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roomintheheart
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 11:52am | IP Logged
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I'm looking for creative ideas for space use to help my kids get more sleep at night.
We have a three-bedroom house. Dh & I in one bedroom, oldest son (15) in one bedroom, and four girls (ages 13, 8, 6, 4) in one bedroom. The girls have a terrible time getting to sleep/staying asleep. It is a round robin of waking/keeping each other up. They are in full-over-full-sized bunk beds. There is not enough room in the bedroom (or any of the bedrooms) for two twin bunk beds.
The other rooms in our house are kitchen/dining combo, living room, school room (which is the room with the main entrance to the house) and a bathroom. No usable attic/basement space to be had. I'm seriously considering giving up our bedroom and splitting up the girls. Dh & I would have to sleep in either the living room or school room (perhaps on a futon?).
Anybody have any ideas?
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 12:14pm | IP Logged
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My ds (18 tomorrow) is in a walk in closet 
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 12:55pm | IP Logged
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Hmmm, not how to apply it logistically, but I recall reading an architecture book once that spoke of how in Japan, the apartments are so very tiny that often, the children do not have bedrooms or beds of their own. They keep roll up mattresses in storage in a place like the dining room to roll out at bed time. I always thought that sounded like a good way to cope with small space, especially with the littlest ones.
Also, is one of the bedrooms significantly bigger? Perhaps you could move your son and the two older girls, or just the oldest, to one bedroom but have part of the room partitioned off with a screen or curtains (suspended from the ceiling, like what is often used in studio apartments)
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Lindsay
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 1:35pm | IP Logged
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Well, would the master bedroom have room for two twin over twin bunks? then you and dh could have the smaller room.
Also, what about a white noise machine?
What about giving them each their own sets of blankets on the shared bed (no tug o wars) what about putting them feet to feet? What about a bolster that cuts the bed off cattycorner so that the feet have the less room but the pillow end have lots of space?
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 1:38pm | IP Logged
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Oh I see you say none can do two sets of bunks. wow tiny rooms. We have a small house and 2 of our bedrooms can handle two sets of bunks.
What about a trundle bed under a set of twin bunks and an extra mattress that can be pulled into the room?
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Aagot
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 2:39pm | IP Logged
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What about moving the 4 yr old in with you?
Or, any chance of insulating a shed in the back yard? My son would love to live in a shed 
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roomintheheart
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 2:55pm | IP Logged
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Yes, all the rooms are pretty small, and so are the closets. We'd considered a trundle bed, but the room is so small that it only holds 1 chest of drawers, so we have under-bed drawers for clothes.
They each are allowed 2 blankets of their own (so 4 per bed) because we discovered long ago that sharing blankets just created problems. It doesn't make for pretty beds, but it is more practical.
We've tried to put them head to foot, so they faced opposite ways, but that actually ended up causing more problems, with complaints of feet in face, etc.
I've thought about trying to do some sort of curtain/partition, but I just can't figure out how to do it. I think it would end up being pulled on/over and create "her side is bigger" arguments. Had never thought of a bolster--if I can find one and figure out a way to make it stay put, that might work. I don't sew, so I can't make one  .
If my room were significantly bigger (I think it is about one foot wider than theirs) I'd trade in an instant--but I wouldn't be able to do anything differently in my room than in theirs.
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Erin
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 2:56pm | IP Logged
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For many years we had 4 children in a small room, ages were 8, 6, 4 & 2 (girl and 3 boys).
We had a bunk with a trundle underneath and a single bed. Is it that you don't have space for another bunk or you don't have floor space for even a single?
Could your 6 & 4 year old sleep end to end? therefore only having a bunk and trundle.
Alternatively what about a trio bed? (double bed on bottom and single on top) we have also had that with our 3 girls, ages 13, 5 & 2 at the time. and you could have a trundle for the 4th girl. that worked very well.
we are still using the trio, for our three small boys, 6, 4 and 2.
Regards getting them to sleep, it is hard with the big age spread. We've tried reading lamps for the older ones to read by so as to not disturb the younger ones. also we've done bedtime staggering. So send your younger two off first, get them to sleep before your 8yr old goes in and then your 13yr old. alternatively I've put younger children to sleep in my bed and then carried them in. Not sure what to recommend re staying asleep, never really had that problem.
I really encourage you and dh to keep to a bedroom, with a door. so important on many levels for you to have your own space. If you decided to use the alternative (less private rooms) use them for the girls.
