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Parenting

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Original poster

how realistic is it to have two young children happily share a bedroom?

28 replies

mrstothemr · 16/03/2015 08:09

Ds will be two when the new one arrives, will be in with us for a bit obviously but we need to make house decisions about the kind of space we'll need with two children (currently a small two bed single storey). Will sharing work? Don't known the sex of the upcoming bub. Do we really need a three bed to keep everyone happy?

Any experience appreciated

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Cawanaka · 16/03/2015 08:11

Totally depends on sleep. If DS sleeps like a log and the baby is a relatively good sleeper it should be fine.

My DS was really excited to have DD share with him but we didn't for a while as they are both SUCH crap sleepers. We did lots of bigging up how great it would be before hand.

They don't have to share as we have enough bedrooms but at the moment they want to.

Cawanaka · 16/03/2015 08:13

Ps have friends who have three in a room ranging from 11 to 2. It's only just started to become a problem as the oldest really does need a little of her own space. Any things possible!

Cawanaka · 16/03/2015 08:14

IMO while children are still young living/playing space much more important.

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IAmAPaleontologist · 16/03/2015 08:15

2 years between ds1 and dd and they shared for a few years. dd was a crap sleeper but ds1 just got used to it. ds2 came along 3 years after dd so once he was getting a bit bigger we shifted dd up to the loft room and ds2 eventually moved in with ds1. Works just fine.

StockingFullOfCoal · 16/03/2015 08:15

My two girls have shared a room since youngest was 9 months old. Even when youngest was waking in the night, my eldest was never woken by her. There's 2.5 years between them. They're almost 7 and 4 now and I don't think I could get them in separate rooms if I tried.

GladysTheGolem · 16/03/2015 08:16

We've got a two bed and 3 DC.

Ds1 is 3, ds2 is 1 (19m) & dd is 3m.

We didn't have ds2 in with ds1 until he was over a year old & have had to put him in a bed sooner than we wanted as ds1 pulls him out the cot!
They've been sharing a few weeks now, aside from taking longer to sleep at night (20mins) they're happy & love sharing a room.
We'll move her in at over a year & then hopefully put an extension on in about 6 years.

ipswichwitch · 16/03/2015 08:21

Does anyone have experience with crappy sleepers sharing? (Sorry to hijack op!)
DS1 is 3 and an awful sleeper, but he does have better nights when someone is there with him. He has said he wants his brother (15mo) to sleep in his room. DS2 has been a poor sleeper but had recently improved greatly (bar teething episodes)

I guess I'm asking if it would be a total disaster to put them in the same room, or is it worth a try?

slithytove · 16/03/2015 08:52

following with interest as I have a 2 year old and 6 month old who will be sharing once baby is in a routine and ready to move out of our room.

MildDrPepperAddiction · 16/03/2015 08:59

We have three in a room at the mo while we carry out work to the house. It's fine so far.

IneedAdinosaurNickname · 16/03/2015 09:10

I've got a 2 year age gap. Dc have always shared a room (well once Ds2 movedout of my room)

They are 10 and 8 now and 99.9% of the time are fine sharing a room. occasionally they argue about sitting on each other's beds /leaving books out etc.

However wr do also have a playroom so the bedroom is purely for sleeping in. Don't know if that makes a difference

orangepudding · 16/03/2015 09:14

There is 2y9m between my daughters. They were never happy sharing despite having a good size room and both being good sleepers. We moved house so they could have there own bedrooms when they were 9 and 11, everyone is much happier now!

Mintyy · 16/03/2015 09:15

My girl and boy shared a room from when the youngest was still in a cot but sleeping through fairly reliably (so about 12 months iirc) to when my dd reached the age of about 9. They had bunk beds! They were absolutely fine together all that time, infact they had a bit of trouble adjusting to single rooms.

tortoisesarefab · 16/03/2015 09:20

There is 16 months between my 2 and they have shared a room since dd was 6 months. My eldest is a great sleeper though so doesn't disturb when the younger one wakes. The older one can sometimes wake the younger one though. On the whole it has worked fine, dd is happier when her brother is in the room and settles better so if she wakes she will settle herself back off because she knows he is there. We actually moved their beds so they could see each other when lying down because she kept standing up to make sure he was still there!

