What's your bedroom set up?

[Smudge738]

We have 3 bedrooms, 1 is for DH and I, 1 is for DD (2.5) and 1 is used as a home office (DH works from home 3 days per week).

We are expecting another DD in March and obviously they will be in with us for the first 6-8 months but then where do we move her too? Do we change the home office to her own bedroom or could she go into DD's room?

I grew up sharing a room with my Sister and we are best of friends because of it.

What do you guys do/think?

We are moving our DD into our bigger spare room and her brother (due in Jan) will eventually go in there with her while they are little and until we can move to a 4 bed.

I think if you have bedroom space but don't let them have their own room, it's prioritising your needs above theirs.

DH can work on the dining room table, kitchen, lounge or at a desk in your bedroom. There are lots of options.

I agree with @FATEdestiny that she should have her own room if you have a room available.

We currently have 3 DC and part of us deciding to have number 3 was on the basis that we lost our spare bedroom in order that they could all have their own space. Personally I don't like the idea of children sharing whatever the age, but maybe that's because as an only child I've never had to.

My kids are 15 months apart and shared a bedroom until they were 6 and 7. My eldest, a girl, wanted her own space at that age. My youngest, the boy, would have shared a bit longer. The thing is my kids loved sharing a room. Even though we had a spare. They have always had the same bed time, so sharing a room worked well for many years.

I think if your DH is wfh that percentage of the time, it would be wise to retain the office if you can - I disagree with PP about that being about prioritising your issues over theirs, as having one parent working in a communal space impacts the rest of the household.

Plenty of children share bedrooms, it does no harm and can foster a closer relationship.

It would be how well they sleep when in the same room that would decide it for me. If one of them wakes the other or they spiral each other into silliness at bedtime then i would want them to have their own rooms. But this could maybe be managed with a small extra bed/daybed in the office, so that one dc could be switched into there for the odd occasion that there was problems

We moved DT’s (b/g) into separate rooms when they were six months old as they slept better apart. When they were about 11, they moved up to the top floor of the house - separate bedrooms but shared a Jack and Jill bathroom. DH and I have offices in the basement for when we wfh.

I'd worry about the baby waking up your older DD if they share from when she's still a baby. Could you fit a desk and chair into the second bedroom so it becomes DH's office during WFH days and DD's bedroom outside of office hours? I guess it would depend on his set up. I work in our guest room so I use a laptop and have some drawers to put everything into when I finish so nothing work related is left out. My DH has the box room and has a bulky PC, two huge screens and all kinds of work related stuff that has filled the room.

We put our ds's in the roe own room for now and DH works in one of those (very large bedroom) the plan is in a year or so when youngest sleeps well in a bed we will put them in together. We had hoped to convert garage to an home office but we are holding off for now.

My two have their own bedrooms but often choose to sleep with eachother (we just put a mattress on the floor). They like having the option.

I grew up sharing until I was about 11 and didn't mind at all. We had enough bedrooms for 1 each but we liked sharing.

I imagine much will depend if they can tolerate eachother. It is nice to have some personal space!

We have five bedrooms, but our two little ones share, and the plan is that this will continue for the foreseeable future.

Each moved out of our bedroom by three months.

We have 4 boys in a 4 bed house. Youngest is 3 weeks. Currently DS4 is in the master bedroom cosleeping with me and my husband sleeps temporarily in his office where we have a single bed (one of us might as well get sleep!).

DS1&2 are in bunk beds in the 3rd bedroom. DS3 is in the 4th bedroom. As soon as DS4 is ready to move out of my room (I like to do this around 4months) then DH will return to master bedroom, DS3 will move into office in a toddler bed and DS4 will move into DS3s old room. How’s that for musical beds!! I can’t cope with a baby and 2yo in the same room as they will definitely wake each other but once they are older I think they will share too. My big 2 love sharing atm. They are 7&5.

i would avoid tiny ones sharing at all costs!

Can DH work somewhere out the way if he doesn't have the office? I have my desk in our bedroom so kids can each have their own rooms. My DS is now 10 and starting to get uncomfortable sharing with his sister when away, so if you're looking for a long term solution near this in mind.

I would put your DH's desk in your bedroom and give the girls separate rooms. They might be fine with sharing but they might wake each other up and drive each other mad.

If you can't fit a desk in your room easily, look at a study bed

Before moving everything around, why don’t you try them in the same room and see how they do? It doesn’t have to be a forever decision.

Put the baby in the office.

Same room. We had ours together and as they grew older, even though there were plenty of other rooms available, they chose to continue sharing. Still do, and they are teens now.

I am not sure about the safety side of having two young children in a room together. DS1 was very kind to DS2 and wouldn't have ever deliberately hurt him but he absolutely would have been capable of trying to get the baby out of the cot and accidentally hurting him. And of course some older siblings are jealous of their baby siblings.

I suppose it boils down to: I wouldn't leave a 3 year old and a baby in a room on their own together during the day so not sure about doing it overnight.

I think it depends on what the other options are for where your husband can have his desk. Also if he does a lot of external calls then a separate office is more important than if he doesn't.

if your DH works from home 3 days per week, he definitely needs the office.

kids can share until the oldest is 10 or so, so put them in together and they will enjoy it.

Thank you all, definitely have given us lots to think about.

I think we have the same age gap? Mine are 3 years apart. Also the same rooms and dp office, although we both wfh. My oldest is desperate to share his bedroom with his baby sister when she's big enough. She will be staying in with me until she's night weaned though. I will see how sensible they both are then, dp has no problems giving up the office for her. It won't be until baby girl is ready for a bed though, my son would be trying to get into her cot for cuddles, or getting her out. Which is lovely, but dangerous.

I hated sharing with my little brother, but we had a 6 year age gap and I didn't get my own room until 17... He woke me a lot with night terrors and severe asthma (lots of ambulances and we had a nebuliser at home). We're good friends now though :)

Oh, we both wfh 4.5 days a week also (compressed hours to avoid day 5 of childcare). Our bedroom is massive so dp could easily set up in there with his second screen. But I'm a nomad and move around our home to work wherever I'm comfy with a laptop. Not everyone needs an office :)

We are having ours share. We both need our offices to work as we are both perma WFH, so those rooms are non-negotiable really. So our two will share if it works out okay.

It's not safe to have a baby sharing with a toddler.

Family friends had their little boys in the same room - 3 and 9m. The big one woke up at night and decided that he wanted to snuggle with his little brother, tried to climb into the cot, fell, landed on his brother. The baby had 3 broken bones and internal bleeding, he was in hospital for weeks.