Housing Crisis - 5 in a two bed flat

I agree at a certain age there is usually a preference for your own room. But I think 8 or 9 is quite young. At that age my DC had only been sleeping the whole night in their own beds for a couple of years. The eldest was 15 when they got their own room through their own choice. I think this is on the late side, though.

Well yes.
My Catholic greatgrandparents were living in a cellar in Manchester with their 7 children and 2 'children others' ( presumably relatives orphaned by the Irish Famine of 1845-51). Fortunately they had been taken in by my dggm's sister I believe, or they might have been living in caves in the banks of the River Mersey as the destitute did then (1850s).

Yes I shared a room with my two sisters until I left aged 18, and I absolutely wanted my own space when we were growing up.

I don’t think that’s true. I’ve never had a home gym or a dishwasher. I definitely miss them!

I just don’t recall it ever being mentioned as an issue among all the families I knew growing up and as an adult who only had one bathroom. Not that they ever got tummy bugs etc but it never seemed to happen that 2 people desperately needed the toilet that much at the same moment that it was worth mentioning. Yes the inconvenience of 2 people wanting to use the bathroom at the same time definitely but not that people were having accidents or any public health issue. I don’t recall my older children who only had one toilet in the house being more poorly or even having any more accidents than my younger ones who have grown up spoilt by 3 bathrooms in the house

If you never had the opportunity then you wouldn't miss it

It’s a tale as old as time though!

I always imagine how awful it must be to live in an over crowded home when we go on holiday. ...DH, me and our two DC sharing a hotel suite or a very small apartment. It's fine on holiday for a week but by the end of it we are all looking forward to our own space. I would genuinely find it tortuous to not be able to retreat into a quiet room on my own.

I know! It's genuinely an absolute sh!t show in that household. I know some women who have large families and run the house like a military operation and it works. It seems hard to strike a balance.

Some of the children from the large family used to come round mine for some peace, quiet, food and attention. One of them has ND and would fall asleep at my house because it was so quiet compared to their home. I had to limit it as they'd be round mine all the time if I let them.

Ditto en-suites. I grew up in a three bedroom, one bathroom house with a downstairs loo. It wasn’t a small house but it was built in the 50s when the trend was to make rooms, halls and landings larger and lighter instead of squeezing in extra bedrooms and bathrooms. You even get2 bedroom flats with an a suite and family bathroom now.

I think the dogs are almost the worst bit of it. You've already got a seriously overcrowded house but you still decide that you've got room (and the time) for a dog as well - and not even just one dog, but three! Most people with only a couple of kids and a bedroom each still don't have three dogs!

Did they all have chamber pots/gazunders, though? And did the lads nip out to the garden to 'check on something' quite frequently?

Yeah you are right. Things like flu and bugs never ever happened. They never ever ever caught anything like that, Because they just dont exist Must remember to go on the next thread and tell the next parent that is moaning about a tummy bug going through the house and tell them tummy bugs flu norovirus IBS etc just dont exist and its all a figment of our imaginations FFS.

I work with families like this and I must admit I was a bit crestfallen by the lifting of the 3 child cap. They will continue to have more DC but the extra money will not benefit them. Many of the women of these large families have a lot of self esteem issues so it's not an easy fix.

I went to school with a girl in a household like this. House was immaculate as they weren't allowed to spend time at home. The mother was very house proud, children were expected to stay in back yard/on the street for most of the day. Once they became early teens they had to get jobs or go to the public library to do homework.

My daughter's friend comes from a family where there are 8 children, 2 adults, and 3 dogs in a small 3-bed house.

This situation is different to what I am referring to. People who just keep having kids despite their cost!

On this thread or in the health profession? It is very well known that density of population can increase the impacts of contagion and disease. It’s worth remembering that the housing overcrowding that everyone quotes in a ‘they put up with it so why can’t you’ kind of way was something that really accelerated with the Industrial Revolution, and was not welcomed by those affected at the time. The rich always take that approach to the poor if they get the chance.

Yep my mum as a child only had atoilet at the end of the yard ( she’s 85) She’s never mentioned any accidents and I know my Nana was very houseproud so I can’t see that ever happening .

That seems far fetched, I lived most of my life in a house with 1 toilet and a big family as did others I know and never heard of such a thing

It’s just what you’re used to, we shared a room in early childhood as did my children and loved it! Whereas have heard of people talk about terminating a pregnancy just because they ‘don’t have space’ etc which is far more shocking to some of us. Now we do have rooms for each is the children and more than one toilet in the house, which felt like quite a luxury when first had and can definitely see the up sides but isn’t the be all and end all

Oh gosh that’s dreadful!

You make a good point actually - has anyone discussed the impact of overcrowding on overall health, spread of disease etc?

Agree A friend of mine is one of eight and because there was only one loo in the house there were often "accidents"

3 room house?! Blimey that's even worse!

Some people in some parts of the world, do live like that now though. Many of us in the 'first world' are quite fortunate.

I think it depends on the set up of the place. A two storey two bed with a garden is different to a two bed flat.

My neighbours are in a 2 bed no garden flat with two kids and expecting a third. I can't speak for them, but I imagine it will get increasingly difficult for the eldest to focus at school and have privacy. We can hear the toddler through the walls already - he screams a lot so I can't imagine the mayhem with another baby!