Do your little ones share a room? Post Reply

[cols13]

I have a 3yr & 21 month old boy & girl, who are naturally very close. I am lucky enough to have a 3 bed house. I started out with them in their own rooms but started to resent the waste of space and wondering of the benefits of sharing - closer relationship, learning to share & be considerate, etc. but I'm worried they are not getting enough sleep.

Does anyone have any advice/comments? Do you think it's a good idea?
Obviously people do it out of necessity, but does anyone do it out of choice?

My 21month daughter is also desperate to move into a "big bed" so there will be the additional disruption of her being able to get out of bed at night.

Let me know what you think

[2009Kat]

Can't help I am afraid but I would also be grateful for any tips/guidance on this as currently our 7 month old is still in our room and we are wondering how/when to move him in with big brother (baby still wakes at least twice a night.....). Our two will definitely have to share as we need spare room for guests/office.....

[LTS]

I really want our kids to share a room too. Our boy is 9 month and daughter 27 mnths. I think it would be fine but am apprehensive about the first few weeks of them getting used to it.
Would be great to hear from anyone with experience of this.

[sezwedz]

Our two aged just 2 and 5 started sharing about 1 year ago. We didn't have any choice as we have only 2 bedrooms. They both use to wake in the night but when they started sharing it sorted that out,and both pretty much sleep through now. There is quite a bit of mucking around at bed time but they soon tire of it and fall to sleep about the same time. I would say give it a go.

[rooting4tooting]

We have a 6 year and a two year old.
Our 6 year old was always a good sleeper, so we were able to move our baby (at the time!) quite early. Our eldest always wanted to have her sister with her.
So, ask your eldest for a view!

[uptheoctave]

I have 2 girls - a 22 month old and an 18 month old. They've both shared a room for the last 10 months or so and it's been absolutely fine (touch wood). As sezwedz says, there's the occasional bit of mucking about and giggling but that makes me smile and realise they're normal and on the whole they both sleep right through. They ARE both still in cots although when I go and stay with a friend sometimes, they sleep in the same room there - the eldest in a double bed and the youngest in a travel cot. They sleep right through there too and actually, if the youngest wakes first and starts getting grotty, the eldest has got out of bed, gone to the cot and played through it with her until I've come in the room.

I found that having a night light was a HUGE distraction for them - meaning they oculd see each other so were stimulated, rather than winding down and sleeping. So if your children are going to share a room I'd recommend complete darkness for them. Oh, I also put them to bed at the same time, with the lights on, they both know each other are there, I switch the light off and leave the room (after a story or twenty).

Good luck!

[Almaceti]

I have two boys, now 5 and 2 years old. They have shared the same bedroom since the little one was about 2 months old and it has always been fine. The little one used to wake up several times a night (and still wakes up very early in the morning) but usually it didn't disturb the eldest one's sleep.
They love sharing their bedroom and sometimes they would like to sleep in the same bed!
We do not have a choice at the moment but if we had another bedroom, I'm not sure they would prefer having their own.
Definitely ask them what they prefer!

[daisyb]

Hi, I have 2 girls aged 4 and 2 who share a room and have done now for about 6 months. I wanted to do it as I shared with my sister when I was growing up and also I wanted to try and make bedtimes easier as I was being driven mad by doing story time in their rooms separately. Also, was hoping that when I put them to bed they would just chat and not bother me - no such luck but it has got easier. My only downsides are that sometimes my youngest is tired and wants to sleep but her big sis keeps her awake and then if one wakes up early in the morning I am like lightning out of bed to avoid the other one waking up as well. Aside from this I love them sharing a room and just adore seeing them sleeping side by side snuggled up in their beds.

[Honeymummy]

I love it since they share their room, they really have a good giggle sometimes, or when they are tired I take the younger one to bed earlier. We first tried for a w-e when I needed a spare room for my parents to stay, and then we left it like that as the older one wanted to keep it that way.

[cols13]

Thanks all for the comments. We are now on the second night of the youngest in "big" bed and I had to remove the eldest for half hour while she did the multiple rounds of getting up/being put straight back but seems to be working tonight! Hopefully this is an ongoing experiment. Glad there are others who think it's good for them too!

[3boysrock]

My two little boys have shared a room for about 9months, since they were just 3 and 20months. It has always been a huge success. They sleep perfectly, altho I admit they always slept well, they have long tired of pre-bed antics, they go to bed together, read stories together, wake up together, and now even the younger one doesn't have sides on his cot anymore. The older used to trot into our room at night and we pushed him back every night, but this stopped as soon as his brother was with him. The younger has not left the room yet. They actually love the nightlight, but each child is different.

It also makes staying at friends houses easier, as they are used to sharing and where bedtime in a new house has in the past been more fraught, now it's dead simple.

I would definitely say give it a go, I think they will enjoy it and there are huge benefits to having one bedtime scenario in one room. We absolutely love the conversations they have in the morning, and they play very happily in there too.

I hope it goes well!

[cols13]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Sleep is the biggest thing now I think. My eldest's behaviour is being affected as he's getting tired as his sister is now waking up at around 6am (presumably because of the light - must locate the blackout blind!) She's now regressed to an extra nap in the morning (which she dropped many months ago) but although my eldest really needs a daytime nap because of all this disturbance, he hasn't had one for at least 6 months & so naturally resists it.

So not sure what to do. Not sure whether this is a passing phase or they are just not going to get enough sleep being in the same room. I wonder whether getting them extra daytime sleep is just going to prolong the issue or whether I should drop it and go through some pain assuming it's a short-term thing.

Anyone got any ideas?!