AIBU not to give my children a double bed each?

[TheCherries]

I am in the process of decorating new bedrooms for my two young teenagers.

Both are insistent their friends all now have double beds and it isn’t fair I am making them keep their single beds.

Changing their beds isn’t an option we don’t have the budget for it anyway but it got me thinking is it really a rite of passage to have a double bed as a teenager?

Surely you wait until you are an age to share the bed with another. My feeling is the larger the bed the more you get used to spreading out.

I would prefer to keep the single bed with guest bed underneath for sleepovers and enjoy the extra space in their rooms the rest of the time.

We have two spare bedrooms so we don’t need to double up the use of their beds for relatives staying over.

Do yours have a double bed?

. I just wonder if the kids all get used to 4ft 6ins of width each if they will then struggle to share a double or kingside with another adult later in life...not a big concern admittedly, just an idle wondering after reading this thread.

Many of them are going to have to get used to having less space than that rather sooner, when they go away to university. Mumsnetters may think it's wrong to make a teenage boy sleep in a single bed, but I can't imagine them boycotting Oxbridge because of it.

HoppingPavlova a Queen is usually bigger than a king,as in over 6 foot wide.A "3/4 bed or "small" double is what your describing if you are in the UK.

Okay, not on the UK, our bed sizes/descriptors here are obviously very different to the UK. So now not sure how to describe it but got my son (what we call Queen but is smaller than what we call King) a bed that is longer than the standard and probably 2 times as wide as what we call Singles.

• not IN the UK

Both my teenagers have double beds. No idea why! Just got cheap one off Facebook.

Got to admit though, it's really handy when having guests over :)

DD Jumps in bed with me and there's a free double bed!

@Wombat my flat is quite an odd layout, 3 double bedrooms, but only a small kitchen and a living room / diner. It’s a pretty good use of space for our family, but I can see it wouldn’t work for everyone.

I'm interested to know if all of these kids have double sized bedrooms with plenty of space for double beds....or are people cramming a big bed bed in?

Do all of the teenagers with double beds also have a decent sized desk in their room or is a bed more important

Both our kids have a double bed, wardrobes, set of drawers, storage units and a desk. Their desk are important for their computers that they use for homework and lots of gaming. 🙄

We have a 4 bed house and both of their rooms are a decent size. The 4th bedroom wouldn't really fit a double in, but we only use it as a storage space.

I just wonder if the kids all get used to 4ft 6ins of width each if they will then struggle to share a double or kingside with another adult later in life.

No idea, time will tell I guess. But we have a superking size bed so that's always an option. I love my partner but I like my own space too. 😂

I'm surprised more people don't have a child sleeping in a single sized bedroom and that everyone has space for a double. I'm always seeing those adverts for cabin beds and space-savers so assumed most people have at least 1 child in a single bedroom. Are people forcing a double bed into that space?

Out of interest, what else in the way of furniture do these kids have in their bedrooms? WArdrobe? CHeskmof drawers! DEsk? Armchair? Is the bed squeezing out other pieces of furniture?

It's a moot point since you can't afford it. Some salient points, however:

• I absolutely loathe single beds, and sleep terribly in them. Especially with a single duvet - in fact, this is the single worst thing about a single bed, so maybe you can change that?
• A friend at work has a double for his four year old - so it's never "too soon" if you have the space.
• Teens that want to have sex desperately will do it on a park bench, so a single bed will be no challenge whatsoever!

By preference, I would stick small doubles in straight after toddler beds. But I'm sure my furture offspring will play merry hell with my intentions.

In the U.K. a small double is 4 ft wide. A normal double also called Queen is 4 ft 6’’. A King is 5ft wide. Don’t know about a superking as I haven’t been lucky enough to have a bedroom that big yet. Single beds are normally 3ft wide although some are only 2ft 6in.

I have to admit that this is bringing out a surprising puritan streak in me. I think that putting a teenager in a double bed is indulgent and putting a primary aged (or younger!) child in is somehow Just Wrong. I will admit I have no logical basis for this, and will go reflect on what it says about me...

Single beds are a bit shit. Let's be honest

How do these double bed teens cope when they go to "uni" and have the trauma of a single bed?

My house isn't huge, it's a three bed semi. But I suppose it's a big three bed semi - all the bedrooms are double sized and have room for a double bed, a wardrobe, drawers, bookshelves and a desk without being overloaded with furniture.

@LisaSimpsonsbff

Yes, I switched to a double bed when I was approx 12. I got my Mum’s cast off though so didn’t break the bank.

All my kids have double beds including the 9 year old

Mine all had double beds when they were 10 or 11 when their single beds needed replacing.

It's not really about what you think tbf... it's about what they want as it's their bedroom!

Actually, OP does have some say as she’s funding it.

Can you not swap a double bed that you have in a spare bedroom for a single bed with under bed so at least one of your DC gets a double?

I still have a single bed at my parents' house when I visit now, they've just upgraded it and added a pull-out bed underneath. Have a superking in my own house but still able to sleep in a single if needed!

I had a double bed at 16 in 2002, I don't think it's that recent.

@WombatChocolate ds small double fits next to his wardrobe against the right wall then he has a chest of drawers at the other side of the room,he also has an ottoman at the end of the bed.Its an average size bedroom.

My 11yo has a double bed, but that's because we got a king size and it made more sense to keep the double.

I'd say it isnt' a necessity for them, especially whilst you can't afford it, but I'd let them save up and get their own if they really want one.

This is so weird to me.

If I replace beds I’d consider it but not ‘just because’. I had one friend who had a double bed growing up. We all had singles then had singles at uni in halls.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure we all wanted one, just like we all wanted our own phone line in our rooms as well.

Maybe just use it an opportunity to discuss living within you means, 'need' vs 'want' etc? Offer they can save for a second hand double bed and you will get a new set of bedding to match the new decorated bedrooms if so?

I am with this thread. I don't know any teens with double beds. My DD's have just got new singles, in their mid teens, and their bedrooms are quite big, they also have two chests of drawers, a desk area, book shelves and fitted wardrobes. So a proper room of their own, just with a "normal" bed.

At uni, my DD and her 6ft plus DP shared their single beds every night, so definitely not an issue with two in a single bed either .