do older kids need more room/s?

[dunscared]

presently in my dream home only 3 beds but only 2 kids aged 1 and 3. not a small place either just not loads of rooms but has masses of outdoor space.
every xmas with influx of large plastic garages, prams, kitchens etc etc husband wants to move.
he's found 5 bed place in our village, same living area in sq feet but 2 extra bedrooms which could be their playrooms, minimal outdoor space and would add 150k to our mortgage with stamp duty etc!
his view is as they get older they need more room.
my view is once they grow out of the plastic tat and move onto playstations they need less?? also isn't outdoor space more important as they get older??

any wisdom greatfully recieved especially if it's in line with mine
thanks

i think you are right, they do grow out of all the plastic tat, we have a three bed house and are expecting no 4 in a few weeks, its perfectly fine, i am ruthless with toys, you get good at sorting storage, donating to charity shops etc.

and already with ds1 who is 8 he doesnt really have big toys anymore, its more knex, lego, science kits etc, which can all go in boxes on shelves or under the bed

a garden is imp, kids need space to run around, my three will spend the summer in the garden, they def need it more as they get older, we have a climbing frame, bikes, scooters, swing ball etc all outdoor stuff its good for them.

and imo teenagers certainly dont need that much space, when i was a teen i swopped and let my little sis have the big room whilst i had the box room, as long as i had space for my stereo, tv etc i was happy

We are working on the basis that bedroom space more important as they get older (ie 10 or more) - homework/privacy etc. We might have to move/extend in a year or two. At present DC share a room.

Not sure about outdoor space - think it depends on what is around the area not just your own space (parks, places to ride bikes etc). Neighbours have huge huge garden and their children in early teens and never spend that much time outside from what I see. Mine outside a lot but they are 6/7yr olds.

A lot comes down to location, personal preference, lifestyle I think.

Well DD is 12 and the only things she needs in her bedroom are shelves for her CD's and DVD's and her stereo and TV on the wall! Homework is done downstairs, where I can see its being done! Its useful to have room for a space bed of some description, either blow up or pull out. DD has a chair bed so that when she has her mates round, there's somewhere else for them to sit and easy to drop down for sleeping on. I sometimes wonder if she needs a wardrobe at all, since most of her clothes, spend most of the time on the floor!

Spare bed, not space, she's not into space & astronauts!

thanks
feel extra rooms all need heating, furnishing etc and often end up a dumping ground
as we're pretty open plan stuff has to be tidied up every day but just dump it all in those tubs from mothercare and shove it all in the corner.
have bought a playshed for garden which will take so long to put up he won't want to move!

The garden space isn't essential either tbh, since they just want to get out of the home environment most of the time! As parents, you are a total embarrassment to them! The only thing that would be a bonus, I suppose, is when they hit that age when they want friends of the opposite sex round! I don't want boys in dd's bedroom, so a 'chill' room would be handy. We have enough space downstairs though, so that she can be in one room downstairs and me and DH in the other. (keeping a careful eye on things, from afar!)

as tehy get older they stay up later and you get into a power struggle over tv usage in the evenings and at weekends. so i think they have less Stuff (dds have SO much stuff you wouldn't think the world could contain it but it is mostly clothes/makeup) but for sanity you start needing more tvs/pcs, and then the big question you have to answer is how you feel about them having tv/playstation/computer in their bedroom.

if you are happy with that, you don't need more bedrooms but their bedrooms will become 'bedsits' so need to be reasonably sized. if you plan to ban that kind of thing from bedrooms then you will need a separate sitting room for them. (unless you are The Waltons and plan to spend your evenings chatting happily over an improving game of scrabble together).

I'm reading this with interest,as the dd's have so much stuff I am at my wits end.They share a room,& we don't have a playroom,so it is quite cramped.I'd love a bigger house,but to do that we'd have to move to a town,which none of us wants.Houses here never come up for sale,ours was the first in 10 years & that was only because the owner died.

As a result,I'm absolutely ruthless,I take at least one bag a week to the charity shop & the rule is-one toy in,one toy out.All big plastic toys such as the toy kitchen,live in the garden or the garage.Sadly,the conservatory in which I'd planned as a place to sit & read in peace,is full of their toys too.But I'm working on it.

I do dread birthdays & Christmas though,trying to find a home for evedrything is a real pain.

Haven't read the whole thread but we have found with a teen dd that an extra reception room for her and her friends would be worth moving for.

I don't think they need lots of bedroom space although dd does have desk in her room ,she has very big room.

What we do regret doing is making our dowmstairs all open plan.It's great as a family but dd has no where to hide with her friends except her room which isn't suitable really .

In an ideal world, it would be nice, but they don't really need it. I mean, it won't kill anyone to go without it.

Agree with expat.

And in response to missingtheaction, we certainly did not have a separate tv etc when we were teens. Tv programs were negotiated with our parents. We all shared one tv, which was in the living room. If we wanted privacy we went up to our smallish bedrooms to read a book/listen to the radio. Certainly no tv's etc in our rooms.

And I don't see the need for separate tv's for teens. You can as a family share one tv. Without being the Waltons