Happy Camper Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 DD9 and DS6 each have their own rooms, and DS6mos is in the master bedroom in a crib. He is just starting to sleep through the night more consistently (3 nights in a row! yee-ha!), but he is a VERY light sleeper and we have an extremely creaky floor. We use a sound machine, but it hasn't prevented numerous wakings. He also has the tendency to thrash around in his sleep occasionally (including slamming his legs on the crib mattress), waking me up, even if he then goes back to sleep. It has also been a challenge to do things in my room (put away laundry, vacuum...) since the ideal time to do those things is when he's sleeping, but then he's in my room! Our long-range plan was to wait until the baby is older and put the boys together in bunk beds (eventually), but I'm thinking of pushing up the time line. So now we're thinking of putting DD and DS into one room and giving the baby his own space temporarily, and then eventually putting the boys together. DD & DS get along pretty well (although they do have their moments!). I'm looking for feedback from those that have combined their kids - what issues cropped up? Did sibling rivalry get worse? Was keeping the room clean harder? Any tips or things I should know before attempting this? P.S. DD and DS seem OK with the idea as long as it includes bunk beds, which my MIL has generously offered to buy for them. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I have my 10 year old daughter and almost 5 year old son sharing a room but they also have a large divider wall as well. They chose this arrangement themselves when we bought the house and really do love it for the most part. The only real issue we have at times is when my son makes a mess and does not want to clean it up, my daughter ends up doing it. It is a problem that I can deal with though:tongue_smilie:. They have to go to bed at the same time( it is when we do our main family reading time) but once my son falls asleep my daughter is allowed to read,write in her journal or write her books and sometimes come back downstairs where we will watch a movie or play a game together. Shared rooms seem to work fine for us but I do push for quiet time where each child can spend time alone in their room if they want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Both of my girls have always had a combined room (well, after the age of 1, that is). They've never known different. We had the space for separate rooms, but honestly, we just wanted them to get used to the idea for the inevitable future move when we WOULDN'T have the space. Now they WANT to be together (most of the time, that is :glare:). I think your case might be different, given the ages, but explaining that it is is a temporary solution might be a good idea. One good thing: it has limited the number of toys. We don't have a separate playroom in our home (for strangely philosophical reasons -- as well as weight limitations due to military moves!!!) so we always have a built-in excuse not to buy more toys! Keeping the room clean is an issue. PDG is a neat-freak, and LLL is pretty messy. PDG gets frustrated that LLL won't keep tidy, so there have been moments of anger spawned from this area of conflict. I think having a bit of understanding as a parent is helpful - your DC probably have different personalities, and you might have to let a some things slide a bit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I'm all in favor of siblings sharing bedrooms. I usually had to do so when I was growing up. It was just the way life was, and we didn't think about it one way or the other. Occasionally we might dream about having our own room, but on the whole this was normal in our family, and it was fine. One arrangement that worked particularly well was when I shared a room with the sister that is 6 years younger than me. We put the bunk bed smack in the middle of the room. Half of the room was hers, and half was mine. Another option I have seen work well is using loft beds to expand the available space. There again, half the room "belongs" to one kid, and half to the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I combined two boys and a girl about 12 years ago. Ds13 was a baby then and it was so inconvenient for the two boys to have him in their room. They had to be ever so quiet, not go in during his nap times, etc. I really disliked the idea of putting dd in with the boys, but I knew it was just a temporary fix until ds was old enough to join his brothers and I could switch them back again. Now the three boys share one room and my two daughters share the smaller room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LND1218 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 We have a similar issue. The baby is a light sleeper and it hasn't worked out to have him share a room with anyone! My first baby that needed to is my only one who won't! SIGH! So 3 are in one room together - it's just fine. They actually like. It is harder to keep clean, but it's temporary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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