Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try not to mix genders in bedrooms if you can help it.

But should be a non issue for at least a couple of years for the ten and six year olds, no?

No.

It is an issue for a 10 year old boy (going into 5th grade) sharing a room with a 6 year old girl (just finished kindergarten).

Go back to 1989,when I was 11 years old.I had a brother who was 4,and a sister who was 6.Up until then,we each had our own room.Dad gets job in city,and homes are more expensive there.Money is tight,and we needed to move quick.We settled for a 3 bedroom 2 bath.Unfortunately I got the short end of the stick and had to share a room with my 4 year old brother.The room was only slightly larger so we don't have much of a size advantage.To add to it,Our view was blocked by the neighbor 's oversized tree,while our sister had a most oh unobstructed view of the nearby downtown skyline.other minor things about our room were inferior,but I won't go into much detail.
The living hell starts.
My brother is naturally nosy,so you can imagine it got worse when he was in the same room as me.He had playdates,and each week or two,he and his manlet friends tore up the room,knocking my figurines and model aircraft off the shelves,getting notebooks and other personal items strewn across the floor,and messing my bed up.Worst of all,I had to clean up the whole room.I talked to my mom about this,and she tried to fix it.Her solution was to put duct tape in the middle of the room as a divider,but these are 4 year olds.Meanwhile,my sister had her own space that stayed nice and clean.She always went there for privacy,while my only private spot is a makeshift tent i made out of blankets.I also had a stash of goodies at the old house,but now I could not keep a single ring pop in my room in fear of him raiding my cabinets for candy.By some Miracle,when I was 13,our dad got a massive promotion and we moved into a more spacious 3 bedroom with an extra space with a window that is technically an attic.I moved in there,and life was back to normal.
Please never pair children that are drastically different ages.
Also you'll have trouble getting children to share it the had their own room until then.
Best of luck.

I would not put a 10 year old girl in with a boy

Anonymous wrote:Try not to mix genders in bedrooms if you can help it.

But should be a non issue for at least a couple of years for the ten and six year olds, no?

Anonymous wrote:If you do have the 14 yr old and 6 yr old share a room, you're going to need to figure something out for homework. If the teen retreats to her room to study, does that mean the 6 yr old can't be in the room? If the teen is staying up late to finish a project, can it be done in the living room without anyone disturbing it?

And is there no other way to get a bedroom for each? Not a basement, or part of one, that can be converted into a bedroom for 4 years until the oldest heads off to college?

Kids will survive sharing rooms.

They might even (gasp) remember that time fondly.

Second the divider

Try not to mix genders in bedrooms if you can help it.

Why should the oldest get to choose? You must be an oldest child who is raising an entitled oldest sibling.

If you do have the 14 yr old and 6 yr old share a room, you're going to need to figure something out for homework. If the teen retreats to her room to study, does that mean the 6 yr old can't be in the room? If the teen is staying up late to finish a project, can it be done in the living room without anyone disturbing it?

And is there no other way to get a bedroom for each? Not a basement, or part of one, that can be converted into a bedroom for 4 years until the oldest heads off to college?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Girl boy girl 14 10 6 so Malcolm gets his own room?

Of course. Why is this even a debate?

The teen and preteen girls share the bigger room.

The young elementary boy with the legos, bey blades and "science experiments" gets his own smaller room.

Sorry, misread.

The boy still gets his own, smaller room.

Get a loft bed for the teen or a room divider, with the 14 year old getting the back half of the room. The younger sister is not allowed back there when the older sister wants her privacy.

thx for the divider idea

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I’ve seen multiple times that age gaps are better than siblings close in age. Younger sibling can be asleep long before older child, meaning no talking at bedtime and keeping each other awake.

+1

Nanny here. I’ve seen multiple times that age gaps are better than siblings close in age. Younger sibling can be asleep long before older child, meaning no talking at bedtime and keeping each other awake.

I was the girl between two boys (who were 14 years apart). They shared I got my own smaller room. It was the consolation prize for my mom giving me a baby brother when I wanted a baby sister. Older bro was so busy with high school he was hardly there then off to college. I don’t recall complaints.

Anonymous wrote:Trade the boy in for another girl

Haha

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Girl boy girl 14 10 6 so Malcolm gets his own room?

Of course. Why is this even a debate?

The teen and preteen girls share the bigger room.

The young elementary boy with the legos, bey blades and "science experiments" gets his own smaller room.

Sorry, misread.

The boy still gets his own, smaller room.

Get a loft bed for the teen or a room divider, with the 14 year old getting the back half of the room. The younger sister is not allowed back there when the older sister wants her privacy.