Two bedrooms / Three children

[FartleBarfle]

I have an idea that instead of having a bedroom for my two girls (age will be 1 & 5) and one for my boy (age will be 7) , I put all three in one room with the wardrobes etc as a sleeping room, and turn the other room into a playroom for all their toys. My older two are really close and would love to share anyway.

Has anyone else ever done this and what are the pros and cons? My thinking is this will work for 3-4 years max, but at that point we would look to move to a larger house so they can all have their own bedroom. It feels like people might think it's a weird thing to do, but I can't think why right now.

Thanks for your honest opinions ☺️

I have 3 kids in 1 room and the other set up as their play room. Different from OP in that they are all girls and less than 2 years between the 3.

We moved them in together when the twins were 2.5 and the eldest was 4.5. We did it mainly because the eldest hated sleeping on her own and ended up in our bed every night. Having a dedicated toy room has been an added bonus and it has worked really well for us.

They have now shared a room for 3 years and it still works. The eldest has started making noises about her own room which I am happy to make happen (all the furniture in both rooms was bought with plans on how to reverse it). But when push comes to shove, she still doesn’t want to sleep in a room on her own.

My main piece of advice for doing it with an 6-7 year old is get a quiet tent. We have one full of cushions and picture books and the rule is if someone is in there, you leave them alone. It is helpful as they sometimes need to get away from the little ones.

My other thought is if your room is big enough you could use shelves (like the IKEA kallax) to create a divider in the room. If ours was big enough I would totally do that. As it is I think we will bust out of this house as the twins approach their teens.

Decorate the playroom in a way that means it can easily become a bedroom and crack on with this plan. Kids want a playroom more than they care about sharing a room and if in a year or two your son doesn’t want to share anymore then give him the playroom bedroom then but perhaps set some ground rules that it is also still partly a play area.

[quote FartleBarfle]@Egghead81

This sounds insane, but I did an Amazon wish list for my children last year. I have one relative who is very generous but always goes over the top and I think they must have missed the kids due to Covid. They bought everything on the list. This included an expensive item that I had put there accidentally that I was planning to get as the main present. So when the other relatives went on there it was empty. I kid you not 😂😂[/quote]
Bloody hell!!!

@Greygreenblue thanks for the tips. That's really helpful. I do think the age and gender means that the sharing won't work but 100% would do this in your situation. My middle child hates being alone too, so I guess it's good that in whichever circumstance she ends up sharing with someone!

@DoLallyTapMum thanks for your advice. I agree that I think they would love a play room most right now! I think I just have to be prepared for lots of bedroom swapping until we manage to get a larger house.

I think that you know your kids best and if they will be happy sharing it could be a great use of space.
Your son is hitting sleepover age, and your daughter will soon, so a couple of fold out footstool type beds in the playroom for having a friend over could be a great incentive!

Honestly, I am astounded by some of these comments. People saying x child will ‘need their own room’ by x age... life doesn’t always work like that. My two have to share; we only have two bedrooms. They are a girl and boy and not toddlers/young kids either.

OP, personally I wouldn’t have a playroom when you could separate the bedrooms though.

It’s obviously different if you’ve no other option though hoping although I’d go for a sofa bed in the lounge personally.

But deliberately creating a situation where mixed sex children have to share until nearly secondary age isn’t right IMO.

Some great ideas on here with dividers and zoning. All kids are different and you know yours better than we do. My DD is 2 years older than my DS. They always had separate bedrooms, but most nights my DS would snuggle in with my DD in her double bed until she left primary school.

@hopingforabrighterfuture2021

Honestly, I am astounded by some of these comments. People saying x child will ‘need their own room’ by x age... life doesn’t always work like that. My two have to share; we only have two bedrooms. They are a girl and boy and not toddlers/young kids either.

OP, personally I wouldn’t have a playroom when you could separate the bedrooms though.

It's different if there is no choice but the OP has a choice. Even councils recognise it's best for children of opposite sex to not share past a certain age.

We did this when my DS’s were 3&5, by the time the youngest started school it really wasn’t working. The eldest goes to bed later and wakes earlier than the youngest so it was disturbing sleep and causing a lot of stress and tears. They’re very happy in their own rooms now. We also have a separate playroom upstairs that they NEVER play in. This is being changed into an office now the DC are 9 & 7 and toys will go in their bedrooms.

@hopingforabrighterfuture2021

I agree, some people don't have the choice of increasing rooms for each child. But you are right the play room is not an option - time to clear out instead! ☺️

@Greygreenblue The quiet tent is a lovely idea!

We try to say "Just books and clothes please" for presents with the idea that then DH and I can pick one or two really well chosen, durable toys. My family generally abide by it but DH's parents (divorced, so twice over) send what I call baby casinos (press button, lights and sound, addictive - just like a slot machine) and other junk like giant cuddly toys.

It's great that so many people love our children but seriously, two kids X 12 presents at Christmas and 6 at each birthday (and that's conservative!) = 24 presents a year. It quickly moves into the hundreds! And I'm pregnant with #3!

I think playrooms are over rated and often hardly used. The ones I've seen in friends houses have just become dumping grounds for piles of toys. Take a deep breath and declutter instead!

We had three DC in a two-bed. My three DC, all the same sex, shared a room throughout until they left for university and still share when they come back. However, you have three bedrooms, so I would utilise them. We had a dining room that we could have turned into a bedroom but we decided to keep that as a playroom or hang-out room. The fact that it was downstairs makes a big difference, IMO.

Personally, I would give the oldest two separate rooms and keep the baby in with you for a little longer (at least until she's sleeping through the night consistently). Then she can share with her older sister.

No I would not do this

What would the children prefer? Do they get along or will they squabble? Temporarily fine but not as a few years' solution if you have an alternative.

Another point is whether a playroom upstairs is actually practical. IME young children want to play near their parents and if you're doing bits and pieces downstairs, they are unlikely to go up and play on their own. It will definitely be a waste of a bedroom if it just becomes a glorified storage area.