Young kids sharing room - how do you get them to leave each other alone?

[BertieBotts]

I have a 1.10yo (DS3) and 4.10yo (DS2) They share a bedroom but currently I get 1yo to sleep outside the room and bring him in.

However, this isn't really working and I think he's ready to start lying in his cot and falling asleep there. If DS2 is asleep, this works fine. When DS2 isn't asleep, it doesn't. He tries to talk to me or tries to talk to DS3 who gets excited and then they're both sitting up in fits of the giggles. I thought they'd get fed up and fall asleep but they just wind each other more and more up.

It's annoying. Any tips on how to approach this? I've tried telling DS2 that he needs to lie down and show DS3 what to do but it's just too exciting for him and he can't seem to help himself.

Maybe moving the cot so they can't easily see each other?

Can you put the younger one to bed an hour earlier? Change the bedtime routine a bit? Mine share but they're only a year apart so always had the same bedtime.
Never really had issues unless on holiday, when apparently no one sleeps! I think it depends on the DCs, I was very lucky. Or perhaps just blocked it all from my mind (they're teens now).

I think divide and conquer is the only option tbh.

Could you put the baby down first and then leave the room with the older one to do stories etc. in your room/downstairs. Then once the little one is asleep just go and put the big one in, quick quiet snuggle and out.

Or put the older one down and keep the little one out until he's asleep and then put the baby in.

I do think moving the cot so they can't see each other would help though.

We divide and conquer by putting the older one to sleep in our room and then moving them when we go to bed. Working towards the littlest one going to sleep reliably and then we'll put them back together but stagger bedtimes.

Same age gap here. DC1 would never leave DC2 to sleep, we still have DC2 in a cot in our bedroom. No plans to move her until she's able to sleep through reliably and we're happy for her to be on another floor, so probably not until she's 2.5 at least and then I hope DC1 will be a bit more sensible!

It's actually the older one who is usually exhausted by 7 and the younger one is still running circles around the living room at 8 because he's had a late nap at nursery. So when DS2 falls asleep straight away I can sneak DS3 in later when he's a bit more tired and likely to want to lie down anyway. But if DS2 is still awake for whatever reason then it is all exciting that we've come in.

We have a video monitor, but it's pointed at the cot as DS2 objected to it "looking at him" and said it was scary. Maybe I can move it without him noticing.