Room sharing siblings

[FizzingWhizzbee123]

DS1 is currently 2.5 years old. DS2 is due at the end of this year. There will be almost exactly 3 year age gap. Baby will be in our room for at least the first 6 months, and probably until starts sleeping through relatively reliably or drops night feeds as I don’t want to be traipsing up and down corridors in the middle of the night.

By the time DS2 is ready to leave our room, DS1 will be at least 3.5/4 years old, with DS2 likely being somewhere from 6 month to 1 year old.

We’re lucky enough to have a three bedroom house so we don’t have to have the children share a room. However we have our third bedroom converted into a childproofed playroom as it’s got a larger floor space than our living room. It would be such a shame to give up this space, so we are thinking about putting DS2 into DS1’s room so we can keep the playroom space.

When the children are older and don’t need as much floor space to play, or if sharing doesn’t work out, we can split them so they can have their own rooms.

DS1 currently sleeps in the dark (although has annoyingly just started asking for a small nightlight) and still uses white noise. We expect DS2 to sleep in similar conditions.

Can this work? Or are they just doomed to keep each other awake and disturb each other? Are we mad to consider sharing when we have the space to have them in their own rooms? I know plenty of children share, have no choice and just get on with it - but can this also be a positive option rather than a ‘needs must’ situation? Anyone’s kids like sharing a room?

Loads of little kids successfully and happily share. It's definitely possible.

Whether it will work for your two you'll just have to wait and see!

Can you put a travel cot with a good mattress in the playroom in case needed at night?

I have a 2 year old and she goes to bed much earlier than the 5 and 7 year old. She also sometimes wakes in the night. We've tried them all in the same room but it never quite works with two year old. I have a travel cot with thick mattress and it works really well for flexibility

'Can you put a travel cot with a good mattress in the playroom in case needed at night?'

^That's a really good idea. Best of both worlds.

I think it absolutely can be a positive choice, with lots of benefits. Mine have the option of their own room, but have actively chosen to continue sharing for years.

They like the company, they like a shared bedroom story, and they have a very close relationship. They have always shared things (toys, books, sweets) between themselves automatically, and generally get on really well, and I think that's partly due to sharing a room.

Crucially, because we do have a spare room, they can easily get away from each other during the day if they need to - and they can choose to sleep in different rooms any time if they want; it's happened only a handful of times in the past 5 years, usually if one of them is ill, or if one has a friend for a sleepover.

They don't keep each other awake (though there was a settling in period originally when they did - about two weeks.) If anything they help each other to settle.

That's not to say it always works for everyone, but it's worth a try.

Our girls shared til eldest went to uni last year at 18. They just liked sleeping in the same room - it felt odd to either of them to be separate. They had the "spare" room as a den and when they had friends round used it for sleepover.

Thank you, this is helpful. I have a friend who’s sons regularly choose to share a room and bed, even though they late primary school now. I think it’s lovely.

We do have a travelcot so that with a decent mattress is a good idea, if the room sharing doesn’t work. Would need to look into some much better curtains in that room though (and please don’t suggest groblinds as, we’ve been there and done that, they drive me crazy! 😆).

I think kids adapt and get used to each other. My eldest two share and it is my intention that the third will share too when she gets her toddler bed. Good luck!