So, if you have four children and a three bedroom house, how do you all fit in?

[msuings]

If we did go for four we would have a 10yr old dd, 8 yr old ds, and a 3 yr old dd and a baby.

We have three bedrooms. The dds share the biggest one (not ideal anyway with big age gap) and ds has his own room. If we did have another baby where on earth would we put it?

Just interested to see what others do.

[ineeedtostopworrying]

i this was me i would squezze into the smallest room and 2 dc's sharing the other 2 rooms

not ideal but i only sleep in my bedroom where as the dc's tend to spend more time in theres

[Guadalupe]

At the moment we have ds2 in with us. He was two last week so it's been a bit annoying climbing over his bed but ds1 is 11 and dd is 7. We are moving soon though.

Some friends of ours have four children in a two bed. Three boys in one room, dd in another and they sleep in the front room.

[4andnotout]

I have 4 dd's 7yr, 3yr, 16 month, 14 weeks.

Bedroom 1 - bunks for dd1 & dd2

• single for dd3
  Bedroom 2 - kings size for me & dp
  
• crib for dd4
  Bedroom 3 - cot ready for dd4 after dd3's rather premature aversion to it

[mrsdisorganised]

Well atm we all fit in a two bed house, I suppose having 4 dd's helps as they all share one room....we are extending but even then we would only have 3 bedrooms....I think it will get harder as the get older and want their 'space', might build a 'space shed' in the garden!

[Guadalupe]

We are in the smallest room too.

[Dropdeadfred]

Is there no possibility of you moving?

I guess your ds would have to share, unless you can fit three in the dd's room.

How do you manage your dd's bedtimes at the moment?

[catweazle]

In our last house we had the boys (up to 6, 8 and 10) in the biggest room, DD (11) on her own in the smallest room and us in the middle room.

When we moved we converted the integral garage and put DD in there, DS1 on his own and DS2 and DS3 shared.

Now we are stuck because DD2 needs a room and there is nowhere to put her because at 17 and 21 the boys left at home won't share, and only the internal room is free

[CarGirl]

Hmmmm we have all girls and I had the youngest 3 close together (3 years & 6 weeks).

I always had the baby in th smallest room to deal with the naps and night feeds etc and had the rest in the largest bedroom.

We recently put in a loft room so the eldest has gone up there - she's 12, then 6 & 3 year old share and 5 year old is on her own because she doesn't sleep as much!!! Longer term they will do rotation about sharing!

Once babe sleeps through the night I'd put the youngest 3 together in the medium term.

Errr sofabed in the lounge?

[lou33]

i have a 2 bedroom house technically, i just have changed the dining room into a bedroom (we are in a bungalow)

the girls share one and the boys share the other

[thisisyesterday]

i would:

move myself into the smallest room my double bed would fit in.

then divide children between the other rooms. it'll be fine!

otherwise, I would maybe look at loft conversions/extensions if that is in any way doable.

i know a family with 8 children who live in what is, technically, a 2 bed bungalow and they get on just fine lol

[KayHarker]

We have the three youngest in one room, the oldest in the box room, and us in the other.

When they're a bit older, we'll probably shuffle around again.

[seeker]

How come your ds gets a room of his own? I think if anyone gets their own room it should be the oldest.

[Peachy]

it's going to hav to be (baby still with us) 3 in one room, sn ds1 in the other.

ds1 cannot share a room.

at times I think bugger then I remember that in an average night we use one room (dh on nights) as the boys insist on coming in my woom so what the heck

[runnyhabbit]

Dh is the eldest of 6 (2 boys, 4 girls) and they lived in a 3 bed semi.

Girls were in the biggest room (2 bunk beds) pil were in the middle room, and dh and his brother were in the smallest room in bunk beds

[Dropdeadfred]

my dad was one of 12 and they were all brought up in a 3 bed semi....at one point there were three sets of bunk beds and a single bed in his room!

[msuings]

Thanks for all the input.

