Having your own bedroom is a privilege, not a necessity. I taught my kids to appreciate having a bedroom to themselves becuase not everyone does. I lived with my grandmother for a few years in my teens. My two Aunts and I shared one bedroom. There were 4 kids and 3 adults; house had 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. We made it work.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can't any of the kids share a bedroom?
Is that fair to the kids as they get older? Not having any privacy?
Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 5 and we have a 3 BR house. Our oldest 2 (same gender) share a bedroom and so far (late elementary/early middle) it’s fine although we are cognizant of the need for privacy as they get older. We do have a space in our basement that is used as an office (for FT WAH parent) while kids are at school and can be converted into a guest space as needed. The kids also hang out down there, but I wouldn’t want them living down there full time.
Also, we intend to transform our basement space into more of a teen hang out area as they get older. And if needed we’ll give them “shifts” where they can hang out in their room to get privacy as needed.
I will add that this fits our lifestyle. We live in a walkable neighborhood. It’s not huge, but it’s a nicely updated home and my kids know we could afford a giant house farther out, but they have tons of friends here and love the neighborhood so they don’t want to leave. Also they are involved in competitive sports and we like to travel when there are breaks, so we’re a pretty on the go family. If we were homebodies living in the exurbs where all their friends had their own bedroom/bathroom setup then they may feel differently.
So the answer is dependent on family/location. There are wealthy families in luxury apartments with kids sharing rooms in NYC but the trade off is different compared to a kid sharing a room in a tiny house in a rural area.
Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 5 and we have a 3 BR house. Our oldest 2 (same gender) share a bedroom and so far (late elementary/early middle) it’s fine although we are cognizant of the need for privacy as they get older. We do have a space in our basement that is used as an office (for FT WAH parent) while kids are at school and can be converted into a guest space as needed. The kids also hang out down there, but I wouldn’t want them living down there full time.
Also, we intend to transform our basement space into more of a teen hang out area as they get older. And if needed we’ll give them “shifts” where they can hang out in their room to get privacy as needed.
I will add that this fits our lifestyle. We live in a walkable neighborhood. It’s not huge, but it’s a nicely updated home and [/b]my kids know we could afford a giant house farther out,[b] but they have tons of friends here and love the neighborhood so they don’t want to leave. Also they are involved in competitive sports and we like to travel when there are breaks, so we’re a pretty on the go family. If we were homebodies living in the exurbs where all their friends had their own bedroom/bathroom setup then they may feel differently.
So the answer is dependent on family/location. There are wealthy families in luxury apartments with kids sharing rooms in NYC but the trade off is different compared to a kid sharing a room in a tiny house in a rural area.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:How many rooms should a house have for a family of 5 to live comfortably? 1 primary, 3 bedrooms for each kid, 1 office for working- thats’s 5 bedrooms already and it’s just the basics.
While I agree a 5 bedroom home is ideal with 3 children, it is hardly just "the basics" - what a ridiculous thing to say. That's the same as this generation saying that a luxury SUV and a very nice annual flying vacation are "middle class." I'm sure you expect the 5 bedroom home to be fully renovated also, I mean, its the bare minimum expectation. Absurd.
Anonymous wrote:How many rooms should a house have for a family of 5 to live comfortably? 1 primary, 3 bedrooms for each kid, 1 office for working- thats’s 5 bedrooms already and it’s just the basics.
Anonymous wrote:How many rooms should a house have for a family of 5 to live comfortably? 1 primary, 3 bedrooms for each kid, 1 office for working- thats’s 5 bedrooms already and it’s just the basics.