Managing a shared bedroom as children get older

[NickECave]

Not really AIBU, more WWYD. We live in a two-bed house and owing to a number of factors we will be not be moving for at least another 5 years. We have two DDs, currently 6 and 3 who share a reasonable sized room. They get along OK but I can see that the older one is already starting to appreciate a bit of privacy and time away from her younger sister and I can only see that desire getting stronger over the next few years! If you have two DDs with this kind of age group, how do you manage room sharing? For instance when DD1 has a friend over I try to play with DD2 in another room but I feel bad banning her from the room as it is her bedroom too.

convert the attic,

Give them the big room, and put in a divider down the room.

We have 2 DDs and a 2 bed flat. DD1 gets the double room, DD 2 gets the box room, me and DH get a sofa bed in the living room. We'll run out of space eventually but it'll do for now.

We've already converted the attic! We did a loft conversion last year and the new loft room is the kids bedroom, our bedroom and the living room/TV room is on the first floor and downstairs is the dining room, bathroom and kitchen (not big enough for 4 to eat in - hence the dining room). It is definitely not possible to give the children a bedroom each without massively compromising the space we have to live in as a family - we considered every option before we did the loft conversion.

Tell them to get over it. Having your own room is a privilege, they aren't being denied anything essential.

I sympathise.

Ds2-15 and ds3 -13 share a room and yesterday ds2 asked me when ds1-18 was moving out so that he could have his room.

He also said ds3 talks in his sleep and wakes him up.

There's not a lot we can do either, I do feel for him not having privacy.

I've got a 12yr old and a 14yr old in the same bedroom. 2 bed house and no chance (apart from lottery win! ) of getting a bigger house.

it's what's known in the trade as Tough Tits.

Canopy beds? A curtain dividing the room in two? Sounds like your options are rather limited, but learning to share resources and take turns (i.e. when they have friends over), is a good life lesson. My DSs share a room too - mercifully they still don't mind.

I shared a bedroom with 2 sisters until I left home.

I wouldn't do anything.

Yep, that's life I'm afraid and at 6 and 3 years old I don't think they should be making too much fuss TBH.

My two share a bedroom (nearly 9 and 6) and will continue to do so for another couple of years. We're thinking that when DS1 starts High School then he'll want more privacy and we'll have to re-arrange our upstairs. I'm thinking decorating in a more grown-up style, DH is thinking of knocking down walls and generally revamping the house...

My girls shared a small room until last year when they were 18 and 14. By that stage it had become difficult, space-wise, and managing friends coming round and sleepovers. Is your living room large enough to accomodate a drop-leaf table at one end, with 4 chairs (possibly even fold-up ones?) so that your dining room could become another bedroom in a few years time? I think they should be fine until they start their teenage years.

Could you knock a wall down between the kitchen and dining room to make downstairs an open-plan kitchen-diner-sitting room space all together, and free up a room upstairs?