8 year age gap and sharing a room - can it work?

[Tinker]

Have 9 year old and an 11 month old. The latter is a dreadful sleeper. Have a vague desperate clutching at straws feeling that she might improve if not in our room. But, logistically, is this all a no-no?

I am in exactly the same position. DD1 is nearly 8 and dd2 is nearly 2 . Thwe thing is the dh wants another and if i agree the girls will have to share which dd wants but she is a nightmare at sharing things and hates having her stuff touched by dd2.

DD is nearly 3 and dsd is 10 and they share when dsd is with us. The only problem is that dd wakes dsd up earlier than dsd would like, but I think that's probably because she is soooo excited that her big sis is with us. DD is a good sleeper though and stays asleep when dsd goes in to go to bed. I let her have a small light on as she likes to read/gameboy/whatever before she goes to sleep on the proviso that if dd stirs and starts to wake up she must turn it off, but she never seems to disturb her.

My nearly 7yo ds shares a room with dd2 (age 2). It all seems to be quite harmonious, and quite often dd1 (age 10) sneaks down to join them in the spare bed. They get used to any noise the younger ones make quite quickly -- dd2 threw a four-hour screeching bedtime paddy a little while ago, and ds didn't even twitch.

Give it a try. If your little one is in a cot she won't be able to get out an make a nuisance of herself, which is the main potential flashpoint. The littlies do get quite good at arranging things to suit themselves, though -- dd2 can be heard of a morning shouting, 'Ds! Wake up! Light on!'. And ds used to throw soft toys at dd1 to wake her up when they used to share a room.

Thanks all. So, at what age did you move the baby in with the older child? Am concerned about lots of things - baby waking the older child, older one waking baby, the older one liking to read in bed, getting to the age when she would like sleepovers etc. Am hoping it won't be for too long since do plan to move.

ds in with dd1 -- can't remember exactly, but about 4-6 months.

dd2 in with ds -- embarrassingly early (about 4 weeks iirc), cos she was a great sleeper but very noisy. It was like sharing a room with a litter of hayfeverish piglets. Mercifully it didn't bother ds, and never has. Sometimes I go in at night and they're snoring in stereo.

For bedtime reading for the older one you can get a little light that clips onto the bedframe. Ds doesn't need it yet as he goes to sleep quite early, but I do remember dd1 having this while she was still sharing. As long as the younger ones haven't been reared to expect total darkess in the style of She Who Must Not Be Named, they get used to it v. quickly.

Thank you. Think might bite the bullet and try it...soon.