The day is nearing.
Source: discountbeds.ca via Tottums on Pinterest
- I’ll get my extra bedroom back. We live in a modest, 1400 square foot, 3 bedroom home that was built in 1980-something. Space is PRECIOUS when there are two boys involved. I want my spare bedroom/crafting/blogging room back. Currently, my ‘office’ resides at our dining room table. I have all kinds of fun daydreams of making the Froggy’s room an extra lounging space. Maybe a pull out sofa, a TV, bean bags … that sort of thing. Basically, we’re going to stick everything that doesn’t have a spot, in that room. If we can just get my sewing machine off the top of my dryer, I’ll call it a win.
- Two little boys, in one little room. When I was growing up and moving around, whether or not my sister and I shared a room depended on where we lived and how many rooms it had. For the most part though, we always had our own rooms. I feel like with the boys so much closer together in age though – this needs to work. Soon enough they’ll be older and will want/need their own space … but right now they’re best friends. We should take advantage of that for as long as possible, right?
Oh I know there will be issues. There will be : He’s on my side of the room! He always gets to sleep on the top bunk! His toys are in my way! I figure this just helps to build character though. Kinda like how my parents made me make friends, and then leave them behind every few years when we moved? This is what I’m telling myself though. Character = good. Blogging/crafting/guest bedroom = gooder.
Will your kids share rooms eventually? Any tips from those who are already there?
Whew. Ummmm let’s see…My boys started out in separate rooms. They’re 19 months apart and we moved to a new house when the youngest was about 18 months old. When we moved to the new house, I put them into the same room, a crib and a toddler bed. It “worked” in that eventually they would both sleep in there for an hour or so, but we were always tiptoeing around trying to get the older one in bed after the younger one was asleep. Then for awhile the older one slept on the couch.
After awhile I was totally fed up with the situation, took down the older one’s toddler bed entirely, and put the mattress in the closet of the playroom (kind of like a Murphy bed, we would open the doors and put the mattress on the floor at bedtime). That worked for awhile, until this summer when they (at age 4 and about 2.5) decided they really really really wanted to sleep in the same room.
In a moment of weakness, exhausted because my husband was out of town for work for 2 months, I put the toddler bed back together and now they do share a room. And actually it’s been pretty great. Sometimes (like last night) one of them will wake the other up but mostly they giggle a bit and play before bedtime but go right to sleep.
My plan is to buy bunk beds that separate into two twin beds so that they can use them as bunk beds OR twin beds. I don’t think they’ll be ready for bunk beds for a few years, I’m afraid of late night emergency room visits!
Our boys already share a room, and have since Rory moved into his crib at about four months.
There isn’t really an issue of them fighting over space or toys, because everything is in the loft, just outside their bedroom. [I realize we're incredibly lucky to have that extra space, though.] This is because when I send them to their room for misbehaving [it's only happened a few times with Deacon so far], I don’t want them to see it as a place to go and play when they’re supposed to be thinking about what they did. The only thing kept in their room is Rory’s giant bear from his first birthday and a lot of books on Ikea spice rack shelves.
They generally have the same bedtime [I know, bad mama], so that isn’t a problem. Deacon sleeps through ANYTHING, so even if Rory wakes up and starts crying, Deacon generally sleeps through it. The only problem we’ve had there is the one time Deacon was sick and I had to keep sneaking into the room to make sure he hadn’t gotten sick all over his bed again. I quickly learned that a pallet of blankets on our floor is best for when they’re feeling bad.
We’ll be moving them to bunk beds around Christmas time, I think. I THINK. We first have to put Rory in the toddler bed, and that just hasn’t happened. I don’t think he’ll be quite as good as Deacon was when it comes to staying in bed after bedtime.
Whew! Is that enough?
