Thoughts on your own kids sharing a room

[mlc1982]

Does anybody on here have young kids of their own who share a bedroom?

I am contemplating changes in my set up and it could potentially mean putting my two girls in the same bedroom. It isn't necessary but an avenue I'm exploring.

What would pros/cons be to having children share a room if it's not really needed?

[playfelt]

My girls shared most of their life and I shared with my sister my entire life and it was a double bed for us till we were teens.

Think about their temperments before you do it. Also realize that when they misbehave sending them to their room won't be an option - nothing like sending two feuding people to a small space.

My girls were opposite in the sense of one needed quiet and dark, one liked to listen to music, etc. We did have to set up a separate private space the one girl could go when she needed to. The younger they are when you do it the more they will grow to think it is normal.

Tell them that you will reconsider down the road and when they are older they might appreciate separate spaces or be such good friends it is like sleepovers all the time. How close they are in age might also make a difference.

[mom-in-alberta]

I have 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. And right now, due to our home set up (we have family living in our basement) the girls share a room AND the boys share a room. It certainly comes with it's challenges, but I don't think that it's a bad thing.
My boys have pretty much always shared, with the exception of about a year when we first moved into our home. For the most part, I think they will have a closer bond. The biggest challenge for us sometimes is bedtime. The boys are 2 years apart, they go to bed at the same time and on occasion I have to lay the hammer down (lol) because they are giggling, talking or bugging each other. I have been known to make one go to bed in my room, and I bring them back in when they are asleep, if they just won't settle. The girls are 4 years apart, and because my little one is only 5 months old (still figuring out sleep schedules), they don't usually go to bed at the same time. One typically goes down first, and then the other some time later.
Funnily enough, even when we "get back" the other two bedrooms in our house, the kids will still be sharing! The boys want to have a shared bedroom and a "man-cave", and the girls are going to share so that we can have an office space.

[Sandbox Sally]

My kids like sharing. Even when my girls had their own rooms, they slept together in one. Right now, the girls share a room and my son has his own, but the girls spent so many nights in my son's room, we ended up putting in a double bed. Now, believe it or not, most nights they ALL sleep in one room! I think it teaches compromise and closeness.

[soranea]

I have two daughter, 6 1/2, and 1 1/2. They are sharing a room due to space restrictions in our house. Sometimes I feel it goes well, sometimes, not so much. IMO, I would much rather have them in separate rooms. My LO is still in a crib, and my older daughter has a loft bed. My LO is always climbing on the loft bed when she's in there playing, which makes me really nervous to transition her to a toddler bed. It is frustrating when one wakes up in the middle of the night, the other one almost always wakes up too. My older daughter get's really frustrated when she just wants to play in her room but it's nap time for the LO. In my experience it hasn't worked out great for us, but there are lots of factors to consider when having kids share a room, and ultimitely you won't know if it'll work for your kids unless you try it out (and give yourself a good month or so to work out all the kinks). I have a friend who has 3 (1,2,3 y/o) and they all share a room, just one queen size mattress on the floor. It seems to work great for her kids, but that's all they've ever known.

[jec]

I don't see anything wrong with it at all! I know quite a few families that have kids sharing rooms for different reasons.
Our 2 girls have their separate rooms however, they sleep together every night and one room is always left empty!

[sunnydays]

I think it's actually good for kids to share a room. It teaches them to get along, share, compromise and strengthens the bond between them. I shared a room with my brother until we were 9 and 12 and I have special memories of it. My two little ones started out sharing a room, but we had to move my daughter's crib into our office for now because they kept waking each other up...especially at naptime. Now we are considering moving them together again as the youngest sleeps through the night now, but we'll wait until my almost 4 year old goes to school in September if possible to avoid the naptime problem. They are boy and girl, but I see no problem with them sharing until they are a bit older and need more privacy.

[Sarah]

I have a soon to be 9 yo son, a 6yo son and a 4yo dayghter and they all share the same room. The boys have a bunk bed and my daughter a single bed. They sleep in the room beside our room (my husband and mine). There is another room downstairs but none of them wants to go sleep downstairs so far! They don't seem to mind about sharing. A little bit harder when my "intellectual" 9yo wants to be alone reading in his room and that my 6yo little monster wants to pick on him!!! Other for that, it goes perfectly, even the sleeping at night. I give them 5 minutes to read, 5 more to talk, then that's it!

[Momof4]

I raised 3 girls and one boy. At least 2 of my girls were sharing a room until the oldest 2 were grown and moved out. By then they were teenagers. It was always a challenge for the girls who were sharing because they had less privacy. I would let them use my room for a phone call or homework, etc. if they really wanted some privacy.

On the upside, my children are all best friends and very close to each other. Do you have an office or den or family room that isn't used all the time that you can set up a special place for them to have some private time like that? It helps.

[Judy Trickett]

I shared a room with my sister (we are two and a half years apart) my entire life while living at home (19 years) and HATED every minute of it. I desperately wanted my own room - a space I could call mine.

I will never forget the first day of my own apartment when I moved out to go to University. I was in heaven that it was just mine and mine alone and I didn't have to share.