Kids of the opposite sex sharing a room

[miso]

What do you think of this?

Let's say the girl is three years older than the boy, and they will not be sharing forever (obviously).

Trying to think of what to do in our home with our limited space.

[Leeham Rimes]

I don't see why not. when they get older and need privacy, they can have their own rooms.

[redshoejune]

I think you do what you need to do and keep their feelings priority over others outside the family.
If they have issues with it you could have one sleep on the couch and just store their things together. Not sure how old they are.

[Deleted]

I shared a room with my brother growing up. He was 10 years younger than me. It was no big deal. We had established rules regarding privacy, etc.. I got my own room around 16.

[circa1978]

I think it's totally fine. Your daughter will probably let you know (loudly) when it's no longer working for her.

[jigsy]

I shared a room with my little brother (3 years younger) until I was 13 or 14. I don't think it caused any damage, lol.

[miso]

Sept 18, 2017 17:22:57 GMT -5 jigsy said:

I shared a room with my little brother (3 years younger) until I was 13 or 14. I don't think it caused any damage, lol.

It wouldn't even be that long.

Ideally, I would keep the guest room as is for awhile, so my mom and stepdad have their own room when they come over. When I get my shit together, I'll convert the office/den into a real (albeit tiny) bedroom. Then each kid would have a room (whether I make the new room a guest room or a kid room).

It just seems easier to make her room into a room for two for now!

[hopecounts]

I think it is completely fine until it is uncomfortable for either of the kids and they say something (or their discomfort is clear) or around puberty.
Until that point I don't think it's a big deal for siblings of whatever sex to share.

[sessy]

It's totally fine

[textbookcase]

Totally fine. My brother and I shared for several years

[Velar Fricative]

My brother and I are 16 months apart and we shared a room until he was around 11 and I was 9ish. It was NBD. I got stuck with both of my younger sisters after he got his own room and I much preferred sharing with him over my sisters!

[bronxgirl]

I used to have some issues with that until the reality of raising kids in NYC set in. I live in a 2 BR apartment and if I had a second kid, they would both have to share, regardless of sex. Most of my neighborhood friends with 2 kids are in the same predicament, so I know a lot of brother/sister pairings who share a bedroom. It's pretty much the norm around here and all the kids seem fine.

[thatgirl2478]

I think it's fine. Don't worry about what other people think, if your kids express discomfort with it, deal with it then.

[NandaB]

My two oldest are 6 and 4 and share and have since the youngest was born 2.5 years ago. Honestly they were on the same schedule and play with the same toys so it made more sense then having the 3.5 yr old and the newborn share just because they both had penises.


We have no guest room/office but if we did i would totally have them share to preserve one of those spaces

[miso]

Sept 18, 2017 17:40:40 GMT -5 NandaB said:

My two oldest share and have since the youngest was born 2.5 years ago. Honestly they were on the same schedule and play with the same toys so it made more sense then having the 3.5 yr old and the newborn share just because they both had penises.


We have no guest room/office but if we did i would totally have them share to preserve one of those spaces

I'm actually glad to read this because it sounds a bit selfish to make them share when they really could have their own rooms now (although there would be no place for my parents to sleep when they come over), and our office/den is just a walk-through -- it is not a separate enclosed space and has no closet.

Of course, in my head, I have grand plans to build a guest house on top of our detached garage.

But I have also been planning to remodel our condo for, oh, six years now. (cc: jigsy, who knows this, LOL)

Maybe I'm painting a rosy picture in my head, but I think the kids would actually like sharing while they're young (like under eight).

[tacom]

Totally fine.

[irishbride2]

Mine are 7 and 4 and share. They love it.

they could have their own rooms but they prefer this.

[cleo29]

I think it is fine. I think by the time you are getting to her being in upper elementary school/puberty, I think she would want her privacy.

[ECB]

Yup. Another "its fine". I shared with my brother for a short time when we were young. My dad was a single dad and we were in a 2 bedroom apartment - we shared the master.

[mcsangel2]

Non issue until your daughter gets to middle school.

[jigsy]

I think it would be perfectly fine for them to share right now. It will be nice to have them bond when they are younger too, and I think sharing a room would help facilitate this more.

[bugandbibs]

I think it's totally fine.

Honestly, my kids sleep better sharing a room and get along better because of it.

[miso]

Sept 18, 2017 18:09:33 GMT -5 jigsy said:

I think it would be perfectly fine for them to share right now. It will be nice to have them bond when they are younger too, and I think sharing a room would help facilitate this more.

He will be like her personal doll. LOL.

[sapphireblue]

I shared with my brother until we moved to a different house where we got our own rooms.

He and I really never got along well, we fought a lot, but I am sure that was unrelated to sharing a room. I remember playing with him in our room and it was fine.

My mother often laughs about the fact that our shared room was always a total mess, like you could barely walk on the floor because it was so covered with toys, etc. My mom says she just figured she had two messy kids. Once we got our own rooms, my room was always very neat and his looked like a tornado hit it. Only then when I was 7 did she realize only one of us was okay with clutter.

[onomatopoeia]

Sept 18, 2017 17:44:49 GMT -5 miso said:

Sept 18, 2017 17:40:40 GMT -5 NandaB said:

I'm actually glad to read this because it sounds a bit selfish to make them share when they really could have their own rooms now (although there would be no place for my parents to sleep when they come over), and our office/den is just a walk-through -- it is not a separate enclosed space and has no closet.

Of course, in my head, I have grand plans to build a guest house on top of our detached garage.

But I have also been planning to remodel our condo for, oh, six years now. (cc: jigsy , who knows this, LOL)

Maybe I'm painting a rosy picture in my head, but I think the kids would actually like sharing while they're young (like under eight).

My kids (8 and 11, both boys) share a room even though we have a guest room.  We separated them last year and they lasted 3 days before they started sleeping in the same room again by choice. I was glad because we also have long distance family and the guest room is really nice to have.

My brother and I are 15 months apart and we shared a room for years.  We turned out fine!

[cereal K]

I think sharing a room would be fine, so long as it doesn’t impact their sleep. With my two, that would be my only concern (four years apart, markedly different sleep style).

My kids have their own rooms right now, and we have a dedicated guest room. When we have more than one set of guests, we just displace C for the time on a toddler-air mattress in our bedroom. She thinks of it like a camp-out/treat, and has always been a heavy enough sleeper that it’s no issue. This only happens maybe three times a year. Not sure how frequently your mom and step-dad visit, but this could be an option, too, if room-sharing doesn’t work out.

[illgetthere]

The military makes opposite sex kids share until around 8 in base housing. Not that you should make decisions based upon what the military does ha

[miso]

Sept 18, 2017 18:31:53 GMT -5 illgetthere said:

The military makes opposite sex kids share until around 8 in base housing. Not that you should make decisions based upon what the military does ha

I am excited to hear that my internal cut-off age is the same! Hahahahahaha.

[gerberdaisy]

My kids have the same age gap, but a little younger and we’re having them share. DD (just turned 3) is excited for her brother to sleep in the crib. Fingers crossed it works for a few years at least.

[dcrunnergirl52]

All three of my kids (7 year old DS1, 7 year old DD, 4 year old DS2) share a room right now. We have another bedroom, but use it as a playroom (and in a few months it will be for our new baby).

They love it, and even if we had an extra room, I bet they'd end up together. They would sleep in the same bed if I'd let them (and most nights DS2 and DD do sleep together).

I'd love for DD to have her own room in the near future b/c she's a bit overwhelmed with 2, soon to be 3, brothers, but I don't see that happening for a while.