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Original poster

Master bed on different floor to DCs bedrooms

24 replies

elelfrance · 25/03/2016 20:14

Looking at a house that we love, thats on 3 levels, with the master bed/bath/walk-in-wardrobe taking up the entire top floor.

My DM is telling me I can't sleep on a different floor from the DCs, who are still very small (2.5 & 5 months). Now, they are both good sleepers, the older one very rarely stirs at night, and the baby might stir once or twice to get his dummy put back in (he's in his own room)

I get what DM is saying, but I wonder would it not be ok with a monitor in each of their rooms... really like this house, but worried that this will turn out to be a problem... anyone ever had this situation with small DCs? Would it stop you buying an otherwise perfect house?

OP posts:

SweepTheHalls · 25/03/2016 20:16

I'm buying a house like this, but master on floor 1 and children all on top floor. I'm starting to worry about them being so far away too

ForeverLivingMyArse · 25/03/2016 20:18

I wouldn't like it when they were both so small. That's just me though!

cathyandclaire · 25/03/2016 20:18

We've had this, never been a problem at all, I sleep on a hair trigger though!

Luckystar1 · 25/03/2016 20:19

I wouldn't but primarily because I'm extremely lazy and couldn't stand having to waken up any more than absolutely necessary at night!!

Are your DC in their own beds? My only actual concern would be them trying to find me at night time if they went roaming.

PurpleDaisies · 25/03/2016 20:20

It's absolutely fine-we grew up in a house where my parents' bedroom was on another floor. Go with what you think, not your dm.

yomellamoHelly · 25/03/2016 20:22

I would hear them. One of our dc sleeps on a different floor. It's not an issue. (Will occasionally lie in bed swearing under my breath because I don't want to get out of my cosy bed, but that's it.)

Original poster

elelfrance · 25/03/2016 20:24

Luckystar1, DD is stil in her cot so can't wander, though we'll be moving her to a bed soon, so she could start.. but she generally sleeps like a log.. DS is 5 months, so not wandering yet, but in 2 years time... good point though, i was thinking about it. more from the point of view of us traipsing up & down, and not about them trying to get to us, and being stopped by a stairgate

OP posts:

BathTangle · 25/03/2016 20:24

The house we lived in when DS1 was born (until he was almost 3) was like this - it wasn't a problem. We had a monitor so could always hear him and it was not difficult to go downstairs to him. The house we lived in when DS2 was born had a weird layout in that the DC's room shared a wall with ours but there was an up and down staircase between us (barn conversion) - again fine, we could always hear them and we had a stair gate to prevent them falling down their stairs. Now we're back to the same arrangement as the first house - just realised that means I've never slept without stairs between me and the DCs!

What particular problem do you foresee? My DCs (now 10 and 7) come up the stairs to me in the night if they need me - I have a nightlight on the stairs.

doyouseeme1 · 25/03/2016 20:24

I wouldn't buy it. I've discussed these types of houses with my dp and agreed it would only be somewhere we would look at if we had older children.

Placeinthesun · 25/03/2016 20:28

Never been a problem for me. All 3 kids were on floor above master in old house. Now live in a maisonette.... Dc on top floor, main floor has all reception rooms, my room half a staircase below main floor. Nice as I don't disturb them at night and they don't disturb me if up early. Had monitors when Dc were little.

northernlostsoul · 25/03/2016 20:31

My worry would just be if anyone got in they are there first. Sorry. But i could imagine more people would say that and that's why we turned down a house like this. It just didn't sit comfortably.

Luckystar1 · 25/03/2016 20:32

As I say I'm so lazy it would put me off (but I do love those master suites!).

My parents said that when I could get out if the bed, I would stand screaming at the stair gate for one of them to come... But this could happen irrespective of where you are in the house, more a case of the physical obstacle I guess!

You will make it work and really, it's only for a few hours at night!

MadgeMak · 25/03/2016 20:34

We have our bedroom on the top floor with both children (ages 4 and 2) on the floor below. We have a monitor in the youngest's room and he is still in a cot but will put a stair gate on the doorway to his room when moved to a bed. We hear them fine, we leave the landing lights on and doors open so eldest can just walk up the stairs to us if needed. It is slightly more painful traipsing down a flight of stairs to see to the youngest if he wakes but not really a problem in the grand scheme of things as in a couple of years I assume he will just do what the eldest currently does and will come to us if needed.

Belikethatthen · 25/03/2016 20:36

I have been looking at town houses and would prefer the dc to be on the top floor not the middle. I would worry about being on the top floor myself in case of wandering, even with my dc who are older than yours.

Where the main bedroom and ensuite are on the top, I would consider putting my eldest (teen) up there and can see the advantages of her doing her own thing up there out of the way .

LostAtTheFair · 25/03/2016 20:36

We have this. I go through phases of being fine with it and then sometimes getting wobbly about it and moving into the spare room on the first floor. On the whole however, it's fine and wouldn't on its own put me off buying a house.

I would recommend getting a carbon monoxide alarm for the floor where the DCs sleep as well as a smoke alarm and a burglar alarm. Our burglar alarm detects entry and also detects movement at ground floor level so that we would be warned of an intruder well before the intruder made it up to the first floor.

Original poster

elelfrance · 25/03/2016 20:36

interesting, everyone whose had this setup says it works fine, anyone actually had this setup and found it a problem?

OP posts:

MadgeMak · 25/03/2016 20:37

Northernlostsoul, that was one of our concerns too actually so we had a burglar alarm installed that can be zoned so we set it to cover the ground floor when we go to bed. Our house isn't big despite being over three floors, I can be down to my children's rooms within seconds.

Jellibobs · 25/03/2016 20:40

We are on the top floor of our house and DD on the floor below - never had any problems x

timelytess · 25/03/2016 20:46

If its you on the top floor, fine. There was some information re fires that the most deaths occur on the top/attic floor, so I wouldn't want to put children there without an adult to help in emergencies.

jaffajiffy · 25/03/2016 20:51

Do you have another room in the first floor you can use temporarily? We've got ds on 1st floor, dh on 1st floor and me and baby one floor up. We expect to move ds2 out of my room at which point da1 will have to be trained to get out and come up to us. But I guess we are the family for whom it's a problem. Not a bad one and it's such s short time in the grand scheme

caker · 25/03/2016 21:15

I wouldn't, I'd be worried about a fire. I don't even close the stairgate when DD has gone to bed and I am downstairs, or after I have gone to bed in case there is a fire and DD can't open it if I am incapacitated.

MadgeMak · 26/03/2016 07:55

Surely if a fire was so bad that it would incapacitate you before any smoke alarms had gone off, it wouldn't really make any difference if you were on a different floor.

goldenlilliesdaffodillies · 27/03/2016 14:32

I live in a 3 storey house and brought up my children from newborn to teenagers in it. It has been great. We have just switched rooms around as and when needed. When the children were babies our room was very near theirs on the same floor. As the children became older they moved to the top floor and for the teenage years this has been great. They have their own space. I have kept a baby monitor for if they are ill. The only time it has been a problem is if it is exceptionally windy. In these cases (very rare) the children have camped downstairs again for the odd night.

We are moving to another 3 storey house soon.

Londonladybird · 28/03/2016 21:15

Personally I would love this set up! my kids are older but if they need you they will shout and you'll only be a few seconds further than if you were the same floor

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