IAmAPaleontologist · 16/03/2015 09:20

RE crappy sleepers ipswich when we had dd and ds1 sharing, dd was a shit sleeper (woke a million times a night for a pat on the back) and ds1 had night terrors and nightmares and at one point we pushed the beds together so they were like a double and it helped them both. We only separated them when ds1 wanted to ditch the night nappies! Course now they have not shared for a while they fight like cats and dogs if they have to share on holidays .

bigkidsdidit · 16/03/2015 09:24

Mine (4 and nearly 2) share happily. I did keep te baby in our room till he reliably slept through at 7 months ish.

They go to bed together at 7. The little one wakes early so I swoop in and get him before he wakes ds1, but that's ok. It works really well.

JugglingFromHereToThere · 16/03/2015 09:24

dd and ds shared a room until eldest around 10 IIRC. They were perfectly happy (most of the time obviously!) and have a lovely close sibling friendship. No need to worry about space for a good few years yet I'd say and there's nearly always some fairly easy solution. I think we need less space than we think. So many people in other parts of the world have much less generous accommodation and manage happily - I lived in Japan for example where flats and houses are generally much smaller. Other things are more important I think - that is if everyone can get along and show respect to one another these things matter much less

BigRedBall · 16/03/2015 09:24

Our 7 and 3 year old share with a bunk bed and they're both fine. We have our 1 year old in with us.

It's doable, but must add they're both heavy sleepers. DS normally goes into bed first followed by dd an hour later. The days they go up together there's lots of giggling and silliness .

YAsoNBU · 16/03/2015 09:25

My DD and DS have shared for years, since the youngest was 18 months. They are 7 and 5 now. DS initially came through to us a few times a night. We'd settle him and carry him back, never disturbed DD. They have both had bouts of illness requiring stripping beds etc. and the other would sleep through - even with the light on!

We are contemplating moving and I think they are going to struggle with separate rooms, especially the eldest who hates being in there alone.

Original poster

mrstothemr · 16/03/2015 12:12

Thanks for all the replies, few things to consider there but overall two beds sounds enough. Takes the pressure off a bit, we could probably do 3 but rather not stretch ourselves if we can avoid it

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attheendoftheday · 16/03/2015 12:22

My 3 and 2 year old dds share and get on fine. Neither were good sleepers, and I kept dd2 in with us co-sleeping until 1 when she went straight into a bed with safety sides. They both still awake now, but generally sleep through each others waking. On some occasions when dd2 wakes she gets in with dd1 and they go back to sleep.

The dds actually get on great and will play with each other in the early mornings so I get a few extra minutes sleep.

ipswichwitch · 16/03/2015 22:22

Thanks Palaeontologist
That gives me some hope we can get them sharing - I had wondered if it would actually help, especially DS1 who also has nightmares and night terrors. Will see how it goes on holiday when they share a room (which is precisely when it will go tits up because they need to!)

MiaowTheCat · 17/03/2015 08:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

mrstothemr · 17/03/2015 12:18

Miaow, that's really cute... Hope ours end up getting on well enough to be like that!

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Guineapig99 · 23/04/2015 13:39

two aged 2 & 4, boy & girl shared since little one was 6 months with no probs. We have extra bedrooms but they don't wanted to be separated. We found that they get used to each other & even when one wakes, cries etc it doesn't really bother the other. They sleep better together than apart & chat at night & play in the mornings etc Very cute. No plans to split them till the eldest is 9 or 10 or so... Also it's nice having a multi colour unisex bedroom, all greens and yellows rather than pinks/blues etc all the toys are "their" toys rather than hers/his or boy/girl toys. Easier to get them to share stuff.

Heels99 · 23/04/2015 13:44

My children are age 7 we have plenty bedrooms but they choose to share! But yes we do have the bedrooms available for when they decide not to share, if you have two kids you will need 3 bedrooms at some point.

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