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?!!

As others have said it's fine when they are small, but from 12 or so I think kids prefer their own rooms.

It should be fine.

As they grow older, the youngest (boy or girl) may feel cramped in the small bedroom, but by then having an extension done may seem more doable than now with two very small children.
Depending on what type of extension you're thinking about, it could be less hassle than the projects within the house, because it would probably be fairly self contained,

It's just so well placed for family and childcare. Literally everything is on our doorstep. It could be our forever home if we extended, and we have a reasonable garden to do so, although my DH was thinking loft conversion. It's more to the point I guess of convincing DH that the baby could come before the housework. I would move if something came up in a street or two from where we are... Sounds ridiculous I know. It may be a case of what comes first, the need to move or extend

It’s how I grew up. I always resented my brother always having his own room whilst I had to share with my sister until we were 16/17 and he left home.

Your second child is only 6 weeks old.

You may have your heart set on a 3rd child- but I would keep an open mind.

Small babies are easy to deal with- give it another year or two- that's when the fun really begins- have two toddlers crashing though the house like chimps on Red Bull.

You are full of the baby love hormones with a tiny one around.

Wait a year and see houw you feel. I wouldn't be making any huge decisions right now.

I wanted 3 kids too- until I had two toddlers. Changing my mind about a third was easy!

I shared with my sister and my younger brother had his own room, but then the computer and extra TV was placed there and we were there all the time. Poor thing. So, nobody had a clear advantage.

If the siblings get along, then it can be great sharing.

Many of us grew up sharing rooms, but it seems kids nowadays should be ENTITLED to their own rooms ... great if you have space, and if it is considered so important, then there are two choices - limit the size of your family, or move to a bigger place. Sharing a room doesn't actually do any harm, and surely not a bad thing for a child to learn to share?

My DS hated sharing with me too- left home at 16 so she could get a room of her own.

reality is you will have a baby for the next 2 to 3 yrs anyway and having a 6 by 8 room for them is fine - they will in all likelyhood be in with you anyway so in terms of planning getting a 4 bed now is likely a few years too early...

As to sharing - I personally think its good for kids to learn to share space with siblings. As a teen I loved my tiny room with bed over the stairs loved my own space and the tricks I had for space saving and storage

We have 3 kids and live in a 3 bed terrace. Until our eldest moved out for uni, it was never an issue. This may sound odd but I will explain.

When they were young, the eldest two shared a room with bunk beds, and the littlest had the box room (or "nursery"!!) when the eldest was about 9-10 the littlest moved into the big room, and the eldest had their own room. This continued for best part of 10 years with no problem whatsoever. However eldest moved out and middle child moved into the box room, meaning each had their own room. Fab, just what they always wanted! Except.... eldest comes home for holiday, and has to bunk in with the youngest. Not ideal, especially when they want to meet friends for night out and come in at 4am....
We are looking at alternative solutions for the summer - maybe sofa bed in living room - but to be honest it's only now that we would really appreciate a fourth bedroom. When they are young, you manage and it's doable. When they are all teenagers, not so much.

i have 4 in a 4 bed. DS1 (10) and DS2 (7) have their own single rooms with high beds to give more space. DD1 (7) and DD2 (4) share a decent sized double but I have put their bunk bed in the middle of the room so it acts as a room divider. so each girl has her own floor space and desk on their side of the bunk.

Absolutely fine especially when little (and I mean up to youngest being 6 minimum).

Our kids now all have their own rooms and spend all their time asking for “sleepovers” in DS1s bedroom.

My teenage boys share a room. Funnily enough, if one is away overnight for whatever reason, it's noticeable that the other finds it harder to sleep... Doesn't stop them bickering all the time, mind you 🙄

9 year old 7ye as r olx, and almost 5 ye as r old in a 3 bedroom house. Currently all 3 children share a room at their insistence, they say they'd feel lonely if we separated them.

We plan on moving us into the current living room, and using the dining room as a combined living/dining room when we need to separate them as they age, so they can have their own bedrooms

I would say it's fine while they are young & yes I'm sure they would manage to share indefinately but I think having your own room preferable.

My two DS's shared a room until they were 9 & 7. They now have seperate rooms & love it. We're in the process of making the bedrooms more equal sized as one room was a box room next to the old master bedroom. A new wall is going up which makes both rooms generous singles.

DD who was in the old box room is now in the small double the boys used to share so everyone now has a nice sized room, big enough for a desk each, storage & sleepovers etc.

We moved downstairs to what was technically the dining room which used to house a sofa bed, piano, drum kit, guitar etc. DC have their own instruments in their own rooms now that they love. No neighbours on the side the drum kit lives & ds uses practise pads!

I think it's important as teenagers to have your own space if at all possible.

My DDs age 17 and 15 still share. It encourages a close friendship.

I have three in a 3 bed 8, 2, 8 months. Growing up we had 4 of us in a 3 bed me and my sister in one room (4 year age gap) my two brothers in another (2 year age gap) worked fine.

I had two brothers. Until the age of about 6/7 I still slept in my parent’s room (not out of choice). They had a single bed on the side for me.

After that I slept in the same room as my brother (separate beds) until I was around 13. It was awful.

Then my brother moved downstairs as my parents made the dining room his bedroom.

I get annoyed when I think about it. It was really awkward as a teenager. We could never really have friends over or sleepovers. I didn’t have my own space. And the more I think about it, my 2 brothers should have shared a room instead as surely it would make more sense for 2 siblings of the same sex to share.

I think whether it works or not massively depends on personality.

Some children would really struggle sharing a room, for others it would be their idea of heaven! It also depends on how well everyone sleeps and how they cope with being disturbed in the night.

I think its fine OP :)

Ignore the posters that say it encourages a close relationship! It doesn't! If they get along it can work well, if they don't or one or both is introverted, a light sleeper etc it will really put strain on their relationship. But only once they're older. When they're young it's fine.

I grew up in a 2 bed council house. I had 2 sisters and we shared a bedroom until I left home at 22. The council said we did not need a bigger house.

A lot of my neighbours have 3 children in a 3 bed house and none of the bedrooms are very big. Not just young children either. Next door has the parents, a 20 year old, 15 year old and 12 year old. Across the road are parents with 2 grown up sons in their 20's and a daughter of 18.

I really don't know how my neighbours manage though because our living room is quite small and the kitchen very small

I absolutely hated sharing with siblings so wouldn’t do it to mine. I’d either move or limit my family size.

There’s no privacy, everything gets messed with, tastes for decoration are usually different, studying is a nightmare, different bedtimes etc.

If you can make the downstairs space work I think it'd be fine. We have two DCs but one has a box room size bedroom so we've given up the dining room now he's a teenager so he has his own space to go when his mates come round. 5 x 6 foot gangling teenage boys do not fit in a box room

We used to live in a 3 bed house with 5 kids so your scenario is perfectly fine in my eyes.