Ds's romm is very small, so too small for our bed. It is so tiny in fact that I can't imagine 2 kids sharing in thre.

I think one of our problems is the age gap. Sharing doesn't really seem fair on the oldest ones.

We can't move for a good few years, but I am wondering if the solution is to put a partition wall up in the dd's room for a dc4 if it is a boy. Or if it is another dd, dds 2 and 3 could share the partioned bit and give dd1 a bit of privacy.

Or we could stick to three...

[psychomum5]

wehn we had three bedrooms we had DD1 and DD2 sharing and then DD3, DS1 and DS2 in the smallest room.

we were in the biggest bedroom, which was then very big........24 x 16ft then a walk-in wardrobe on top of that!

we then split our bedroom, which we caould do very easily as our room had 3 windows already, and made a bedroom measuring 10 x 7ft for DD1, so we now have the four beds, DD2 and DD3 sharing, DS1 and DS2 sharing, and I share too.............with DH!

we are lucky tho as ll bar DD1s room are classed as doubles, so fit them in well.

I have to say tho, bedroom issues would not hold me back from having another baby if we wanted........tis only in the last 30yrs or so that we have figured that children should either not share, or not have more than two siblings in a room. Years gone by there were many to a room, and IMVHO, it made for better sibling relationships as you had to get on!

one thought..........is your attic of the type that it could be easily converted??? I know of a few families that have converted their attics into one or two room with a shower room to share.

[seeker]

Why can't boys and girls share a room?

[Peachy]

they can but its not advised post 10 and would be taken as a reason to give more space in social housing

[Dropdeadfred]

agree wth psychomum about looking at an attic conversion..

[Peachy]

My nan had a 3 bed for her lot- 16 but 12 at home at once; boys toom and girls room, shred beds then as they leftschool they alternated day / night work to share the beds!!

Years later a clienta sked me to reqquest a bigger house for her and her 2 kids as they couldnt manage (I didnt)- was the same bloody house!

So standards have changed somewhat (not gicving nan as good obv LOL- deprivation at a severe level in many ways).

We had 3 in a tiny 2 bed, agree its nt a reason to not have a baby- you'll manage.

[babyblue3]

I agree... not having enough room is not a reason to stop having babies! I live in a 3 bedroom home. DD1 (10) and DD2 (15 months) share a room and DS (9) will share with DC4 when s/he is born in July (no matter what the sex). Eventually we are planning an addition. DD1 and DS1 will get their own rooms and the little ones will share a room. Its hard with such an age gap. We put DD2 to bed and DD1 usually goes to bed an hour later. They are both used to it and DD1 will get up and play or take the little one to bed with her if she wakes up too early. I don't think there is anything wrong with children sharing rooms!

[Swedes]

I found sharing a bedroom really unbearable -and actually it would be much more sensible to match temperaments of children rather than age and gender. I was terribly tidy as a child and my younger sister with whom I shared was terribly untidy - she even refused to make her bed. The same sort of war was being waged in the next door room. My eldest sister is anal retentive tidy (she is still amazingly efficient) and my elder sister with whom she shared is a total slacker and not terribly keen to learn the art of hospital corners.

[NattyPlus2andAHalf]

we are in a 2 bedroom and expecting our third.
all three DC will be sharing, they will be 3 and 2 when baby comes so i think at that age they spend so little time in their actual bedrooms.
i would probally stick a fourth in there if need be, but hopefully by then DH earnings will have increased enough to move.

ah it wont kill them, teaches them tolorance of each others things and space anyway. (imo)

[snorris]

We have 5 dd's aged 13,5,5,(nearly)3 and 8 weeks. Dd1 has a tiny box room,dt's & dd4 share a room (bunks and a single) and the baby is in with us. TBH I find the lack of space downstairs to be more of an issue, we have a reasonable kitchen diner but only a smallish lounge and a small unheated conservatory. With no hallway either it makes the clutter look even worse .