Okay, this may seem like a strange question, but I thought where better to ask it than here! I am a single mom to an almost five year old and an almost eight month old. I am looking for a home to buy. I have actually narrowed it down to two that I really like. However, one of them is a 1 1/2 story house which has two bedrooms on the main floor and then the master bedroom upstairs. I have concerns about my two children sleeping downstairs and me sleeping upstairs. I don't know if they are really valid concerns or not. So, I'm looking for feedback from people that have a house like that or that have had a house with this situation. Did it work for you? Did you feel too far away from your young children? I'm just worried that my five year old is going to be scared sleeping downstairs without me and going to start co-sleeping again which I worked so hard to ween her from! Thanks in advance for your insight.
Before we were married, my husband had a bungalow and his two young children actually shared one of the rooms downstairs to sleep in and the other was a play room. This was only until they were older and didn't mind sleeping alone, then he split the bunk beds and they each had their own rooms. I think you'll be fine; congratulations!
I also had the same concern not to long ago. We have two bedrooms on our main floor and one in the basement. My hubby and I sleep in the basement and the kids on the main floor. I was concerned at first and had a baby moniter in the hallway so I could hear them, and everything else too. They were ages 2 years and 6 months when we started doing this. They are now 3 and 1 1/2 and everything is fine. I never had a problem with them being scared, mostly because they went to bed so much earlier then us and they didn't realize we were down stairs. I think you should be okay with it. Just try using the baby moniter for a while; it really helped me with my nerves :D
moving to a new house will probably be scarey any way, you could always put the girls in the same room.
We have a bi-level and our bedroom is downstairs and my daughter's room is upstairs. The only time I really worried was before she was 1, I slept in the spare room so that I was near her, it was just easier for me. She is now 2 and I don't see it as an issue. I think it is actually better because we do not have to worry about waking her up at night because she is on a different level so we do not worry about making too much noise right next to her, since we are downstairs. I am assuming this is a 3 bedroom house, you could also sleep in the room on the same floor as your daughter unitl both of you feel comfortable. Good Luck!
When my husband and I bought our first house is was a 1 1/2 story house. We loved it. Then we had a baby and we hated it!! We wanted to be on the same level as our child and it wouldn't work out. I would not move into it if possible.
We live in a 2 bedroom 2 story house with the master bedroom upstairs and the other bedroom downstairs. I've never had an issue with the kids being downstairs (4 years old and 9 months old) but their bedroom is at the bottom of the stairs and our bedroom is the only room on the upper level.
Hi, regardless of which house you buy, the sleeping arrangements will be new and they will react to it. How they react will not be based on WHERE the bedroom is, but on who they are. When they become older, the bedrooms away from yours will be a blessing for both. Good luck and happy house hunting,
Take care, J. - mom to Mark 16 and Vanessa 10
I would say to put your oldest upstairs for now while you're downstairs with the baby. :)
I love in a bungalow and I have no problems with having my son downstairs. My house is so small that I can here every peep he makes. even when he was a newborn I didn't need a baby monitor.
HI J.
I am the same way you are. When we were house hunting a few years back one of my stipulations was that all the bedrooms had to be together. First reason being that my kids are afrid of their own shadow. I knew they would never go for us sleeping in a different part of the house let alone on a seperate floor. We did buy a 2 story and I love my house but I am so sick of going up and down stairs. If there is a ranch in your decision I would definately go for that. It just makes your life so much easier.
I was thinking maybe both kids could share a room, and you could use the other down stairs bed room for a while. Then the big room could be more family room space.
I'm sure you'll find what fits you best. A. H
It's a tough call to make but here are some things to consider (although goodness knows we all hope these things never happen in our home): what to do in case of a fire? what if someone breaks into the house during the night? would they be able to get out of the door or into dangerous things if they wake in the night and you don't hear them or if they sleepwalk? what if they wake with a nightmare or get sick during the night? In my opinion I would not feel comfortable having children at this young age on a separate floor but we all must choose our own path. Please just be sure to have a "plan" for some of the above concerns if you decide to go with this style of home. Good luck in your search!
Hi, I just want to let you know that I grew up with my parents on a different floor and our home is also this way. We have a cape cod, and our bedroom is the only one upstairs, our two year old is downstairs and has been ever since he was five weeks old! We are fine, I actually enjoyed him down there so I didn't feel like I had to check on him all the time. I still have a monitor for him and all works well. I know this can be a personal preference, but sometimes I think I got more sleep because he wasn't so close! Now, we are expecting our daughter any day now and she will have to be with us as we only have two bedrooms! So, that's a different situation all-together.
I think you should go with your gut, I couldnt personally sleep well knowing I was on a differnt floor than any of my kids and I dont think my 6 year old would sleep that far from me,you may put the kids up and you down but I would say a home with all room on the same floor would be best. Im a single mom and we have an older 2 story home 3bdrooms and a bath up, and a playroom on the mainfloor. Good luck!!
We have a dormer bedroom upstairs. Our boys, 5 and 3, have always been downstairs. We too had to wean them from cosleeping. Will they be sharing a room? That could help with fears. We recently moved our guys in together and they're doing great. I would involve them in decorating their big girl bedrooms. Hopefully the hype will keep them downstairs. If you have fears, you could always try a monitor in the hallway. Good luck!
we lived in a bungalow, and both our girls slept in the same room. Since they were 4 and 2 years old, I kept a monitor in their room, and had it on at night when I was upstairs. Another idea, is to make the upstairs bedroom the kids room/playroom. Then, when they are older, you will still be able to monitor late night activity as was suggested in another post.
L.
When we were looking one of my thoughts was will I still want this house in 15 yrs?
We did turn down a house that had the master on a different floor than the kids rooms... Why? (hehe) well in 15 yrs when my daughter is 19 and my middle guy is 16 I want to be able to catch them sneakin in or out of the house... I want them to know that at any moment mom or dad could step out of THAT door... with no warning...
So we choose a 2 story house that the upstairs windows are not near any trees for people to climb in. (have I watched too many tv shows?) Hey, better safe than sorry (and a grandma):-)
I've lived in a 1-1/2 story bungalow for 30+ years, raised 2 children here and have 4 grandkids that come & stay here with us. When ours were babies we kept them upstairs with us in a crib. Same with the grands, upstairs with us until about age 3 or 4. I'll be honest with you, that is a definite drawback, you sleeping upstairs and them being downstairs. You could take one of the downstairs bedrooms and put your oldest daughter upstairs for now and when your youngest gets to be 3 or 4 move her up there too. Good luck!
I don't have a home like this, and didn't want one. Same fears as you. Also afraid of a fire and I couldn't get to them quick enough. My friend has a home like this. When they are sick, she sleeps on the floor of their room so she can be near if they vomit, or what not. I say go for a house where everyone sleeps in the same area. Especially the fire thing. I went to a class on home fires, and they actually recommend keeping a fire extinguisher next to your bed incase the hallway has fire down it, you can spray it out and get across the hall to rescue your children. That is great advice. Good luck.
My sister in law has a bungalow (1.5 story home) and they hate it. My sister in law is home alone most nights because of husbands work schedule. She won't even go upstairs to sleep with her kids downstairs alone. I couldn't do it either. I just think of all the "what ifs". I like all bedrooms on the same floor, whether its up or down. When we were house hunting, thats the one thing I told the realtor "no bungalows"
:)
We love our bungalow. Having our bedroom on a different floor than the kids makes it a retreat. We do have monitors for our 3 year old and 1 year old. We actually hear them better with the monitors than we would if we were sleeping on the same floor! Don't be afraid to buy the house that you like the best! God Bless!
