With the average UK family having 1.9 children, the chances of you having siblings under your roof are very high.
Obviously, sometimes you may not have enough bedrooms, and your children will have to share a room. To make this a little easier, we’ve made a list of ways you can make sharing a room for children a little easier for them and you.
A neutral setting
If your children are going to be sharing a room, the first issue that’ll creep up is how to decorate the bedroom.
As the children will most likely be different ages, they’ll no doubt have different interests. Because of this, staying away from popular decorations such as superheroes or Peppa Pig will be for the best.
Instead opt for a neutral setting, which can be changed easily. With simple walls and carpet, you can then add colour through curtains or blinds from places like Swift Direct Blinds, or add rugs with fun patterns on. You can then get them duvet covers and pillow sets that’ll fit their interests perfectly. This way you only have to update the accessories around the room, and not the room, as they change their favourite things week in and week out.
Prepare older child
Obviously, before you start decorating, and before the younger child moves into the room – prepare the older sibling.
They’ve already had to get used to sharing their parents with a new child, and now they’ll have to share a room, which could be difficult for them. Therefore you’ll have to prepare them by telling them what’s going to happen, and involve them as much as possible in the process of changing the room.
The transition period
As the older sibling will need time to adjust to sharing a room, wait until they’ve had the chance to adapt to being a sibling – if we’re talking about a baby. If the second child is a little older, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
However, start by only having them share a room for one night a week at first, and then build up, rather than putting them together for a whole week straight away. This should help everything transition much smoother.
Respect bedtimes
As the children will be different ages, you’ll need to respect their bedtimes. Therefore, you’ll have to create a whole new night time routine for the two children, which suits their individual needs.
If this means running through bedtime with the younger sibling first and then the older one, so be it. If your older child has a story before bed, you could move this activity to your bedroom, so you can still read to them without disrupting the younger sibling.
Of course, things may not run as smoothly, so you should always have a plan B, but hopefully, with a little time, your children should be sharing a room without any problems in no time.
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