages. Pick a time when you don't worry too much about them sleeping - like at least move them on a Friday night when you don't have anything all weekend maybe. And don't go running in there all the time. They'll figure it out and work it out. It just takes time...

ETA - We also have always had a separate playroom. My kids don't have any toys in their rooms except books and stuffed animals. They rarely every play in there and everything pretty much goes back in the playroom at night unless I'm too exhausted to deal with them/it...

amy05-04 · September 2011

I am the odd man out sort of. My almost 6 yr old and 4 yr old share a room. There are no issues with them getting along and they don't wake each other up, but it takes over an hour for them to fall asleep at night. We constantly go in there telling them to go to bed and quiet down so they don't wake my 1 yr old. We end up putting one of them in our bed until they fall asleep and then carry him back to bed. I would love to separate them sometimes, but currently we only have a 3 bedroom house.

kmrvsade · September 2011

My girls (4.5 and 1.5) will be sharing a room in the next couple of months and I don't intend to separate them until they move out

I imagine we'll have some issues with sleep and such but I'm not at all worried about it. I shared a room with my sister and sometimes it was awful, but mostly it was awesome.

Want a personalized experience?

siblings sharing a room

Re: siblings sharing a room

Choose Another Board

Search Boards