1 bedroom & 1 playroom, or 2 bedrooms? - Page 2

[LynnS6]

IME, a 'playroom' tends to become a dumping ground and is rarely used for playing. Because of that, I voted 2 bedrooms, and I would split the kids by age. The big kids get the bigger bedroom with the little toys that are dangerous for a baby, the little kids get the other bedroom and maybe some of the bulky 'baby' toys.

I grew up in a family of 4 girls and 1 boy and the sleeping arrangements varied according to age and bedrooms available. When I was very little, we had to fit the kids into 2 bedrooms -- so my two oldest sisters shared, my middle sister, my older brother and I shared. Later, my 2 uncles moved out and my middle sister got her own room and I shared with my brother. That lasted until he got close to puberty and my parents split us by gender. So then, my middle sister and I shared a room, my brother got his own room (it was tiny) and my 2 oldest sisters (who were still at home, but in college) got the other bedroom.

I guess my point is that the sleeping arrangements you do for the next couple of years need not be permanent.

[ChetMC]

2 Bedrooms

I find it hard to get four kids to sleep in one room. We have four kids, and I dread staying in hotels when we can't get a suite and all have to be in one room (we can still squeeze into one room since the baby sleeps with DH and I, and since our other DS is a toddler. but it makes bedtime less than ideal, and often in the morning kids get woken up before they would like too).

I don't generally like playrooms. I agree that they become a dumping ground, and I think they ghettoize children in their own home. We tend to have a couple toys in each room.

[Dukey25]

I say go for it for the time being. If it doesn't work change it. I had a boy and girl sharing one room and the plan was that the 2nd boy join them although he didn't leave my bed as fast as I would have thought/hoped and the boy/girl mix didn't work so we separated them and now I have younger boy with girl and older boy alone. I think it depends on who works well together more than gender at a young age. Eventually I want them to have their own space but depending on # of kids vs rooms it may not entail a whole room to themselves. Right now my oldest has his own secluded lego area and my girl has her own filing cabinet with a lock so she can store her special things and they are both happy with the arrangement......so far.

[Mrs.Music]

Originally Posted by mran

I cannot do a loft or a bunk bed, my children are all too young to be on an upper bunk.

This can't possibly be true... I could put my 3 yr old on a top bunk just fine. They make some bunks a little shorter and there are a variety of styles for ladders and side rails. Might be worth looking into.

[GuildJenn]

What is the rest of the house like in terms of play/family space?

We're not big into the playroom 'ghetto' but if there's no room elsewhere that would change my answer. Otherwise I'd say two bedrooms of 2 & 2 for now.

[peaceful_mama]

i'd try out the shared bedroom & playroom. nothing is permanent, you can change it up later!

[mran]

There really isn't room elsewhere for the toys and playing - the living room is a mess of baby toys (Irish twins, so swing, bouncer, exersaucer, jumper, boppys, misc small toys - I happily wear my babies, but I'm still recovering from a c-section, and well, there are 2 little ones, so I need baby butt holders for both of them) and we used to have stuff in the dining area but we can't comfortably fit a table that we can all sit at together, and eating together is important to me. The toddler & preschooler need space to stretch out w/ their trains and cars, and they can't do that in the living room because there are babies on the move. We need a bigger house, but I refuse to put my kids in a subpar educational environment just to have a little bit more space.

[marsmom]

We only have 2, but they shared a room for 5 years so they could use the other as a playroom (which was right off the kitchen) - worked really well for us. We did occasionally have problems with going to sleep together if one was tantrumming or something, and then one would go in our bed to fall asleep and get carried back in to their bed asap, but that was unusual.

Ours went into a bunk bed when they were 2.5yrs and 4.5 yrs - it was the Kura from IKEA - only $200 and really quite low - less than 4' tall - and we never had any problem.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10123996

[Bluegoat]

I've found that I needed to be flexible. I love having a playroom, but when my second daughter was small, she woke a lot in the night and was just on such a different schedule that it didn't work for her to be with her sister. We tried a few things, and then around the time she was two they moved in together. If they will all stay together well, I'd have the one bedroom and playroom.