If you are a military family, you’re used to making less than ideal situations work. And for many families, allowing each child to have their own room might be ideal. But in some circumstances, sharing rooms is required. So if you have kids who are going to be sharing rooms with one another for the foreseeable future, here are three tips for making shared rooms more manageable for your kids.
Create A Division Within The Room
When your kids are young, you might not need to worry too much about each person having their own space or a large amount of privacy. But once your kids start to get a little older, they’re going to want to feel like they have some section of their room that is solely theirs, even if it’s just a small space.
To help you create this division within your kids’ room, you may want to install a false wall or partition to make the one room feel like two. Or, if this isn’t a feasible option for you, using something large like a piece of furniture or a bookshelf to create two distinct spaces can work just as well. As long as each person has access to common areas, like the closet or doorway, while also getting a small part of the room that’s just for them, you should be able to help your kids both maintain some privacy.
Make The Environment Ideal For Sleep
One of the most challenging things about having your kids share a room can be getting your kids to sleep soundly throughout the night. While you want your kids to get along, you likely don’t want your kids keeping each other up by talking or playing into the night.
To subtly discourage this, you’ll want to do everything you can to make their room an ideal environment for sleep. This means making the room darkened from any outside light and using a sound machine to block out any outside noise. Not only will this help your kids feel like it’s time to sleep, but it will also make it harder for them to play together or talk, too.
Get Creative With Storage
Having more than one kid in a room means that you’re having to share all of the storage in that space between multiple kids when it was likely set up for just one person. But luckily, there are plenty of ways you can get creative with storage options, both within the bedroom and within your entire home.
For in the room itself, you can use hidden storage or vertical storage options to make the best use of your available space. Or, if there’s simply no room in the bedroom, storing things outside of the room, like keeping toys in a common area or using a hall closet for clothes, can make it easier to keep the kids’ room clean and organized.
If you’re going to be having your kids share a room, consider using the tips mentioned above to help make this experience more manageable for everyone involved.
