Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

for worrying about sleeping on different floor to DS's?

37 replies

kizzie · 26/11/2007 14:49

Loft conversion was all my idea.

Means Twin Ds can have a bedroom each and still have a little spare room for family because they all live a long way away and regularly (frequently ) come to stay.

Soo - DH and I will have a bedroom and ensuite in loft.

Had all quotes etc and was just about to confirm with the company we have chosen.

But a few weeks ago we were burgled and Ive suddenly got nervous about it. What if someone got in during the night while we were all asleep? They would get to boys first before us.

Boys not tiny - they are 8 1/2 but do you think they are still too young to be on a floor on their own?

Anyone else had their loft done and feel ok sleeping upstairs?

Any thoughts ??

Thanks!!

Kizziex

OP posts:
Original poster
kizzie · 26/11/2007 14:53

Sorry - the reason this is in 'unreasonable' thread - is because DH thinks im worrying over nothing.

OP posts:
malfoy · 26/11/2007 14:53

Hi, I know what you mean.

We sleep in the loft & DS & DD (aged 3 & 1) sleep on the floor below. I do worry about fire as well as burglars but remind myself that I am being irrational(+ regularly check the smoke alarms).

Having a loft conversion does give you more space though.

malfoy · 26/11/2007 14:54

and yes, my DH accuses me of worrying over nothing. He also suspects that in my ideal world we would all sleep in the same room.

CountessDracula · 26/11/2007 14:56

We have slept upstairs since dd was 1. I have had moments of concern about it (am very careful to test smoke alarms regularly for eg as have fears she could die of smoke ihnalation before it even got to us)

Have not worried so much about the burglar scenario as we have a large and scary looking dog (allegedly, I htink she looks like a teddy bear but there you go!)

Can understand your concerns though

Might you be able to change your plans to have two rooms upstairs one for each

When we were litle my parents slept miles from us - and we were at the front of the house on the ground floor, they were upstairs right at the other end of the house!

3missyshohoho · 26/11/2007 14:56

Hi,

We sleep in the loft conversion and DD1 is downstairs (DD2 soon to join her) I sometimes worry about similar thoughts but then I am a light sleeper so would wake up I think - I understand your concerns though. Perhaps have an alarm installed?

Fimbo · 26/11/2007 14:57

We sleep on a floor below the dc. It's fine.

Original poster
kizzie · 26/11/2007 14:58

thanks for reply malfoy - so overall are you pleased that you've got it - even if it makes you a bit nervous?

OP posts:
Blu · 26/11/2007 14:59

We moved into a house with a loft conversion and it is the nicest bedroom, has own bathroom, etc, BUT we sleep downstairs on the same floor as DS because I have the same instinctive qualms that you do. Without having been burgled.

You can get alarm systems that are zoned -ie. you could set the downstairs but not the upstairs when you go to bed so that the boys can go to the toilet etc without setting it off.

Loads of other people I know sleep in the luxury of the new loft conversion, and i envy them their rational approach!

Blu · 26/11/2007 15:00

Can you put the boys in the loft?

ivykaty44 · 26/11/2007 15:02

If you are concerned then I would give both boys a personel alarm - then they could live under their pillows. Personel alarms make a real racket and not only would you be woken - but it would put the wind up an intruder.

Original poster
kizzie · 26/11/2007 15:03

oooh lots of replies - thanks.

Its not really practical to put 2 bedrooms in the loft because of shape.

the other option was to make the loft room the spare room but my mums arthritis would make it too difficult for her to get up there.

Im sort of thinking that we could give boys two smaller rooms. Make bigger room the spare - and then if i just feel really uncomfortable in loft DH and I could sleep in that room and just use the loft when we have visitors.

OP posts:
Original poster
kizzie · 26/11/2007 15:04

ooh the personal alarm for boys a good idea. Although id be a bit worried about scaring them. i want them to think they live in a 'safe house' (unrealistic I know!) and not to worry them.

OP posts:
hifi · 26/11/2007 16:04

we are on 3 floors and have an alarm where you can isolate the floors you want, so just the ground then you will be alerted as soon as someone enters. dh uses this method to alert him to what time i come in after a night out!

ComeOVeneer · 26/11/2007 16:13

Ds is 3 next month, and dd is 6 in January and they sleep on the floor below us. When dd has her cousin to stay she sleeps in the playroom on the bottom floor (our room is on th 4th floor). Have never been worried about it (bad mother alert?)

Blu · 26/11/2007 16:29

I can just imagine 2 8 year-old boys let loose with an alarm!!

Kizzie - take a deep breath, just do it and I bet you will be used to it in no time!

helenhismadwife · 26/11/2007 16:44

we have put our dd's in our loft we did consider making it into a bedroom with en suite for ourselves but opted to have two bedrooms and a small bathroom up there, I do worry about fires but have made plans in case

cazboldy · 26/11/2007 16:47

I think they will be fine at that age kizzie, but my sil has her 1 year old and her 3 year old in the loft (similar set up ) and that makes me feel really uneasy.

CaptainUnderpants · 26/11/2007 16:55

Our boys are in the loft conversion the eldest was up there at 18months .

If nervous get house alarm fiited wher you can set it for movement on ground floor only .

I know alot of pople who have had loft conversions and sleep on a differnt floor to their kids .

stealthsquiggle · 26/11/2007 16:57

We are on a different floor to our DC (1 and 5) but the other way around - in fact DD (1) sleeps effectively right above our heads, so we (well, I, DH sleeps like a log) can hear her better than if she was in another room on the same floor (which she couldn't be, because in our funny-shaped house there is effectively only one room on each floor). Not sure I would be so happy about the other way around, though..

CaptainUnderpants · 26/11/2007 17:01

The thing about them being above you is the you DEFINITELY hear then when they fall out of bed

helenhismadwife · 26/11/2007 17:43

you can captain in our house we can hear when they get out of bed it sounds like a stampede we have wooden floors

LIZS · 26/11/2007 17:53

When we were househunting we saw many with loft conversion as a bedroom and I didn't feel comfortable with it . Having said that the one we bought has a loft room we use as a playroom, but can all sleep on floor below.

RubberDuck · 26/11/2007 17:53

Can I gatecrash and ask if those of you with a loft room have fire escape windows at floor height which aren't allowed to be locked?

It's just that next door have them in their loft conversion (they said it was down to regulations) and it really put me off. I appreciate it's better for fire safety, but the thought of letting my kids up there where they could potentially fall through a window 2 storeys up scares the hell out of me!

Ozymandius · 26/11/2007 18:00

They are nearly nine? Yes, I think you are being rather unreasonable. My children are all younger than that, sleep on another floor and I promise I can still hear them perfectly well (too well, frankly). Just have smoke alarms on every floor.

littlerach · 26/11/2007 18:14

We don't sleep in our loft for this reason. It si used as office and a spare room, so we all asleep on one floor.

Rubberduck, we have both velux and dormer windows, and both are above head height. But it was done about 6 years ago, i htink, before we moved jeer. It also has an open staircase to the first floor, which Ihtnk is not allowed now, have to have a fire door, I htink.