Whether you live in a small home with limited space or you just want your kids to experience sharing their space with another person, many families wind up with their kids sharing a bedroom at one point or another. But while this might seem like something inconsequential to you, for your kids, this can be a hard adjustment.
To help make this easier for everyone involved, here are three tips for having your kids share a bedroom.
Get Them Used To Sleeping In A Similar Environment
While most everyone sleeps in the same general type of environment, your kids may have gotten used to sleeping in a certain atmosphere that might not be conducive for everyone. For example, one of your kids might like sleeping with a nightlight while the other needs it to be pitch black.
In a situation such as this, Dr. Craig Canapari, a contributor to the New York Times, recommends that you spend some time getting your kids used to sleeping in a similar environment before you put them in the same room. By having each kid compromise a little and change their sleep environment to better fit their new roommate, you’ll have kids who fall asleep and stay asleep even while sharing a room with another person.
Give Them Their Own Space
Just because your kids will now be sharing the same room doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to share everything within that room. In fact, you should try your best to give each of your children some of their own space and instill a sense of respect for others’ space as well.
One simple way to do this, according to Matthew Utley, a contributor to Father.ly, is to give each child some physical boundaries in their room. While their bed can be one of these boundaries, you could also consider separate areas for their toys or clothes. To make this even easier, you may want to get your kids bunk beds so that it’s harder for them to encroach on each other’s sleeping space as well as to leave more room within their bedroom.
Consider Different Bedtimes
Unless your children are very close to the same age, What To Expect shares that there could be some benefit to staggering your children’s bedtimes as they share a room. By allowing your older child to stay up slightly later than your younger child, they may have an easier time calming down for sleep and fall asleep faster on their own. If you’re wanting to transition your kids into sharing the same bedroom for the first time, consider using the tips mentioned above to help make this experience as seamless as possible for everyone in your household.