[selfhelpqueen]

My husband and his dad started working on our basement on Friday! Yeah!!!!

I'm wondering about your opinions on bedroom arrangements. We will have four bedrooms to split between six children. Our first five boys are 12, 10, 8, 4, and 2 and then we have a little girl who's 7 months old. From what I can see we have some options.

Option #1 is for the youngest four to share two rooms between them and then the oldest two get their own rooms. The only things holding me back from this decision is the fact that there's almost a four year age gap between our eight and four year old and a two year old sharing a bedroom w/ a baby usually doesn't work out very well. The other concern is that once DD is old enough to need her own room then DS2 will go from having his own room to sharing (probably in about 3-4 years).

Option #2 is that DS1 and DD each get their own rooms and the two other rooms are shared between the 2&4 year old and the 8&10 year old. If we were to to do this I think this would be the arrangement until DS1 moves out of the house which isn't for another 7 years. Is this too long to have the same roommate?

The third option that is completely selfish on my part is that we share three bedrooms among six kids and I get a room to do w/ whatever I please. Probably not very realistic.

As you can see there are a lot of dynamics to the bedroom arrangements.

Also, the child who ends up getting their own room really should be upstairs because the bedrooms downstairs are considerably bigger. That would then mean that, in theory, my two and four year old's bedroom would be downstairs right next to their older brothers' room. Is that too young? (Their bedrooms will be right at the bottom of the stairs.)

Anyway, I bring this up because I'm not sure what to do and would love your thoughts on this. Please help!

[MrsDanite]

I'm from a family of 7 kids. We changed bedrooms a lot--probably more than my mother found convenient, although she did say it gave her a chance to make sure the rooms really got thoroughly cleaned now and then! I think this helped us learn to adapt to sharing a living space with someone with different needs and personality, which is an excellent preparation for marriage.

Some of the changes were at our request, and others were decisions my parents made. Sometimes the children closest in age fought the most, and it worked out better not to have them share a room. I don't think you need to make decisions now that will last until children begin moving out.

Until kids are about 5, I don't feel it's important to have only same-gender kids share a room. That opens up some options that might work short-term, but not indefinitely.

As a mom, I liked having my children in my bedroom until they were sleeping through the night, because I slept better that way. Not everybody likes that, though. You might want your daughter to have a room that also houses some of your hobby items. After all, she's not going to be using those high closet shelves for a while!

Have fun brainstorming the possibilites, and trying new things as time goes on.

MrsD

[DivasMomma]

I would say option 2...give the oldest his own room and the lil girl her own room (girls need their privacy!) then have the 4 middles children share HTH!

[QueenAngie]

Lots of options available to you!

Don't worry about 10 years down the road, worry about today.

Let us know what you decide.

[jmmv08]

I would say option 2

[selfhelpqueen]

I think we're in agreeance w/ all of you. We've decided option 2 will work the best. Something that DH suggested was having the three oldest trade off having their own room every year or so. I'm not sure what I think about this, but it's an idea worth exploring. (What do you guys think?) It's fun to brainstorm different scenarios. Thanks for all of your help, ladies. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

[annalaurabrown]

I come from a family of 8 children and we changed bedrooms every few years. I would vote for option 2 for right now and then you can make changes later on and adjust as needed.

[jkvkdailey]

I like the rotating single room idea, along with option #2. I was the oldest and I always had my own room - but in retrospect that wasn't the best idea. I never had to share space, so when DH and I moved in together I hated sharing closet space with him! I love him and all, but his clothes take up too much space!

It would be a neat birthday gift every other year or so to change decor in the "single" room and move a new tenant in.

Congrats on finishing the basement, we are just about done with the trim work and then our basement is also complete!!!

Kim

[oweirdo]

I like 3 but I think it depends on the kids, which ones are the closest. Not by Just age, but how well they get along. I would say instead of a birthday present, make your own holiday out of changing. Pick a day, every year change, make a big deal out of it, for the moving in and moving out.
well seeing how all four of mine are girls, its a bit easier. But Katlyn (10) and Kelli (6) have shared bed rooms since Kelli was born. So for 6 years they have been together, yeah they fight in the day, but at night they sleep together. Mostly on the top bunk, but if Kell falls asleep first on the floor or some weird place, I find Katlyn there by her side. Now Courtney and Cristi share a room they are almost 3 and 5 months. We have no problems there either. And I think it will be that way even if we get a 4 bedroom house. There is nothing wrong with them sharing till they move out

[Tracey with 6]

I'm with option 2 as well, I have 7 kids ina 4 bedroom house, we have the babyin with us, 2 girls in 1 room, 3 middle boys in 1 room and the eldest has a room to himself, however that is changing next week end when second somn turns 13, he will then mov out int o the room with the eldest, we shall see how that goes !