I think you should try the use the small room for sleeping only, but realize this could come with problems (whoever sleeps in the larger room will want to claim it).

Maybe a better way to go is have the 14 year old sleep in the smaller room. Sell it as giving the older kid some privacy. But then ensure the bigger room is designed so that they both maintain thier own space.

Anonymous wrote:Why would the 9 year old rail and flail? He's the younger child and younger children have always gotten the smaller rooms until older kids go to college. It's not fair for your 14 year old to tiptoe around and have to do homework in the kitchen when there's a free bedroom laying around. This is a very easy solution.

I think this is an easy sell, OP -- you tell your 9 yo this is the solution to quiet and uninterrupted sleep. And maybe in exchange, your teen can go into that room and back to sleep on weekend mornings when the younger is up early and wants to play/wake him up.

Why would the 9 year old rail and flail? He's the younger child and younger children have always gotten the smaller rooms until older kids go to college. It's not fair for your 14 year old to tiptoe around and have to do homework in the kitchen when there's a free bedroom laying around. This is a very easy solution.

Don't screw over the nine year old just because he's younger.

Give the nine year old the bedroom for sleep only. The other bedroom is still his as well - his toys and stuff are in there - but only the older kid sleeps in there.

OP here.

Darn, I forgot about the toys. They're in the bigger room.
Also, we do have a rather full basement, but we could make some room... if our oldest is interested.

I also think a loft bed would be challenging, since the heat rises and we already noticed DC1's top bunk bed is quite warm (it never gets used!).

Thank you for getting me to think through this.

Anonymous wrote:Put the 9 year old in the smaller room with the promise of moving into the bigger room when 14 year old goes to college.

Put the kid who still has toys into the normal room.

Put the teen in the small room with a raised/loft bed.

What other spaces do you have in the house?

We have an old 3 bedroom ranch style home with a master (can barely fit a queen bed), a small bedroom, and a room that should be an office or a walk in closet, but is actually a bedroom.

Our 16 year old dd has the larger of the two, and our 14 year old son has the tiny room. As a consolation prize, he also has a room in the basement where he has his computer, Xbox, etc. He doesn’t want to sleep in the basement, but doesn’t mind sleeping in the tiny space since he has another room to his name.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put the 9 year old in the smaller room with the promise of moving into the bigger room when 14 year old goes to college.

This, and get him a cool loft bed so he has more room.

Thanks, I didn't see your post before posting!

OP here. Thanks.

Thing is, on certain weekdays my oldest walks in the door after my youngest's bedtime. This year is the first year they have completely different schedules.

It's true, I was thinking of giving the oldest the large room, in the hope that he might start doing his homework in there instead of leaving his stuff all over the kitchen table. However my youngest will rail and flail. Sigh.

Any cool ways of decorating a tiny room, then?

Anonymous wrote:Put the 9 year old in the smaller room with the promise of moving into the bigger room when 14 year old goes to college.

This, and get him a cool loft bed so he has more room.

I'd have the younger one sleep in the small room, but otherwise keep the larger bedroom "shared" - dresser, clothes, etc for both but just sleep apart.

I’d just ask the boys. Or have the older child get ready for bed when the younger one does so all he has to do is walk in and go straight to bed.

Put the 9 year old in the smaller room with the promise of moving into the bigger room when 14 year old goes to college.

Talk to the boys.

Current issue:
Kids share a room. 14 year old has evening practice and homework and disturbs 9 year old's earlier bedtime. He does his homework at the kitchen table, but makes noise coming into the bedroom at night. Floorboards are creaky, he blunders around, etc.
Ideally, they would need separate rooms, but one of them is closet-size! Which room to give to who? Any other ideas?
We're stuck like this for a couple of years. Then hopefully we'll move.

Here's the layout:
1 normal size bedroom, for the parents.
1 normal size bedroom, for both kids, 14 and 9.
1 tiny bedroom, in which a single bed would *just* fit (we measured). Right now there's a desk and bookcase in it, but it's not getting much use, kids prefer the kitchen table.
All the rooms have tiny built-in closets.

Opinions and advice welcome!