Anyone with 4 or more kids in a 2 bedroomed house?

[nappyaddict]

Friend is pregnant with number 4 and is getting a lot of criticism because they only have a 2 bedroomed house. She is trying to ignore them cos it's really none of their business but she would like to hear from others in the same situation.

I have 5 kids in a TINY 3 single bedroom house (biggest room 9ft square.) TBH, it's a nightmare. My 2 eldest boys are 20 and 18 and share the biggest room, DS3 and 4 share the next room, 8ft by 9ft, they are 14 and 8 so that is a big problem. Younger one is always disturbed by the older one at bedtime, older one has to curtail lots of his stuff because of younger one. DD(11) has the back room, 7ft x 9ft. None of them have any room to move, their is only room for bunks, small wardrobe and a bookcase in the rooms. This leaves a narrow path for them to walk in and out of their rooms. They can never have sleepovers, it's difficult for them to have friends round, they have no room for toys (those that want them.)

DH and I sleep on a sofa bed in the dining area of the kitchen (the living room isn't big enough to accommodate a sofa bed as well as the other furniture). This means that we have nowhere to eat as a family, because there's no room for a bed and a table (again room 9ft square.) We have to wait for the older kids to go up to their rooms before we go to bed, which is a problem now that they are older, although mostly they are very considerate and go up around 10-10.30 to do their thing in their room. We never get a lie-in and are often wakened during the night because we sleep in the kitchen and folks need food/drinks. We have no privacy, nowhere to store our clothes (house has no cupboards)and no space that is ours, neither do any of the children really. It's not good and really bad for our health, physical and mental.

4 kids in a 2 bed is fine if the rooms are a decent size, storage isn't a problem and the kids are small. It becomes more of a problem if their is a larger age gap or when the kids get bigger and want their own space.

At the end of the day, it's no-one's business but your friend's and her husband's, but they need to think long term. What's OK with very little kids can be a nightmare when those kids grow up a bit.

We have 5 kids 2 adults, 1 dog, 1 cat in a 3 bed house.

Dd1 (15) has small box room

Twin girls (11) share a room

Ds1 (4) and dd4 (7) share a room

We have a large lounge and huge kitchen.

we have a massive sofabed in lounge and it works great.

We could move but we live in the middle of 3 excellent schools, 30 seconds from park and 2 roads from my lovely mum

can I ask where all the parents sleeping in kithen diners/living rooms keep all their clothes and belongings?

We have a wadrobe in the twins room (they have biggest bedroom with built in wadrobe) It fits all our clothes inc underwear.

wardrobe

I admire your storage solutions...but our bedroom is huge and we hve 4 chests of drawers, 2 double wardrobes, a large bookshelf full of dvds and book etc and it still looks messy someimes...where do you put all your 'stuff'???

1 wardrobe is plenty for our clothes, 2 boxes in the bottom for underwear and shelf on top for extra. Dvd's are on a bookshelf in front room.Personal stuff is in baskets in wooden storage thing in kitchen and cabinets in bathroom and downstairs toilet.

Dropdeadfred, you need less 'stuff'

I have a large five bed house but my three DCs all share on bedroom, one of the smaller ones as well. We have one TV in the house in the living room.

I think people mix up what children need with what they want.

Although if they have children of different genders only two bedroom could be difficult when they are older. Are they all little?

Not now but I grew up in a family with 4 kids in a one bedroom flat and an outside toilet.
Not that uncommon in the 60s.

We're all too bloody soft nowadays!

magnolia - you are definitely correct!! I really need to empty a leat one chest of drawers...I don't even know what's hiding in them!!

We currently live in a massive house because we are on a posting to South East Asia. Every child could have their own room but the girls share and ds2 spends most nights in with them as well.

When db#4 was born we lived in a tiny two-bedroom apartment. The older three shared the master bedroom while dh, baby and I slept in the smaller one. We lived in Manhatten and might have spent two hours there each evening before bed.

How much space is actually required depends very much on the norm to which you have become accustomed.

In Cambodia, families live in one room huts and manage to share the space with extended family as well. In many parts of Europe a small apartment is all that families can afford...

I fully admit that my friends from Canada think that we are insane because they NEED a bedroom for each child, a playroom, a family room, a living room, a two car garage, a massive eat-in kitchen, a seperate dining room, a proper den. They would sooner die than have their washing machine in the kitchen and would not be able to function without the tumble dryer. Both machines are located in a designated laundry room and it is not uncommon to find two of each there. The house MUST also be located on a property large enough to have a trampoline and a climbing structure in the fenced-in back garden.

We gave up this very kind of house to live in NYC and my dcs were happier with Central Park, the subway and the museums.
The most important thing is that your friend, her dh and their children are happy. Nobody else really needs a vote.

We have not quite so large a family in a 2 bed flat. We have 3DDs (12,10,5)who all share a large bedroom. They each have their own area with drawers etc - my eldest has a wardrobe and a plywood wall to give her some privacy, but they do quite like being in with each other. It gives the oldest 2 a chance to play at daft pretend games with the 5 year old, and play with her toys. There is an area of the room for toys and books.

We have the other huge bedroom, with a real fire and computer and 4m long sofa as well as our king size bed and numerous sets of drawers etc.

It's all quite sociable and nice for me as the kids can't just go and disappear into their room for hours on end.

We have a largish kitchen and a small hall/living room that has 5 doors off it, but has a small sofa and two chairs. We hardly use that room since we got rid of the telly (we now watch telly on the computer - DD has a laptop and we have a large screen and computer in our bedroom.

We do have a garage for the accumulation of crap, and a decent size garden for the guinea pigs. We have 2 budgies and a rabbit in the enclosed porch.

The house is large enough most of the time but does feel a bit cosy by the end of winter. But in spring, summer and autumn we just spread outside and there is loads of room.

ONe day the DD's may get fed up and the DH already says sometimes that we should move, but I am quite happy here for now.

Moving to somewhere small is excellent for reducing the amount of tat we own. We just don't have the storage space so I regularly cull the house for stuff to take to the jumble sale. We equally bring back lots of weird things from the jumble sale, but it is like a carousel and soon disappears back to the next one.

I like my life.

I was brought up in a bedroom with my sister who is 6 years younger and it was never an issue for us.

Cadmum I feel a little at your Canadian friend's house. Extra room would make our lives so much easier at the moment.

Kendodd How old are your children? If they are young then I can understand them all being fine in the one bedroom. We had 5 in one (not so large) bedroom at one point. They preferred it that way. However, once your children get older, dependant on their personalities, you might be very glad that you have those extra rooms.