I once read a passage in a book that has stayed with me. In 'Who gets the drumstick'(yours, mine and ours- old version, 10 + 8 = 18 children). When designing their new home Mr Beardsley devotes a whole parent retreat for the newly married. His wife to be objects feeling this is too much for them, children should have more. Groom to be is a naval captain and he explains how important it is for the captain on board to have his own space, so many lives are in his hands, he has many decisions to make and needs his own space to re-charge and re-group, it makes him a better captain. (never realised why before) anyhow he says the same principle applies to parents. They will be better parents for having room to recharge and regroup. always stayed with me that advice, so very, very wise.
I'm not suggesting necessarily that you and dh keep the bigger room, in fact dh and I took the smallest room so the girls and library could co-exist. but I do think it important for you to have a room for you to retreat to. We've been owner building most of our married life, and there have been times when we haven't had walls let alone doors on our rooms, and that is a strain on our marriage particularly with teens.
Could you and dh take the girls room and they take yours? could your son have a spot in one of the more open rooms and split the girls into his room?
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Erin
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roomintheheart
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 3:32pm | IP Logged
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Well, the kitchen/dining room and living room are pretty open to each other, so they aren't great options for bed space.
What do you guys think about a futon in the schoolroom?
The school room does have a door between it and the dining room/kitchen area. I am concerned about putting the kids there because it is the main entrance to the house. We live in MN, so I worry about them wandering outside in the middle of the night in the winter (although, I guess it wouldn't be much better in the summer). Three of my five kids are sleep walkers  . So far, we've never had any dangerous wandering, but I have heard of it happening. I just thought I'd be more comfortable with dh and I out there than the kids. But it's true, we'd have no privacy.
I was thinking it would probably the the younger girls we'd have to move, since the older ones are more likely to object and want their privacy, but I can talk to dh about that and see what he thinks. He'd lay down the law if necessary.
Thoughts? (And thanks so much to all who have responded; you are giving me a lot to think about.)
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Aagot
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 3:44pm | IP Logged
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Hmm, you have tight quarters. Have you thought about getting rid of the classroom and moving supplies to the LR. The kids could work at the kitchen table. Then I would put ds in classroom and split girls up.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 6:01pm | IP Logged
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How about a double keyed deadbolt on your main entrance then you don't have to worry about escapees just take the key to bed with you.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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If you put a futon in the schoolroom, honestly I see that for your son, not husband and wife. Maybe then he can have a wardrobe like they used to have before houses had closets. Then you could put a single bunk set in each of the other rooms.
Someone else mentioned the idea of putting 4 year old in your room which sounds possible if there's room. Is there room for a toddler bed or would she be too big for that? Or could you slide a twin under your bed for her to pull out at night? If that's possible then son could stay in his room, oldest girl gets top bunk and 2 middle girls would be only ones to share a bed. ??
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Erica Sanchez
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We are (now) 11 people in a 3 bedroom house and because of the adoption process and laws regarding gender in each room, have recently had to make some changes. In each of the children's bedroom, we have a set of bunkbeds with a trundle. In the room where now 4 of the girls sleep there is also room for a twin bed. So, they each have a bed. What is saving us is my manic decluttering tendancies.
Our new little one is in the crib in our room one foot from our bed and we kept the toddler bed in there, too, for our 3 year old boy. This is technically legal here and we just couldn't do it any other way. Is sounds like we are stuffed in this house, but it doesn't really feel like it because of my manic ways. :)
I/we truly have not suffered having the youngest of the bunch in our room. At one point we had a baby in our bed, baby-not-quite toddler in the crib, and toddler in the toddler bed. It just sounds awful written out, but it didn't/doesn't feel like it. The young ones go to bed early enough that by the time we retire it is quiet and peaceful in our room. It just works out.
Some day hopefully not in the too distant future we will do an addition.
For many years, we had mixed genders in one of the rooms and I think if I were you, I'd put the 4 year old in with the 15 year old. She would go to bed earlier and your son would still have quiet time in there before he went to bed.
Good luck!
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VanessaVH
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| Posted: March 04 2013 at 12:06pm | IP Logged
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Growing up we lived in 2 houses that were really tight (mobile home trailers actually...) I have one brother and one sister. In both of those, my brother slept on a futon in the living room, my parent's had a room, and my sister and I shared a room. I really don't remember him ever having a problem with it at all... he is an extremely sound sleeper, so it didn't even bother him if other people got up before him!
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: room sharing
