AIBU to rent a house with separate kitchen and living room?

[Blueyelloworange]

Would I be unreasonable to move to a house with a separate kitchen and living room with a baby and a 5 yr old?

It would be for a year or so. This house is the best option for a number of other very strong reasons (eg schools, location) but the kitchen is small, too small even for a table, and separated by a hallway and two doors from the living room where the kids would need to play. We can't make alterations to the layout as would be renting so there is no point me sharing a floorplan.

Clearly people do make this work, but please share your advice! A toddler tower/high chair in the kitchen so I can keep the younger one with me there? A playpen? A CCTV type system so I can see the living room from the kitchen?

You are not being unreasonable- you can make this layout work

You are being unreasonable- this is a bad idea, try hard to find somewhere with open plan kitchen/living room

Sorry I’m not sure I follow - what’s the alternative ? A kitchen IN the living room? Aren’t they housed separately in most houses ?

People have lived in houses like this with children and babies for years no problem. The 5 year old is capable of being left in the living room, the baby sits in a high chair etc in the kitchen with you until old enough to also be left in the living room.

I’d say just have the doors propped open at all times, be on guard and use a monitor if very desperate/will be cooking for a while but the toddler tower is a good plan

We have separate kitchen and living room and 2 dc…
have I missed a PSA?!

So like most normal houses unless they are open plan lol...

This sounds like a normal house to me. I'm sure multi millions of people have raised kids in houses of this format. What am I missing here?

My kitchen and living room are on different floors - not an issue at all. When kids were young they just came with me when cooking.

Is this a serious question?

Eh? Is it the norm to have one's kitchen in one's living room?

Isn’t this how most houses are in the UK? Are you in a different country OP? Many millions of people have managed perfectly well raising children in a home that has a separate kitchen and living room. I think you’ll be just fine.

I have a 20 month old and I totally get this question. For me I’d really struggle unless there was a camera or something, we are open plan and it’s so much easier being able to see her when cooking etc.

Like most houses then.

Probably been watching too much Kirstie and Phil and all the people that knock their kitchen and living room into one big space ( which I actually detest)

Why cant 5 year old be trusted to keep an eye on one year old ? is there a dad?

how long do you spend cooking ? Can you microwave air fry to cut down time in kitchen?

Dread to think where one's toilet needs to be so one's children are never out of sight.

@SantasNewLittleHelper High chairs in the kitchen or playpens is how recent generations have coped.

A lot of houses have small kitchens. In the tenties, there was a lot of knocking walls/make it open plan going on, but from lockdown onwards, a lot of house articles seemed to prefer closed spaces, and a lot of people like the smell/mess of cooking being away from the areas you live in.
So I'd see it as a good thing really. Kids can go in high chairs when you're actually doing stuff in the kitchen, but you've got a nice room to play in/have guests without the kitchen mess.

This place just gets weirder by the day.... So, you want a flat then op?

Most people dont have open plan.

Just leave doors open so 5 yr old can wander about. Baby in the kitchen in playpen or high chair.

He he yes i had an open plan flat when my older one was little so I could basically always see them. Thanks for reassuring me that I'm being silly to worry and it will be fine!

I think you are overthinking it OP. Not that many people live in houses redesigned by Kirsty Allsop.

Yes an air fryer is a good idea. Yes my DH is great but is out working most of the time.

I've never lived in an open plan house, I don't understand them. Aren't they drafty?

This isn't a big thing OP. Put a little table in the living room if you don't have a dining room. You'll figure it out. But open plan isn't essential for having kids.

Good excuse to spend less time in the kitchen, IMO.

if the house ticks all the other boxes and you don’t have other good options, I would go for it although I love open plan spaces with kids, we have had both and I much prefer open plan. If you do go for it, slow cookers and air fryers work well. Involve your 5 year old in food prep etc and baby is in high chair watching you??

Mostly not as they tend to be in newer houses/recently renovated houses and you are more likely to have good insulation. Reasons I love mine are brightness, feeling of space, having different zones but still together as family. I do think you need to be neat and well organised as you can’t shut the door on a mess and also, it’s nicer to have other rooms downstairs wouldn’t want it all to be open plan.