To think 3 kids in a 3 bed house is perfectly fine

[Justasconfusedwithnumber2]

Having this discussion with DH atm. We currently have 2yo and 6 week old DSs. We both know God willing we want a third, and would like a similar age gap.
We planned to extend our house in the next few years but after having some smaller projects go on I am massively put off, the chaos was frustrating and difficult with little ones, and realistically the extension would be 100x worse. DH said its best we start looking for a four bed, although in our area they're hard to come by and it's very competitive. I don't think we have the money or strength to move right now tbh. We love our house very much, it's so perfectly located for our lives but it's only 3 bed, with the third room being quite tiny, about 6ft x 8ft tops (of the top of my head) which we use as a nursery. I have absolutely no problem having the two boys in the same room (approx 8ft x 10ft) until they are older and we are hopefully more financially and mentally prepared to move/extend, but DH having always had separate rooms to his siblings, doesn't think its doable.

I get the rooms aren't big, but I find we spend 90% of our time in the living room anyway. Am I going mad to think there's absolutely nothing wrong with what I'm thinking?!!

The idea that all children should eventually have their own room is a relatively recent one. When I was growing up I barely knew anyone who had a house with more than 3 bedrooms and plenty of them had three or four children.

My best friend and I both lived in two bed houses and both had to share with our sisters initially. Eventually rooms got divided with a stud partition wall to make two box rooms. They were tiny, but better than sharing.

The only families I knew who had four beds both had large families, 5 and seven kids.

I have 3 kids in a 3 bed

DS9 has his own room -small but big enough for bed / desk / storage
DD8 & DD3 share - decent size room bigger than the master which we will probably divide when they are a little older

If DD8 wants a bit of space in the evenings when the younger one is asleep she plays / watches her ipad in my bedroom

My mum actually stopped at 3 children because it meant that she could keep her 3 bed house. I think it's ideal. I shared with my sister until we were 18/16 and my brother always had the box room but was more than happy in his little 'den'. His tv went on the wall, he had a cabin bed, clever storage, etc. With 3 kids I don't think you ever need a house bigger than 3 bedrooms.

Growing up we were a family of 2 parents and 4 kids in a 3 bed house and it was perfectly adequate.

I would move sooner rather than later.

Not because it's vital that the kids have their own rooms but because the bedrooms sound quite small. I think storing their clothes and toys and such could get quite difficult. Also your oldest would benefit from being able to play in their room away from the baby by the time you had a third so they could do stuff like Lego that you wouldn't want around the baby.

I would also rather move with 2 kids than three.

I am sure you could cope if you had to but if you can afford to move earlier, I don't see why you wouldn't

My cousins also shared a small bedroom quite happily until age 26 and 29. They chose to stay home to save up some money, and they have the most brilliant relationship.

We had 2 girls sharing a room that had 2 single beds with a 2 foot gap between them, 2 more girls sharing a room that the beds had to be perpendicular to each other to fit, and 2 boys sharing the "double" room with a 3 foot gap between them.

When the eldest girls were mid-teens and coming towards exams, DF extended into the attic for another (decent sized) double room for 2 girls, with the other pair being split between the original 2 smaller rooms.

It hadn't been an issue until the teenage years, as there was plenty of space downstairs and outdoors. But there came a point where people wanted some privacy and quiet space. And as those older ones moved out, for Uni, the younger ones got the (now) single rooms.

I shared with one Dsis when I was younger then with the other when we were teenagers, I remember being lonely when she went off to uni - perfectly fine to share!

I think it is great if each child has their own bedroom but i also think it is a very modern affectation - it is nice but nor necessary.

Does the world need couples to have three children?

There would be enough room probably, but for me it would depend how the theoretical 3rd baby slept, I shared with my little sister when she was about a year, and she was so unsettled at night it was a nightmare. Not her fault, but I had no escape! At least if there had been a wall between us I might not have woken to her climbing all over me in the middle of the night when she became a toddler and crying all night subsided (my parents would go in straight away when she cried, but still). They had the smaller room so we could have the bigger room, wasn't any room for her in theirs once she outgrew her moses basket. Of course it's doable, but maybe think beyond tiny baby.

Well realistically you aren't having the 3rd one for 2 years and it won't need it's own room for a few years after that. Lots could change, you might feel up for the extension, you might find your dream house, you might inherit a fortune. I would just get on with your lives and worry about it in 4 or 5 years time.

Just thought, hope it isn't twins or triplets. I bet a five or six bed house would be expensive.

My two are 6&8. They chose to share a bedroom until last year, when the eldest wanted her own quiet space. Despite having their own rooms, they still sleep together at weekends.

What I find it's matter,bis having a space that can be used as an escape area if one needs it.

We have 3dds and moved to a 4 bed as they had different sleep patterns, but we also wanted more space downstairs and outside. Most weekends the three of them have "sleepovers" in one room
Sharing a bedroom is fine!

If you have another boy the oldest could have a room on his own,if you have a girl then she would have her own room.Its totally normal.

I should have said, mine are 12 and dtds are 8 so not tiny dc.

We have 3. DD has her own room which is the 'box' but is still a good size and the boys 9 and 13 share a bigger room.
I would love to give them thier own room but not possible yet.
Does help that we have a lounge/diner, seperate dining room which is the study/games console room so there is a small tv and comfy chair in thier along with the PC etc where the kids spend most thier time and DS1 can stay up and hang out when DS2 has gone to bed. We also have a conservatory which used to be a play room when they were younger and still houses toys but now the guinea pigs, freezer, board games etc.

I've got 3 girls in a 3 bed (16, 11, 10). A few years back I swapped the 2 youngest into the bigger room, split in 2 with a bookcase, and I took the medium. Now DP is moving in with me and had a DD (12) and ds(18) he has eow we're thinking of giving my middle dd the dining room as a bedroom and his dd her half of the big bedroom. So my youngest dd will have her own room about 80% of the time too. Not sure if this is going to work in practise though. (His DS has the living room with a pull out bed)

It's all a matter of expectations really. There are plenty of parts of the world where a whole family shares a single room for both living and sleeping!

I think its fine whilst they are little. However my self and 4 teenagers are crammed into a three bedroom house. I sleep in the lounge, my daughters aged 19 and 14 share, my boys have their own rooms. It is a nightmare as we cannot sit down and share a meal and the room we sit in is to small for us all to be able to sit together. But I did this so we wouldn't be homeless, fingers crossed we will move somewhere better this year.

It was fine until oldest was 12 and was sharing with 4 year old of same sex so put younger two mixed sex together and oldest had own room. Not a problem til we hit teenage years really.

We have plenty of space, but DC want to share. I suggested that maybe they want their own rooms now at 6 and 4, and they didn't want to hear anything about it.

My two shared for years. Initially we were in a two bed flat but when we moved to a 4 bed house they decided they wanted to carry on sharing. So they didn’t move to separate rooms until the oldest was probably 10 or 11.

I always think it's not the bedroom space so much as the living areas that are the issue in houses. With two reception rooms as you have, I see no problems with the house you have. If you really wanted to be picky you could extend the kitchen at some point and create a kitchen/dining area so that your current dining room is more able to be taken over as a family room with toys etc.

In your house I'd have your (what would then be) 2 and 4 year old sharing from whenever you deem to be reasonable (so that they get used to it), baby3 would obviously be in with you for the first wee while and then into the smallest room. You'll have a good few years before you would need to consider extending or moving, especially if DC3 is another boy.

I would only agree with your husband if you were planning a significantly larger age gap - i.e. your current two being 10/12 or there abouts because they'll be far too used to their own space to start sharing.