Could you guys give me the pros and cons of siblings sharing a room vs having their own rooms at a young age? I have two daughters, 2yo and 5m and we’re in the process of buying our first home. Thanks for your input!
Posted Feb 14, 2022, 4:41 PM UTC
I waited to put my two in the same room until the baby slept through the night. Coincidentally, or maybe not, I stopped BFing at about a year. So younger was a year old, moved her in with the older. Baby was still in a crib. Baby dropped to one nap and I had six months of heaven when they both slept at least 2 hours at naptime and usually slept through the night.
If you don't have toys in their room, you may be able to combine earlier and keep one out while the other naps. Trouble spots may be different napping times and the baby waking the toddler if crying at night.
I didn't see any behavioral issues from them sharing a room.
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Same here!2yo son and 8month daughter. Boy has his own room and miss is still in ours. I want her out though
My brother was 2 when I was born and we shared a room for a few years. The only real issues according to my mom was that if my brother wanted me he'd climb into my crib or when I got older he'd help me escape!
Also, when we got older and moved to a bigger house it was VERY difficult to separate us/get us to actually sleep in our own rooms.
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at that ages, sleeping schedule and waking eachother up from crying is a big con.
My kids started sharing a room when my youngest was 6 months old and his brother was 5. No issues. Once in awhile the crying would wake up the 5 year old but not often. They are 5 and 10 now and love sharing a room (not like we have a choice though, only have two bedrooms!).
We have three in one room 6,3 and 19mo. The biggest issue is the constant mess! Bedtimes can be a bit if a pain as the 6yo likes to do rollypollies in bed but since introducing the yoto player to our bedtime routines it's smoothed out a lot. Never really have much issues with them waking each other up with crying, they just sleep through it.
Biggest con is the 2 year old waking up the 4 year old constantly with crying in the night. If the 2 year old was in his own room I'd let him cry it out for a while but we can't do that when it's impacting the 4 year old so we need to constantly go in there during the night.
Pro is obviously it should help them bond and not be lonely. I think the night crying thing should end within a year or so.
My kids are 2 and 4.5, down side is my oldest needs to fall asleep in our bed because her crazy sister doesn't always fall asleep right away and will party, Same with naps. Their bed time is 30 mins apart but i still wouldn't have them go to sleep together, it just hasn't worked out yet.
This was a problem until the 2yo had her crib converted, because she climbed out, so previously, it was good from around 8 months to until 2 years.
Also if the younger one wakes up she generally wakes her sister up, so dealing with 2 kids at 5am on Sunday morning vs 1
Bump. I’m in a similar situation. We rent and have the space to give them (2.5y/o, 6mo) their own rooms, but I’m debating on giving them a bigger room and keeping the small one as an office/workout space
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What's the informal price formula for your area? It's usually something along the lines of "perunit + perBR*#BR's." All the major developmental differences are pretty piddling next to a couple hundred thousand dollars.
Do you prefer colonial or Victorian floor plans (or the styles that most often come with each)? The latter is usually twice the rooms for the same square footage.
What are your personal space requirements? It might make sense to find one of those places with a giant master suite an giving it to the girls while you and your husband take the modest bedroom and make use of the kitchen and living and dining rooms instead of having the entire unit be a den.
Personally, I had my own room in a large colonial revival and like the idea of having the kids grow up with shared rooms, possibly even getting a 2br with a giant second bedroom that I can screen into boys' and girls' sides (my wife says I want the tenement/All of a Kind experience), as it teaches some modesty in living situations and gives some experience sharing space. I'm even holding off on a place in which as least some of the kids could get their own places and is at a decent price and is already the style I want (no redecorating or new moulding needed) because I want to hold out for a smaller place that's cheaper (even if possibly not as good a value).
Big con would be different sleep times/crying before sleepy times. Toddler is good to go but the younger one likes to holler for a bit