Sharing a room: Advice on how to keep the kids happy together

Before putting your children in a room together, be sure they are self-settlers. Otherwise you may face a very difficult situation, with children keeping each other awake for prolonged periods at bedtime. This may sometimes lead to difficult behaviour and crying needing parental intervention, or they may even wake each other up in the night.

Suitability of room sharing depends on the age of the children concerned, and how much they are able to understand. If a baby is due to share a room with an older sibling, be sure that big brother or sister won’t be tempted to start playing with the baby in the night! Toddlers and older children can be reasoned with to a certain extent, and you may want to consider a mini reward scheme for going to sleep without a fuss. Be sure to underpin any room sharing plans with a stable bedtime routine, and this should help to establish good sleep habits in both children.