how long can sisters share a bed?

[MommyDOK]

My dd's are still young---6 and 8, but they share a queen size bed and there are no complaints at all. 

My dh is about to build them a bed frame w/ drawers underneath, which is a lot of work.  I started thinking, "What if they don't like this in 4 years??"  THey will have to share a room, but we have enough room to put two twin beds.  What do you think? 

[Mammajamma]

I think it really depends on the personalities of the girls...in my family we had 7 and we all either shared a room/ bed or were split in half and shared a room/ bed. It didn't bother us a bit...just the parents cause we would stay up all night talking well into high school!

[whatsnextmom]

It does depend on personalities but usually around 11-ish, they start craving their own space and starting to get that other kids aren't sharing beds with their siblings. My own kids (boy and girl 3.5 years apart) happily shared a large room for a long while. They had their own beds but we'd often find them crashed together. DD started campaigning for her own room at 11 and by 12 we'd moved her into her own room. They are still very close and once in awhile you'll find DS crashed on her floor after watching movies together all night in the summer.

I know it's different since mine are boy/girl but I'm guessing that in 4 years, yours will start wanting their own beds if they can have them. Of course, extra storage for those 4 years could be really nice!

[Linda on the move]

I'd go for twin beds or bunks now.

They could get sick of this arrangement at any point, or realize that other kids think it's weird.

Most school aged children have their own beds.

[littlest birds]

My 8yo and 11yo love sleeping together and almost always do so, but they have their own beds.  They actually currently have twin bunk beds but no one uses the top bunk, and they have a futon couch that opens to full size.  (Good for having guests.)

Interestingly, except for the few nights apart they like to sleep on the floor together at least half the time, and prefer to share one twin bed the other half.  We are taking apart the bunk beds for two twins and giving the full-size futon mattress to their brother.

Sometimes they want the space or they are too much together and do sleep apart, and I expect they could switch their preferences for more alone sleeping unexpectedly at any time.  I would not deliberately arrange to only have one bed for both of them at this age even though they have slept together for years.

[firewoman]

I think as long as they are comfortable and are actually sleeping they should be allowed to continue sleeping together until they don't want to anymore.

[mamaUK]

Any way you can work it to have both options? I have an identical twin, we each had a separate room and bed but in my room I had a double bed, we would often crash together, right up until we were 18 and went to uni if we had been watching TV...

Could you have a queen bed on one side of the room and a slim slingle bed on the other? Then they can choose how they want to sleep night to night, month to month as there there relationships shifts about (wanting closeness, wanting independence)

We loved having the option!

[Notyet11]

I don't have an answer for your original question but could your husband make something that would convert later to work with twin beds or whatever you would choose when they decide they need their own space? The design/plans that cam to mind was some sort of combination of this and this which are beds with storage underneath but they are made in bench style components so you could conceivably have something that will work both now and then later in some other function. 

[mumm]

subbing to hear other people's responses

My girls are much younger (almost 4) and share a full bed.  They sleep the "wrong way" and each have their own set of blankets.  But they also have the top bunk (which is a twin) and a queen size futon in their room, so they have an option if/when they want to sleep alone.  Although it only seems to happen when they are too tired to actually get into bed and just sleep on the futon. 

I'm still waiting for my 10.5 year old to want his own space and it doesn't look to be coming any time soon.  He and his sister have their own rooms, but his room doesn't have a bed.  He sleeps on her top bunk.

[LynnS6]

We had 5 kids (4 girls and 1 boy) in my family of origin. The girls shared a bed until they moved out, out of necessity. OK, it led to some interesting sibling dynamics at times (like the time my sister tried to pick up by the scruff of my neck because she was dreaming I was our cat, or the time I was having a nightmare and was beating my sister with my doll while I dreamed, or the times when my next older sister would hide in my closet and scare the heck out of me....). However, it worked. So, as long as the bed is big enough (we had double beds), they can do it as long as they like.

My mother grew up sleeping 2 to  a TWIN bed until they moved out. (11 kids in a 3 bedroom house, I kid you not.)

[dreamymommy]

I think you should go with the twin beds instead because they will grow out of sharing a bed.  I also believe that they would be more comfortable that way.