Siblings sharing a room - pros and cons...

[lchats]

I am in the very fortunate position that dd2 (due this weekend) will have her own room eventually.

I hadn't considered her sharing with dd1 (21 months older), until recently when my friend mentioned that this was her intention for her 2 dcs, as she thinks they will benefit from this and be more adaptable on holidays and trips away etc...

Be interested in your experiences and the benefits/drawbacks?

My three ds,s shared until ds 1 left home at 23 and the other two are still sharing now,cant say I,ve noticed that they are much different to me and my brother who always had our own rooms,they still argue and they are still very protective of each other but that applys to me and my brother as well.

I grew up in a two bedroomed flat so I had to share with my sister. I absolutely hated it. She was very untidy and I was very tidy. I wanted my own tidy space and never got it. I moved out when I was 19 and absolutely loved having a bedroom of my own.

I think when they are small it doesn't matter, but as teenagers they will probably want their own space.

Our 2 had their own room when dc2 was little. We then rented in between houses and they shared a room. We found dc2 slept much better. Dc1 was always a good sleeper.

Anyway, when we moved into this house we gave them the choice and they chose to stay together.

At some point, one of them will move into the spare room and make it their own but right now sister and brother love being together.

Ours have shared since DC1 was 3.4 and DC2 was about 18 months (they had their own rooms for the 12 months before that). We are about a year into the arrangement and it is brilliant. They love it. I find bedtimes a lot easier - the logistics of putting kids to bed in one place rather than 2. If DC2 wakes first DC1 (who is a sound sleeper) will rarely be woken by it, although if DC1 wakes first he nearly always wakes DC2, which can be a pain.I think they would have a strong bond anyway, however it has quite definitely got stronger (and more intense - not always a good thing!) since they moved in together.

They are a boy and a girl by the way. We'll see how they get on but i imagine them sharing for 5 years or so minimum. We use the 'other' bedroom as a playroom now.

Fizzly - my oldest will also wake up my youngest if she wakes first whereas the wee one will just quietly come through to us if he wakes first.

The are 8 and 3 by the way.

After the age of 2, we had fully intended that DD1 and DD2 would have their own rooms. But DD2 effectively made hers redundant by moving in with her big sister. After 2 years of camping out there, we moved them both in the (larger) spare room. This lasted up until DD1 went to high school earlier this year, and needed some more independence. Given half the chance though, I know DD2 would be straight back in with her!