Spread the word!

We are definitely not of the belief that every child should have their own room. My oldest boys Mr. C and A-Man have shared a room from the second A-Man was sleeping in a crib. I keep them in my room when they’re babies for sanity reasons, [read: I am not walking down the hall twice every hour to get the baby to nurse] but as soon as the babies are sleeping longer stretches they’re moved in with big brother(s).

For the last 9 months or so that we’ve lived in our 3 bedroom house, we’ve had all three boys in one room that was bare bones. Beds and a dresser. That’s it. Then the third bedroom had all of their toys, the baby’s playpen, etc. It was working great! With no toys, the boys just chatted with each other until they fell asleep.

Then we started having some behavior issues with Mr. C, and we could attribute at least some of it to a lack of sleep. A-Man would keep him awake, Mr. C would be crabby so he’d start whining and crying and that would wake up Baby M. It was a mess and no one was happy! So we did something drastic.

We gave him his own room.

I am a firm believer in sharing rooms, but giving our oldest son his own room has saved our sanity!

They Started Sleeping!

Almost instantaneously the boys all started sleeping again! We’d put them down for a nap and instead of hearing them yelling and running around their room and whining, they just go to sleep. A-Man plays usually because it’s harder for him to understand that there are toys in his room that he can’t play with. Still, though, he plays quietly and then goes to sleep when he’s ready. Mr. C usually reads a book and “rests” but he occasionally takes real naps when he’s had a tiring day.

They’re Learning Independence

Mr. C doesn’t remember life before A-Man, so it’s always been really, really hard for him to be by himself, ever. Now he’s starting to enjoy having his own room to play in. He still loves when A-Man and Baby M come into his room to play, but he doesn’t have a panic attack whenever he’s sent to his room by himself. It’s also helped A-Man to know that he can do things without Mr. C there to help him. He’s making his bed and picking up his toys without help from Mr. C. They both get to grow their independence.

Mr. C Can be a Big Boy

There were a lot of things that Mr. C was ready for that A-Man was not. We couldn’t have anything with cords in their room, for example. Now Mr. C can have a clock in his room and he knows when it says 8:00 he can get up and start his morning routine. He gets dressed, makes his bed, goes potty, and starts on his school work. Then he plays with his toys until I come to get him for breakfast. When they shared a room, Mr. C couldn’t have school stuff in his room because A-Man would destroy it. Also, if Mr. C left the room to go potty, A-Man would be extremely confused about what was going on. It has really helped Mr. C to feel like a big boy and start acting like a big boy.

A-Man and Baby M are Bonding

The two of them had a real tough time bonding. A-Man was the baby for too long, and he really didn’t understand the concept of adding a baby to the family, so he spent about 6 months just pointing at Baby M and saying “what’s that?”. Now that they share a room, A-Man has no other choice but to chat with him and play with him, except being bored and playing by himself. They fight over toys and giggle at each other, just the way brothers should.
Overall, splitting the kids up has saved our sanity. I can get some work done at naptime and before they come out for breakfast, and they get to play in their rooms and have some alone time. I’m sure over time, A-Man will move in with Mr. C, and eventually there’ll be a new baby to room with Baby M, but for now, this works for us. Do your kids share a room?