siblings sharing room - what age?

I have two kids, aged 8 months and 3 years. At the moment they are sleeping in separate rooms but we are hoping to put them together sometime in the next few months. This is partly to free up one room for guests, and also because I hope it will improve the kids' relationship in the long run and maybe avoid some separation anxiety in the youngest one.


I would love to hear from people who have tried putting their kids together while they are so young. I'm sure there are lots of pitfalls, not least getting the youngest one to sleep through the night before we attempt the move!

I have a 5 and a 4 year old and they have slept together ever since the second was born. My oldest wanted to look after her little sister and even though we have they room to this day they still sleep in the same room and love it. Sometime if it's thuindering we'll find the youngest snuggled up fast asleep with big sis, just divine and makes you wanna cry!


On the other hand when they are naughty, playing up and not going to sleep we split them up and it's the worst thing we can do, but by god does it do the trick.

I had a very comprehensive thread on this a while back. Lots of great suggestions as well as details about how great it was.


http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/forums/momsdads/threads/83410.asp


My girls are now 1 and almost 3 and still sleep together. They have staggered bedtimes (1 at 7, 1 at 8) and the younger one generally gets up a bit earlier than her older sister. but she plays quietly in her crib, and when my older one wakes up they talk to each other and giggle together. It's been a great benefit as I can often catch an extra 15 minutes of sleep as they entertain each other.


Sometimes they wake up late in the evening (10:30 ish) and babble and talk together and go back to sleep with no interference from me. It's been great. BOth like the other in the room, and it makes them happier. The first thing in the morning, when I actually do go in, my older one tells me to open the curtain and she goes over to her sister and gives her a kiss.


DO IT! If your baby has good sleep habits, even if your older one cries, she won't wake up. (my younger used to scream through the Ferberizing I had to put my older one through - no problem.)


If your baby sleeps through the night, they are ready. Mine was put in the same room as soon as I was confident #2 was sleeping through the night. (7-10:30 dream feed, and then back until 7 AM.) It was at around 14 weeks.

Hi hkchoichoi, thanks for the link to the previous thread.


My #1 went through the same difficult phase when she didn't want to go in her cot, at around 18 months for us - we also had to lie next to her, and eventually had to leave her to cry it out. I am hoping that sharing rooms will avoid that problem for #2. Has anybody got to that stage yet with their youngest one?

I have a 2 and 3 year old both girls. Once #2 was about 6 months sleeping through the night we moved #2 into #3's room. At first #1 was upset and didnt want to sleep in her room cuz #2 was in there with her. It took about 2 weeks before she realized it was fun playing with her sister in the same room. When we moved to Shanghai we discovered they dont like having seperate beds so now they share a bed. The empty bed just has teddy bears and stuffed animals. Now they do everything together and are bonded so close that they are sad without one another. Its so beautiful.



When you say Cot does that mean toddler bed or crib? At about 15 months with my oldest moved to a toddler bed as she didnt like being in her crib. 2nd baby i think she was around 18 months when we moved her into her toddler bed as well. We didnt have problems as they were so excited to have a big girl bed and feel more grown up. For about a week prior to buying the toddler bed i showed her my bed and how big it was. I asked her if she wanted a big girl bed too she said yes. I think if you show her the difference she may want to try it. But each child is different.



with you luck!




Shan

lol ty.