4 Things to Do Before Letting Kids Share a Room

My big girls, at the ages of five and three, have recently started sharing a room. It has been full of joy (and trials) for both them, and us. Personally, I’ve always had mixed feelings of them bunking up. I never shared a room growing up, so every time I thought about whether it was a good idea for my girls, I’d make a mental pros and cons list.

Unfortunately, my mind always went to the cons first:

  1. It’ll be hard for them to fall asleep at night.
  2. What do I do about nap time?
  3. Will they be able to have their own personal space?

But then, the pros always did seem to be so exciting for them:

  1. Every night will be like a sleepover!
  2. They’ll create wonderful memories.
  3. It’ll force them to have a closer relationship that they’ll (hopefully) cherish forever.

About a month ago, we moved to a new house and that is when we made the decision that they would start sharing a room. Majority of the time, they do great with their new set up… but honestly, there are moments when I want to pull my hair out and I question the decision that we made. I’ve learned a few things during this process and will gladly listen to any advice that you have from your own experiences!

siblings share a room - toys
Dollhouses are the only toys in their shared room.

1. Minimize the Clutter

As much as my girls love their toys, I chose to keep most of it out of their room. The more chaos and stuff laying around, the more they fight. And the more they fight, the more uptight that I get. Besides a couple of stuffed animals on each bed, all that they have in their rooms to play with is my 5-year-old’s Barbie house and my 3-year-old’s Fisher Price Dream Home. But their tubs of dolls and doll house furniture, live in a hallway cabinet.

2. Define Their Own Space

Each half of their room clearly belongs to one girl or the other (the same is true for their closet). As much as I want their room to be matchy-matchy, I want them to be able to express themselves through artwork and decor. Their room is not yet complete for this point, but we are working towards it. Once it gets painted, they will each have a large wooden initial above their bed and will get to have display space for pictures and artwork. And when they’ve clearly had too much time together, I separate them to other areas of the house. Sometimes, one will lay on my bed with the iPad. Or go to our reading nook to look at books from the library. There is always a way to give them time apart.

siblings share  a room - closet
With each girl only using half of the closet, it’s less stressful trying to find what fits.

3. Wear Them Out

As we were first getting settled into the house, it was very easy for me to turn on a movie (or two…. or three) on during the day so that I could get things unpacked. That was not helpful when bedtime came around. I was quickly reminded that they needed to get their wiggles and giggles out during the day. My 3-year-old has had the hardest time with going to bed at night because the excitement of talking and playing around with big sister is too tempting. So, I sadly have ended her afternoon nap, and have seen a tremendous difference. She now falls asleep at 8:30 instead of 10:30!

4. Find a Bedtime Routine – And STICK TO IT

Before they shared a room, we had bedtime routines for the girls, but now it is so much more important. Now that they share a room, if one of them forgets to sit on the potty, the other thinks that she needs to get up too. If one of them wants to get an extra drink from the kitchen, so does the other. Each night, we are diligent to make sure that any extra toys find their way out of the bedroom, teeth are brushed, a final drink of water has been consumed, they’ve used the potty, and given everyone hugs and kisses. Once that is all taken care of, they lay in bed while we do a devotion and read from a book. (During reading time is when the 3-year-old usually falls asleep!)

While these tips don’t make everything perfect in our home, they are truly beneficial to everyone’s sanity.

What tips do you have for siblings who share a room?

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Maria Clark
Maria is a Kansas native who fell in love with an Oklahoma boy and is here to stay – but she is okay with that! She calls Stillwater home and has three spunky but totally sweet girls who keep her unbelievably busy. Maria has a background in event planning and gets fulfillment out of hosting friends in their home. She also loves all things organization.

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