From time to time, I get asked how we actually do this, so I thought I’d write a post about it!
Our 3 sons — ages 2, 4 and 6 — share a room.
Yep, a toddler, a preschooler and a kindergartener all live in the same space.
And we love it.
We recently moved into a 4-bedroom house, and a lot of friends have asked why on earth all 3 boys still share a room! The answer is simple: they want to, and we love it.
The biggest reason our boys live together is ease of schedule and simplicity of life. For our family, when our kids live together, they feel like a team. If one of the 3 boys was in his own room, that “team” feeling is different. Obviously, each family makes their own call on this, and there’s no right or wrong approach. We know our boys will want their own rooms later, but for this season right now, throwing all 3 boys in one bedroom is really working for us!
How Our 3 Kids Share a Room
Everyone goes to bed at the same time. This means, sometimes the toddler is pretty tired because he is usually awake as late as the other boys are. But, it’s so simple to have one bedtime! By the same token, when it’s shower time, everyone showers at the same time. All 3 of them shower, all 3 of them brush teeth, all 3 of them comb hair… you get my drift? Consolidating the bedtime routine by making everyone do it together really helps keep us on track time-wise, and leads to more together time.
Everyone gets up at the same time. So, this one kind is kind of a bummer. Our toddler would sleep in if he could, but he is awoken every morning when his brothers get up, and that’s just how it is. It’s hard sometimes, but we’ve also started asking the big boys to be really quiet when they get up so they don’t wake the little guy. Another bonus to this: everyone eats breakfast at the same time. Again, the mess is consolidated, and I’m not spending 30 minutes in the kitchen getting multiple rounds of cereal and milk due to staggered wake-ups.
They all love the same white noise. We’ve been using white noise to help our kids sleep for 6 years now, so they all love it and they all ask for it when they go to bed. In other words, their bedtime preferences are the same, which keeps things easy and streamlined.
Shoes, socks and underwear are in bins in the closet. This prevents their dresser from constantly being open and messy-looking. Well… kind of like it looks today LOL.
In their closet, I have 1 bin for each boys’ shoes, and then 1 bin for everyone’s socks and another bin for all the underwear. I especially love how easy it makes putting sock and underwear away! Just drop ’em in! Another tip: I never fold their underwear.
We don’t bother making beds. I don’t know what this has to do with 3 kids living in the same room, but it’s what we do. I don’t bother with it!
All toys live in their bedroom. I love this part! We keep all their toys in their bedroom, and this usually restricts most of the mess to their room, and keeps it out of the main living space, which was a non-negotiable for my husband when we moved to the new house. If the toddler is taking a nap, I have the big boys get whatever toys they’ll want for quiet time, and bring them into the living room. So far, it’s worked out pretty well!
No one feels left out. Again, since they’re all shoved into one space, everyone lives there together, and they are… well, they’re a team. With our sons, I feel that having them sleep in the same space truly solidifies that they are brothers and they work together.
Do your kids share a room? It’s a personal choice for each family. What’s worked for you? Share in the comments section, or on the Facebook page!
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