Separate wing of house for twins at what age?

[Nigatsudo]

Hello! We are looking to buy a house out of London. I'm expecting twins (my first pregnancy) and we want more space and proximity to countryside. We've found a very characterful period house that has 4 bedrooms but they're split between two separate wings each with own staircase that on the ground floor are divided by several rooms. We don't know the sex of the babies yet but if they're same sex was imagining they might share til 8yrs or so. If bg then we'd separate sooner. I'd welcome your thoughts on when you'd think children would be mature enough to have their own wing. I was thinking adolescence- maybe 12/13? Obviously a lot depends on their feelings and development. Ideally they'd both go to the second wing rather than one on their own. I wouldn't want to be that far away from them as even older children 8-11yrs) as we wouldn't be able to hear them and it would be a long distance to walk to us. Thanks for all thoughts in advance!

Yeah right.

Just enjoy being pregnant for the time being, dear.

What a rude first response! Personally I would hate that set up. We stayed in a house like that on holiday and it made me really twitchy, not being able to hear my dc at all.

Is there any need for that?!

OP, I agree I'd want them to be at least 12-13 before I'd consider having them on the other side of the house. But as you say, you don't know how developmentally ready they would be.

Is there a downstairs bedroom you could make into your room? Or is there a wall you could knock through upstairs to create a door/passageway? You could do so in years to come rather than straight away. If not, I don't think I would buy this house in your position.

Is there no way of putting in a door between each section?

There was a house on here recently with that set up. I’d be worried in case of fire.

Do you have a floor plan?

I agree pre teen age. Even then I’ve been yelled for in the night for sickness, etc. but guess you could maybe have walkie talkies or an intercom

Obviously they’d have phones by then but in the night if poorly you want something quick and easy? Or they could tell Alexa to call you?

😂😂 Personally, my triplets have been fine in the stable house since they were 6 months old.

I think this isn't a suitable house and you should keep looking.

My teenager has come to see me unwell in the night. How will you hear them come home when they get even older?
It doesn’t sound suitable at all.

We stayed in a holiday cottage like this years ago and it was bloody awful. I like my kids where I can see/hear them, even when they’re teens. Also from your point of view traipsing up and down 2 lots of stairs to change bedding etc, no thanks.

Could you reinstate the servants’ bells?
Seriously, I think pp have been trying to point out that your concern about which bedroom/s your children are going to have a decade down the line, is a tad premature! Planning ahead is one thing, trying to sort your children’s rooms out 10 years in advance is another level! Hope all goes well and enjoy your twins!

If you love it buy it, you can always move in 8 years when the twins need separate rooms if the layout isn’t working for you then. Be mindful it might take a bit longer to sell though as the unconventional layout won’t suit a lot of families.

I wouldn't want children on separate floors or separated by staircases for risk of fire imagine if there was a fire seperating you even from your 11 or 15 year old...
.research has shown children and adolescents sleep through smoke alarms.

We have a similar set up to this (although not such a big house I think). We have 2 double bedrooms up one set of stairs then need to walk through the playroom, kitchen and down a hallway to get to the second set of stairs to the third bedroom. We have a 5 year old and almost 2 year old twins. The 5 year old has slept in the third bedroom for the past year. We have 2 monitors (1 video and 1 sound) in her room all night so hear her through the monitor. We also have 2 smoke alarms at the top and bottom of her stairs which we can hear through the monitor. With an escape plan incase of a fire. However she does sleep fantastically so rarely have to get up to her.

FYI we brought this house pre children and planned to build an extention through to combine the bedrooms. However we have been unsuccessful in gaining planning consent (tried repeatedly through various means and all rejected)

Your post doesn’t really make a lot of sense. You’re thinking of separate rooms from age 8 latest. Yet you wouldn’t go with this particular arrangement until 12/13. So it doesn’t sound like the house is going to be suitable?

In recognition of you are still pregnant let me be clears teens need a very different set of support and supervision to a toddler .

it is the opposite of toddlers who don’t want you to go to the loo without you need to be in the same space to connect . Be present but at a distance

If there are just 4 bedrooms but they're split between 2 separate wings and you won't be able to hear what's happening then it doesn't sound a very suitable house. A separate wing would be great for guests or to have the option of putting teenagers in but it's a bit odd to have a house with a whole
Other wing but only 4 bedrooms in total.

FWIW we used to own a house, it was actually 2 converted cottages and there were staircases each end, but there was also access upstairs to get to each bedroom from either end. It sounds like your set up means you can only access 2 bedrooms from each staircase. That seems very limiting (and also means the kids won't be able to play the fantastic game of chasing each other up one staircase and down the other)

Wings. You have wings in your house.
Oh my.
That has to be the poshest post I have ever read.
Another world entirely to mine.
I imagine Hogwarts with grand staircases and libraries.

Goid luck with the babies OP. You have made me smile.

We have a house with bedrooms
Both downstairs and upstairs, when the children got to 8&11 it was a
Good time and they both have an upstairs bedroom
Each with bathroom, and DH/I have our bedroom downstairs - I think it depends a bit on the children and also you, I was quite a careful mum but they're both ND so have had difficulties Along the way
Good Luck

Does it have a moat?

Can the governess not stay in the youth wing with the twins ?

Lol obviously rattled some people. For clarity, it's two old buildings (a stable & cottage) that are attached downstairs but not upstairs. I used "wings" because it was the most appropriate word - though apparently it had some people dreaming bitterly of castles. Thanks for the kind and well-intentioned responses from most posters! As for the others, I'm sorry that being rude to strangers is your idea of a pastime.

Man your own wing is the coolest thing I've heard in ages

Plenty time to sort that out. Sharing will be easier when they're little. Could make a play room for all their stuff out of the other side with a little sitting room/guest room.

I keep my quads in the gate lodge myself.😎

I think some posters are letting their imaginations run wild. I know exactly the sort of house you're talking about and it doesn't mean it's a particularly big house. For the dreamers, imagine four rooms in a row, with a staircase at each far end, same upstairs, except with no connecting door between rooms two and three.
I like in a 300+ year old house in the country as well.

*I 'live' in a 300+ year old house.