Young Kids Sharing rooms....how to Make It Work!

I would say that if they are going to share a room at that age, then kkeep the room at one theme. As they get older, give them each 2 walls to decorate with their style.

you make it work, that is how you do it.. in this day and age, MANY kids do in fact share rooms. It's really not that uncommon and in many cultures, is a way of life. You teach the kids to make do. Additionally, kids work it out. they come up with solutions as they get older as to what part of the room is "theirs" . The idea that kids should all have their own room is a modern one... When I was a kid, for a few years, my brother and I shared a room. Was just the way it was as we didn't have much money. Then when I went to a foster home , I shared a room with two other girls. It was all that I knew so it wasn't a big deal. Not to mention, sure as kids get older, they want their privacy, but in some cases, that simply won't come until they are grown and out of the house.
My advice, just don't make a big deal out of it and the kids will follow suit.
Kids , as mentioned, eventually work it out..... especially IF they have to....

It either will work or it will not.
You won't know, unless you try it.

Me: I shared a room with my sibling. I HATED it. It is a bad memory of childhood. This older sibling I shared the room with, was a cantankerous/controlling/bossy Troll.
So eventually, we got our own rooms.

I know a family with 3 kids. 2 boys and a girl. About 2-3 year age differences. They... get no sleep. Because, they keep each other up at night and fight and cause trouble. But this is the only arrangement the family can do. Due to lack of rooms.

At a certain age, a child will want their own privacy/room, if it can be had. And per gender and their changing bodies and development.

If your older 2 kids share a room... don't make the eldest child "responsible" for the 14 month old. Each is at a different age stage and developmentally.

my brother and I shared a room when he was born (and I was one) intill I was 6, and then I shared with my little sister from age 7 intill I was 12. It was fine.

i've got my 2.5 yr old and my 3.5 month old sharing. started it as soon as the baby had to be moved out of the bassinet. i asked my 2 yr old if she wanted her sister to sleep in her room. she said yes, so that made it a little easier. try to make it sound fun & exciting

As A L. said, you make it work. Go with one theme for the room so one doesn't take over the room over the other, make sure they each have their own space for clothing and toys (I truly hated sharing a dresser with my sister who was a slob and asked to take my things out and used a trunk.) Make sure each has a wall to put their drawings, etc, as they get older. They'll also learn what works for them.

You might want to put the younger one down to sleep before the older one, to eliminate talking and playing before bed, for awhile. That way when you put the older one down you can say, "Shhhhh, go right to sleep, so and so's asleep." As they get older expect some "play" time.

Don't worry about it being a difficult adjustment, families do it every day. If you're excited and positive about the arrangement, they will be, too. Have the attitude that "this is what it is, it HAS to work! ; )

Yes! Our oldest was 3.5 years old when #2 was born, so they have always shared a room and when we built the bunks, they never wanted to be separated, so they've always slept together on the bottom bunk. When #3 was born, we offered him his own room. He acted like we were mean trying to separate him!

We recently (like last week) moved to a smaller house and love it. We left one room for a playroom and another designated for beds and dressers for the kids. My husband built a DOUBLE QUEEN bunk bed, so we have our boys on top (9 and 5) and our daughter (3) on the bottom and our 5 month old on a crib mattress on the floor with a bed rail...but once she can't crush him, we will move him in to the bottom bunk, as well. We also co-sleep, so our 5 month old is with us a lot, but we start him out on the crib mattress.

We just moved in to this house last week, but the transition was easy, even getting rid of our daughter's bed. We didn't cause any drama, just said matter of factly how things were going to be in an excited tone.

Like others have said, keep it positive and exciting. The more positive you are, the more they will be able to adjust. Too bad Baby has to sleep alone. "You get to be with ___ and I get to be with Daddy." I had to put my younger one to sleep earlier as the older one was the chatter box (and resisted going to sleep anyway). They did fine as young toddlers together.

Being opposite sex, and only having two, we were able to separate them when they got older. But I have two friends whose kids never wanted to be separated. How cool is that!

The harder part is with them seeing their new sibling getting a lot of attention. Try and make the bedroom situation and as many other things as possible be a treat. "Since you are so big, you get to pick out your own bedroom decor (like removable wall decals). Because you are so big, you get to eat ____. Too bad Baby doesn't get to eat that..."

Whenever we have company, I put my 22 month old and 3 year old in the same bedroom. I was worried at first it would never work, but you just don't know unless you try. It worked out great, they giggled back and forth for a little bit and then went right to sleep. The tough part is in the morning, my 3 year old got out of bed and jumped into the 22 month old's pack n play, I awoke to screaming. So I think in the long run it could work, but right now my concern is safety.

My 3 yr old and one year old share a room. We just put them together a few months ago because the baby still woke up alot. At night there's not much of an issue, but nap time is tricky. I keep a pack n play in either my room or the spare room because most of the time they nap at different times, and I have to read to the 3 yr old for his nap.
There have been times when one kid wakes up the other in the middle of night, but all and all it's went pretty smooth.

Im looking forward to seeing more responses on this question.
We have #3 due in Feb and plan to room my two boys together (currently 4yr & 18m). Our current plan is to use two Ikea twin beds pushed together and up against one wall with a soft bumper inbetween so no one falls through the middle crack. We are going to put the younger one on the inside and hope they both stay in bed. We are a little concerned because the 18m old is a great sleeper in his crib, goes down no problem awake, so Im hoping the change will not disrupt this too much. But by the time we switch him he should be 2y old, so we are hoping he is going to be less baby-more toddler and enjoy sleeping with his brother!