I had the girls (4 and 2) in separate rooms- well, theoretically. The 4 year old was a co-sleeper and never really warmed up to her own room. The 2 year old slept in her own room until she was probably 17 months. Tired of the co-sleeping arrangement, I decided to try them out sharing a double bed. It worked wonders for us. The cuddling co-sleeper has a new cuddle buddy and they love sharing a room.
They have been requesting bunk beds recently, so that may be a tax refund purchase for us as well.
I would TOTALLY move my boys into the same room one day…if this is, indeed a boy!
our kids will not be sharing a room unless we are staying in a hotel. Mostly because we have two different genders, but even if we had two kids of the same gender, they would still have their own rooms. My husband shared a room with his brother and they both hated it. It didn’t help that there was 7yrs difference between them. I grew up an only child so I always had my own room. We think that personal space is good for both kids since they have to share toys. The bedrooms are something that they can definitely call their own.
I always wanted bunk beds as a kid – I think they will love it!
I always wanted bunk beds. I grew up sharing a room with my sister,and my two older boys also share a room. I love it and I totally eavesdrop on their bedtime conversations Plus, it preps them for having a college roomate an/or wife one day.
Our boys are the same age split as yours. I’m thinking the same thing of them sharing a room before too long, but not sure on the bed situation yet. A 5 year old in a top bunk terrifies me. I’m afraid mine would need to go to the bathroom during the night and fall trying to climb down the later or worse yet….forget there is a ladder and climb over the railing or something. I’m thinking we may try a trundle bed type thing. I think the furniture manufacturer makes a trundle for my son’s current bed and we could just buy another twin mattress. Granted, that means the floor would have to be clear enough to pull the trundle out at night, but I think we can work on it. Only time can tell. Right now, my 4 year old is up an hour to 30 minutes earlier than our 1 year old…..so we’ll have to see what spring brings!
@Carolinadaisy The hardest part about the bunks will be keeping the Froggy off of it. Although I already can’t keep him off the swing set in the back yard … so you might have a point. I’m not a fan of trundles for the same reason as you pointed out. I know that with two boys in a room, the floor will NEVER be clean, lol.
I shared a room with my younger brother until I was about 10. It was good. I think all kids should have to do this honestly.
My girls are 17 months apart. When my younger one was a baby, they were in separate rooms. I felt that her schedule would disturb my oldest. But once they were on the same schedule, they really wanted to be in the same room!
So, now they share a room, and they love it. They are now 6 and almost 5, and there are no disputes over space or anything like that. They just love being together…It was the best thing we could have done.
Now – I know as they get older those feelings are going to change, lol. But that’s okay – I think having to share a space with a sibling teaches them a lot. I was an only child for 10 years, then had a brother, so I never shared a room. To be honest, I think I had a harder time adjusting to college because all of a sudden I had to share my space with 7 other girls.
Being the only female in your house, you are automatically entitled to your own room. Dad’s get their “Man Cave”. This time, you get your “Mom-cave”. I think that is the only real good trade-off. Don’t you think?
@JaneAlexander I like your way of thinking Jane!
Well, my kids are too little for tips, but they “share” a room already. Currently though, the baby sleeps in our bed and Gavin sleeps in K’s bed. I guess they just share a playroom right now…but there are bunkbeds!
Here’s to you getting your room back!
I feel like having that particular bunk bed can help with the fighting–the lower bunk is bigger, which is a plus, and the upper bunk is the upper bunk. Maybe they’ll happily switch off.
Hey, i was looking for the bunk bed design for my kids room. I really like the designs and will gonna make the same for my kids too.
I have a baby girl (7 months) and a boy (3.5) and my goal is to have them share a room when she is ready to be out of the crib. Right now my son adores his little sister, and constantly wants to make her laugh and he is great at noticing if she needs a toy or another blanket. But I plan to involve them (first him, and later both) in the conversation about if they want to share a room. And then when he turns 10, to start the conversation of him getting his own room again now that he’s older.
Still, five years of having an extra room again sounds heavenly!!