Opposite sex siblings sharing room??

[Motomum23]

Does anyone have older opposite sex siblings share a room?
I have 4 kids and a 4 bed house. 1 room for me and DH, a small double for oldest DS, (19), a single for oldest DD (14) and youngest 2 share (boy 11 and girl 8).... presuming oldest isn't moving out any time soon, and he's not at uni, I'm starting to think about how long i can keep the youngest 2 sharing and dh and I are split on if I should put the boys or girls in together. Dh thinks the girls should share as it's not fair on oldest ds to have to share with little brother.i think oldest dd needs her own space more as they are all home educated and she is studying for gcses so spends most her life in her room. (Oldest ds works a lot so only in his room at night).
Or it is a moot point and I can keep the youngest in the same room for a good few more years?? The oldest two have always had their own rooms so it's never been an issue with privacy in early puberty.

I agree with your DH...the two girls should share. You should probably be doing this in the next year id say

No I wouldn’t say you can have an 11 year old boy and 8 year old girl sharing for any longer really.

Whoever has the bigger room needs to share but if 19 year old is barely in his room anyway it makes sense to share that way.

Not sure if the boys should share or the girls.

I'd also say the two girls should share - they're closer in age than the two boys.

I'd have a reshuffle and give the two girls the largest room, next largest for you and dh, two smallest rooms for the boys.

The age gap between the two girls is smaller so I think they’ll have to share. You can protect her study time by giving her a study space elsewhere (your bedroom) or keeping the younger girl out of the room at specified times.

Make both sexes share and have the extra room as a study. If the oldest isn't at university, presumably he's working and will therefore vote with his feet and opt for independence if he doesn't like it?

You can’t have the younger siblings sharing any longer - opposite sex siblings need to be separate through puberty for their own dignity (NSPCC guidance is to stop at 10), and you can’t realistically have an adult sharing a room with an 11 year old. The girls will have to share.

It doesn’t sound to me like any of them sharing is going to be a good idea. In your position I’d be looking at whether I could partition the biggest room into two separate spaces. Or knock the biggest two rooms together and partition into three rooms.

I'd go with whichever set get on better and give them the biggest room. There are some clever ways to semi divide shared bedrooms using furniture which could give the illusion of them having their own space.

Yes girls need to share but as a sweetener should get the biggest room. Boys need to have the smallest rooms and if the oldest boy needs a single bed as a result so be it.

They all get on amazingly well, I'll always find them all in one room at 10pm anyway, giggling and being silly, so no worries about complaints. I can't knock walls down it's a rental, we do want to move but 5 beds come at a cost I can't stomach, and none of the rooms have more than 1 window so partitioning would make one side very dark (and I had a dark partition of a room when I was a child and I hated it, my sister had both the ceiling light and the window).

Two girls in the biggest room, divided as best as possible so they both have their own space (there are lots of creative ways to do this).

Or look into getting one of those shed-house things in your garden for eldest DS.

Do you have any other rooms you could use? Dining room etc?

What’s the layout downstairs? Any where that could become a room for you and DH

Is there any way that the biggest room can be split in some way to make two small rooms? Be that a proper partition wall or using furniture to make the split. There’s the bunk bed type arrangement that I think is quite clever, top one for half the room, bottom bunk gets the other, with the opposite side being boarded up as the split? Or using some kind of bookcase/kallax arrangement to split the room? But I do think the youngest two will need to be split in the next few months.

I'm a childminder so downstairs second room is the playroom... unless I change jobs that's not possible. And the garden is too small for a shed/garden room.
I suppose the best thing to do is ask the kids, I expect they'll all offer to share. 🤣

I think the 11 yr old is a bit too old to be sharing with an opposite sex sibling.

Can see why DD needs her own space, but also think your adult son does too (though, also, having to share might be the boost he needs to get his act together so he can move out).

(Edited as must have not refreshed to see latest response. Sorry)

Girls share, but she has exclusive use of the room during study hours.

I think the PP had a great idea, all share and have the other room as a study/children’s lounge so there is somewhere to escape to if need be.