2 parents, 5 children, 3 bedrooms...

[Ceolas]

Can it work?

We have 5 children. 2 oldest are girls of 11 and 9 yo. 7 yo boy next then another 2 girls aged 3.5 and 1.5.

We currently have a 3 bed semi with only 1 public room and 1 bathroom (no other toilet either). We can't afford to move and have looked at extending but the amount we'd need to borrow makes the ltv on the mortgage too steep :(

Has anyone got a similar situation or suggestions to make it work?

[TheLadyEvenstar]

I would be putting the 7 and 1 yr old in a room together

9 and 3 together

11 yr old in room on her own for now

and then you and dh have a sofa bed.


or 11,9,and 3yr old together

and then 7 and 1 yr old together

then you get your own room

or 11 and 9 together

7 and 3 together

and 1yr old in your room.

[Ceolas]

Yes, 1yo is still in with us. We have quite a big room.

How long before DS needs his own room do you think?

[5inthebed]

IIRC different sex siblings can share until the oldest is 10.

[TheLadyEvenstar]

if you have a big room why don't you put the girls in there.
could you possibly get a room divider?

so it eldest 2 are seperated from younger 2 or put a false wall up?

[Ceolas]

I suppose the only long term options are for us to give up our room or for all 4 girls to share.

[darleneconnor]

How big are the rooms?

Do you have an attic/cellar?

Is your kitchen big enough to use as a family room?

If one room is big enough then 2 sets of bunks for the girls might be the bestway to go.

Or you could always send the boy off to boarding school!

[Ceolas]

Do you know him darlene? Often I am sorely tempted!

[stressedHEmum]

We have a similar situation to you, but my kids are older now. We have 3 very tiny bedrooms (biggest 9ft square, smallest 7ft by 8ft.) DS1 and 2 (20 and 18) share the biggest room, DS3 and 4 (14 and 8) share the next room, DD(11) has the small room. DH and I have a sofa bed in the dinette bit of the kitchen. Obviously this means that we can't use it as a dinette or have any privacy, but there you go. We can't do it in the living room because it just isn't big enough to support a sofa bed with the other furniture.

It depends on the size of your rooms, tbh. Your DS will want a room of his own soon, and your 2 bigger girls will need privacy as well. They are quite close in age so they will probably be amenable to sharing.

I would put DD1 and 2 in a room, DD 3 and 4 in a room, DS in a room of his own and then you would need a sofa bed somewhere. In my experience hormonal pre-teens/teenagers need their space and really don't want to share with a tiny. Plus the logistics of managing bed times, homework, study and whatnot are difficult as the bigger ones invariable disturb the littlies (or the other way around near exam time). I find this even with my 14 year old and 8 year old sharing.

[Twit]

I'm going to have exactly the same problem. We are thinking of converting the (detatched) garage for the older two. (we have 2 boys, 1 girl then will (prob) have 2 more boys, we already have one and am pregnant with the other)
We are in the middle sized bedroom, with the 3 boys in the master and dd in the smaller. The boys room is not big enough for another single bed (ds3 is in a junior bed)
Although boarding school sounds good at the moment

[Zippylovesgeorge]

FFS

2 parents

7 kids

3 bedroom house

parents+baby in small room

2 x 3 in other rooms

I survived ;)

[ragged]

Friends with this situation would put the DS in with the two littlest girls, and the two older girls together. After a while get a caravan to park in the back garden where the eldest (as a teen) gets to sleep, and then the boy gets a room by himself and the DD2 shares with the little one.... until the eldest girl moves out.

There's a family 6 doors away with ... I think 2 parents & 7+ children at home in a small bungalow, one or more bedrooms built into the roof. I am not quite nosy enough to ask how they work sleeping arrangements all out.

[Dinosaurhunter]

Hi op
I am the eldest of 5 and like you 4 girls and 1 boy
my brother had the box room and us 4 girls shared the big room ( 2 sets of bunk beds) Worked out fine , infact I missed them all so much when I left home and slept on my own !!

[haggis01]

Give up the biggest bedroom to the girls and the boy in the "box" room. Is the big bedroom big enough to divide with a partition wall to give 4 bedrooms or could you divide your living room in two (is it a through lounge) and have a bedroom downstairs for you and DH ?

We had 2 bedrooms and 4 dc and we had a futon in the living room as our bed - it was fine. We had the oldest girl in small room and the other 2 girls and young boy in big bedroom - I had a posh friend who called this room "the nursery"

[jshibbyr]

we have 5 and 2 parents, 18yo is in the attick that is a mid conversion due to being in 6th form and 2 girls (3 and 5) in the 18yo old room boys (7 and 8) have the box room (is very small used to be the study) with bunk beds then parents in master.

your case, if you can convert the loft its a good idea spesh for the eldest/when there teens, at the mo you can get away with the 3 and 7yo together 11 and 9yo together and 1yo with you, (probs what you have already) when the 7yo gets to 10 you are going to have other arrangements, caravan idea is a good idea if you can afford it, partitioning the master is another good idea, another idea is outhouses, we have a office that was already there and that'll be used when the 4 smallest are older, the 18yo uses it as a summer house at the moment and a office when the younger ones are being too noisy, same probably used when there older.

i know of someone down the road that has 5 bedrooms, 10 kids and 2 parents... they manage ok (was 12 kids, 1s at uni, 1 lives with her husband)

good luck :)

[mathanxiety]

Another vote for all the girls in one room (maybe divided between oldest two and youngest two) and the boy in the smallest, then you take the second biggest.

[spacester]

If you can, then go into the loft to get another bedroom (maybe en-suite).

We are expecting another baby and also don't have enough bedrooms. To get the extra one, we are going into the loft. Costs £15-20k on average, and a quote from a bank for a 2nd mortgage is £150 per month for £25k over 20 years. Maybe that is doable for you?

[harrygracejessica]

We have 5 young kids and 2 adults here and at the moment we have twin girls in the big 2nd bedroom and single boy in the smaller room and twin boys in with us (only 8 weeks).

We are either going to put all 3 boys in the big 2nd bedroom and twin girls in smaller room OR divide the Big 2nd bedroom into 2 so eldest (hes 4) has a room (will be small though) and twin boys have the middle bit BUT it only has a skylight and no window and not sure if thats fair on them?? - would need to put a radiator in there too.

[mathanxiety]

HGJ, 2 sets of twins and one more? All under 4?