Family of 5 one bathroom

[MamaD2015]

Looking for advice. We currently live in a 4bed. Whilst the plot and downstairs is a great size the upstairs is awkward, we have 3 children 2,5,10 and envisage this getting harder as they get older. We have one small bathroom and it takes some hammer and causes lots of ques in the morning and evening already. Theres no scope to create another bathroom or any more space we’ve maxed the house out.
I’m looking for general chat, advice about how people have found 5 and one bathroom, I know it can obviously be done but if you could would you have moved to add the space?
We love where we are but just feel we’re outgrowing it the bigger the kids get. Money and the fact this house is where we have raised our children plays a huge part in whether we sell or stay.

Surely your 5 and 2 year old can’t spend that much time in the bathroom? I would double them up together for baths and teeth brushing, and triple them up with the teeth brushing with the 10yr old. By the time the teen years hit the youngest two, the 10yr old will have likely moved out.

Everyone getting up a bit earlier than they’d like is the solution.

When you say one bathroom does this also mean one toilet? I grew up in a family of 5 in a country where ensuites aren't a thing. We had one family bathroom and we had a toilet downstairs and actually put in a shower 'for when the kids get older'. None of us ever used the downstairs shower. Ever. Although I might have been hosed down once after playing in mud 😆 It was never a problem. But if it's one toilet then it sounds trickier but not impossible (unless there are any IBS type issues of course).

We were a family of 5 and only had 1 bathrooms, but we did have separate downstairs and upstairs loos, so the barhroom was for washing and cleaning teeth only.
I do not ever remember queues and sometimes there were a few of us in there together.
However, that was considered normal in those days. It seems now that everyone expects an en suite and more bathrooms than there are people living in the house.

We (that is, my two parents and their three children and, occasionally, visitors, too) survived. We did have an extra toilet outside, if you decided you were in a hurry. Everyone was just expected to be efficient so we were. I never remember ructions.

Sometimes, rules were put in place - x is going out at a certain time and needs to be clean - but otherwise we just rubbed along. Everyone had only one bathroom and everyone got clean.

We survived. 2 adults four children. 1 bathroom and 2 bedrooms for the most part.

Eventually a downstairs bedroom and bathroom was put in for my disabled sibling.

Needing a bathroom for every person is ridiculous.

Well I was brought up at a time when it was normal to only have one bathroom. There were five of us.
As well as the bathroom upstairs we also had an outside toilet - I was terrified to use it incase there were spiders . And also it no lighting.
But in those days daily showers weren't a thing. In fact even having anything other than a shower attachment for your bathroom taps wasn't normal.
I think nowadays with the accent on daily showers and hygiene it's much more difficult to live with one bathroom unless the whole family is very disciplined about routine.
My current home has a family bathroom downstairs and upstairs there is a shower room with toilet and wash hand basin which has been installed in what used to be a walk in landing cupboard. I've just had the shower room totally redone and it's lovely.
Don't you have a cupboard you could convert into a shower room OP? It would make live easier but it is possible to live with only one bathroom.

I grew up in a family of 5 with just 1 bathroom with 1 toilet. We are currently a family of 4 planning on another DC soon and we only have 1 too. Not an issue x

There's me, DH and 4 kids age 15-17 living in our house. Often have an extra teen round at weekends as well.

We just have one bathroom upstairs and a loo downstairs. Zero problems. Teens shower in the mornings before school/work and adults shower at night, or if we want a morning shower then we know we have to be out of the bathroom by 6.30am to allow the kids enough time to get ready. They all have a set order that they worked out themselves.

Do you have 2 toilets? I have friends who added a downstairs loo in a small understairs space. I think then you could probably manage to stagger showers etc given the age gap of the children.

Personally I have two bathrooms which with two teenagers is brilliant (and I can’t be bothered to deal with their mess all the time) but I realise that is a luxury. And I take ages faffing around with HRT, or makeup removal etc.

When you say maxed out I’m just wondering do you have an understairs cupboard or and area of garage you can section off and convert to a downstairs toilet? It doesn’t solve the ‘bath/shower’ element but it would help if someone’s in shower and another person needs the toilet of to brush their teeth?

i survey homes and people have good solutions for these issues.

we’ve got a very small ensuite and the toilet sink and cupboard are one unit and it’s really neat. I’ve also seen the toilet with sink on the cistern so you’d only need a small amount of space. Not sure if that helps but worth looking at 🙂

(edited because if predictive text 🤦🏻‍♀️)

My ex in-laws used to have a shower literally in a cupboard in their bedroom so do you have one bedroom which you could sacrifice a corner of maybe for a shower? Or given you say downstairs space is great sacrifice some for a small shower room downstairs.

