Need Advice for Putting Two Kids in One Room.

Updated on February 15, 2008
E.W. asks from Saint George, UT
12 answers

We live in a two-bedroom apartment, I have two boys, one is 2 1/2 and the other is 11 months. My 2 1/2 year old is VERY energetic and I worry about putting the two of them in the same room. I am worried that the 2 1/2 year old may accidently hurt the 11 month old trying to play. also I am concerned they will wake each other up. Any advice?

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L.F.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I also live in a two bedroom. I put my kids together when they where fairly young. My daughter was 18 months when my son was born. He was with us till he was abt 6 months old. They've gotten used to sleeping and playing in the same room. They get used to playing together. My 2 all most 3 year old is beyond energetic. But she's had to learn to be more careful of her brother. She still gets to rough occasionally but he's learned to express his disconfort to either her or I. They may wake each other up but they do get used to eachother waking up. Because my still on a rare occasion wake eachother up but they actually sleep better together.

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S.L.

answers from Boise on

While i would love to have my boys in separate rooms again, they've had to share a room for almost 9 months now. They were ages 13 months and 3 years when they started. We moved out of state and were renting while our house sold, but it still hasn't. The whole time, we thought we'd be there for 1-2 months, so we told the older one that he'd have his own room again soon. Once he actually asked if, when we finally did buy a new house, could he still share a room with baby brother? he really enjoys it. I think they love each other even more than before, if that's possible.
The baby was a light sleeper despite all my efforts to train him to sleep through noise, and I anticipated lots of problems. But he sleeps through a lot now. In fact, once he FELL asleep and took a nap while workers were sawing a hole in the basement wall (for a window) just outside his window.
One problem was getting them both to bed at the same time. The baby liked to cry himself to sleep still, or sing, or jabber. And then the older one would yell at him to go to sleep. Obviously, that didn't work. Finally, we put the baby down and did something special, like have dessert or color or read books with the older one for about 15-20 minutes, by which time the baby was asleep. Then we'd tuck in the older one.
They've been sick this winter, and have awaken each other a few times. usually the older one sleeps through the baby crying, but if the 4 year old cries for some reason, they're both up. That's tough. Just recruit your husband to get one of them calmed down. I really wish DH were here on those nights!

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L.A.

answers from Boise on

I hate to say this but until the newness of sharing a bedroom with this little brother wears off they will probably wake eachother up a lot. I myself only have one child but I have friends who had to put 2 kids in one room and it was not so bad after the first week or so. My friends staggered bedtimes by about 1/2 hour and it worked pretty good.

As far as playing your old one will just learn what they can and cannot do. Watching them closely when they play together will probably be the key.

Good Luck!

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L.B.

answers from Colorado Springs on

I think a staggered bedtime is a fantastic idea, but not always easy. If room is big enough for 2 twin beds, I would suggest a curtain rod and separate the two beds at night with a closed curtain. I slept in the same bed with my sister (2 years older) till she got married, and we talk more than once a day and she lives in OK. Great bonding, but a little work, good luck.

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N.T.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I have 2 boys and put them in the same room about the ages your boys are now. They may hurt one another or wake each other up-they will learn to work things out. You will need to keep an eye on them and remind the older one that the other is younger and he needs to watch out for him. Once they get used to sleeping in the same room, they won't wake each other so much. Mine are now 4 and 6 and sometimes when the 4 year old would wake up with a bad dream, the 6 year old would tell him to come get in bed with him. I say go for it.

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H.H.

answers from Pocatello on

I also have 2 boys the same ages as your's. I had them in separate rooms but was wanting to have them in the same room so I asked my oldest if he would like to have a slumber party in his little brothers room one night. He loved the idea and they both slept so good (even when my littlest was up in the middle of the night). After that I couldn't get the oldest the sleep in his own room because he was wanting to be with his brother and continue having slumber parties. So I moved the crib into his room and they are loved being in the same room together. I think that they even sleep better now that I have done it. Anyway... I hope that gives you some ideas on putting them in the same room together.

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D.W.

answers from Denver on

i have two boys, 5 and 6, that started sharing a bed from the time the younger one was born (19 months between them). you are right - they will wake each other up. :) but in the long run, it is a good thing; they will learn to sleep through noises and put themselves back to sleep. i really would not worry much about the older one hurting the younger one just because they are sharing sleeping space. unless you are having issues with that currently? it may take a short period for all of you to adjust, but you will be happy you made the change.
D.

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A.M.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I put my two girls in the same room when my second was 2 months old. The oldest woke up the first couple of nights when the baby would wake up but after about two or three night she learned to sleep through the baby's waking up. (With both girls I tried to teach them to sleep through noise by turning on the radio and vacuum when they were sleeping.) I think my youngest learned to be a good sleeper because we were much quicker to get her back to bed since we didn't want to wake up our oldest. Over the years it has been wonderful. They love each other and take care of each other. I am very happy that I have my two in the same bedroom.

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J.H.

answers from Billings on

I am waiting to move my 17 month old into my 3 1/2 year old's room. The baby still wakes at night occasionally, and I don't want him waking his sister, so he is in a crib in our room until he sleeps a little better. Do you have room in your bedroom for the crib? Do you mind having the baby in your room? I would wait a while until you are more comfortable with the room sharing. Your older son would not intentionally hurt the baby, but if he is a rambunctious toddler, waiting a while until your younger son can hold his own might be a good idea.

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K.D.

answers from Denver on

Our boys shared at three and newborn. We did make sure that they weren't unsupervised during play for that reason. I worked well, and since the older one new not to throw things, the baby was okay in the crib sleeping while the other one played. Now that they're older, we don't allow play during nap time. Our biggest struggle has been the toddler wanting to play with toys that are not appropriate for him. We have not had any issue with them waking each other up other than in the morning. If big brother isn't there, the baby gets an extra 1-1 1/2 hrs. of sleep. We love having them share a room and they seem to love it, too.

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D.G.

answers from Provo on

I have a daughter almost 3 years old and a son almost 1 1/2 years old. They have been sharing a room since my son was about 6 mo. I don't know if you have your eldest in a toddler bed or not, but you shouldn't worry about them getting in each others way. Just make sure that you tell your eldest what space is his and what space is his brothers. You might have to do this every day for a couple weeks, but he will get the point. Waking each other can be a problem, especially if one is sick. But you just have to be determined and take the one making noise out of the room and quite him. They will get used to each others sleeping sounds and patterns rather quickly. Don't worry, you will get the hang of it. Just make sure that you show your oldest what his responsibility is with his brother around. Good luck.

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D.K.

answers from Denver on

Stagger the bedtimes, get the easiest and soundest sleeper to bed first, probably your 11 mos old. Then put your son that is 2 1/2 to bed about 35 minutes later. Make it very strict rules that he has to be quiet as his brother is asleep. I have a three year old and six year old and it was so stressful them sleeping together until I staggered the bedtimes. There are mornings that I dread when my three year old is up before everyone else and him waking my daughter, however we just got a chart and he knows he is to stay in bed and be quiet until everyone else is up now, hee hee. Good luck. Get black out shades or curtains too so it is dark and there is less reason to play.

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