Otherwise I think I’d move - I think it will be chaotic when the kids get a bit older with only one place to wash.

I grew up in family of 7 with one bathroom and a downstairs loo with a tiny hand basin. I don’t recall it being a major issue, we all had to compromise and plan ahead, no one got to sit on the toilet for 20m, honestly it was no big deal.

Sometimes might not have been able to have a shower in morning so did it at night etc. Showers were quick and functional , no putting on hair/face treatments and waiting 15m for them to work. If anyone wanted a bath they’d check with others first and not take it for too long.

it was just normal, what we knew and grew up with and mum/dad made sure no one messed around and was considerate.

Are you sure you can’t fit another tiny shower room (or just a toilet) in?
Has anyone else in the street with the same house managed it? Under stairs cupboard perhaps?

Do you have a separate toilet?
Growing up there were a lot more of us than you have but we had two separate toilets and wash basins in all bedrooms.
If you only have one loo inside the bathroom this could be tricky as they grow up.

I grew up with 5 and 1 bathroom then lived in the same house as an adult with 5 and 1 bathroom.
All inclusive can say is now we are a family of 3 with 2 bathrooms and id never go back!

theres four of us (DH, me and two teenagers) and currently one bathroom with shower/toilet. Our previous houses have all had two toilets, this is the first one with only one (we bought after renting so was necessary to downsize slightly). Occasionally annoying when you need the loo and someone is showering but generally no issues. We all seem to operate on slightly different schedules so there’s rarely a problem. The key is a bit of communication (does anyone need the loo, I’m just heading in for a shower) and not taking ages when in there. Works fine for us.

Do you mean one bathroom as in family bathroom yet you have a toilet and sink downstairs? If not I’m extremely surprised that a four bedroom house was built with just one bathroom!

If you have the downstairs toilet have toothbrushes for the younger two set up down there and that’s where they can use the toilet and brush teeth so the eldest can have the upstairs.

As for the adults I would have them getting up before they know kids are awake and using the bathroom then or making sure they’re showering etc whilst kids are eating breakfast.

You just need to have everyone clear on who’s doing what when.

Is there no scope for a small extension on the back of the house for a small shower room? Or an En suite in one of the bedrooms? We literally turned a storage closet into a bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet.

We already have a small downstairs loo. No room to expand as we have much needed storage under the stairs. We are unable to go into the attic without a hefty pricetag and bedrooms lacking height. The bathroom is small, we have friends that have one bathroom and two kids but the bathroom is large. We mostly load toothbrushes and go back to our rooms to brush as you can only fit one body in the bathroom. Our upstairs space does not reflect the downstairs.
I get that its a luxury to have a 2nd bathroom but if you are able and it makes life easier wouldnt you?
The younger ones are boy and girl, our girl the elder isn’t going to want to continue bathing with her little brother for much longer. We schedule now but with two full time workers, kids at school and childminders all 7:00-5pm it leaves a very small window for bathroom use.
Most 4 beds in the area do have an ensuite, they exist for a reason I guess?

I’m the youngest of 5 (so 7 people in the house growing up), we had one bathroom, and managed just fine.

So do you mean you have one bathroom and two toilets? I can’t see an issue then, that is pretty normal for a 3/4 bed in the uk (assuming you’re uk). If you can create another, great - if you can’t, people just have to share, that’s life!

edited cause my phone autocorrected uk to us!!

Just a thought…do others houses on the street have a similar shape? Might be worth trawling the sold section on Rightmove and looking at old floorplans to see what other folks have done with similar space?

I think we’re actuallY gunna downsize now. Honestly not sure why they build houses with additional bathrooms. Thanks 👍🏻

Lots of people in your situation have the kids brush their teeth in the kitchen, rather than the bathroom. I have teens and only one bathroom and some of them will shower before bed rather than the morning. They don't need the bathroom in the morning if they do that, the can use the downstairs toilet and brush teeth etc downstairs.

We had this - three kids with a four year age gap. They were 2, 5 and 10 when we moved and we coped with one bathroom and one loo. Not ideal but manageable .

I think you’ve got another 10 years before this becomes problematic ( if indeed it does) ie until your five year old gets to 15.

In addition, teenagers often have evening showers ( as they like a lie in in the morning), so if you and your husband shower in the morning, this shouldn’t be more of an issue than it is now.

I agree a separate loo somewhere would be useful.