Whether you choose to make your children share a bedroom or are forced to by lack of space or other circumstances, it’s at times both a blessing and a curse.
As one of three children I was fortunate that I grew up in a large house so I did not have to share a room, and thank goodness for that because my sisters and I used to fight like cats and dogs. 
My children don’t have this luxury because one of our bedrooms in our house has been made into my home office and this means my two boys share a room. Not surprisingly their big sister was not keen to have one of her younger brothers as a roommate.
If you’re considering having your children share a room then it’s only fair to look at the pros and cons. However, if you’re like me and don’t have a choice then quite frankly it is what it is and your kids just have to deal with it.
Pros of children sharing a bedroom
1. If you’ve got a little one that is scared of the dark or dislikes being by himself at night then it’s comforting for them to know that their sibling is just a hand grab away.
2. All the mess is confined to just one room and you’ve got two little people to help clean it up.
3. It is a good way to help them learn about sharing, putting up with differences and learning to cooperate and work together.
4. You might find the siblings bond well when they are in such close proximity, they can also comfort one another when the chips are down or they’ve been told off.
5. Often there’s one child that sleeps better than the other and this can encourage the other to get to sleep quicker or at the very least stop yelling out because they might wake their sibling.
6. It gives you more options for living in your house, maybe it frees up a room for guests, an office or even a much-wanted playroom for the kids. 
Cons of children sharing a bedroom
1. When you’ve got a toddler or a preschooler sharing with a school-aged child it can be frustrating for the older sibling when the younger one refuses to sleep or cries in the middle of the night.
2. If one of your children is an early riser it’s likely they’ll disturb their sibling when they get out of bed in the morning and then you’ve got two early risers and one very grumpy kid, groan.
3. The mess, it’s twice as bad because you’ve got two children rifling through drawers looking for clothes and chucking them on the floor. You’ll also have twice the amount of toys to get them to tidy up.
4. There are often fights when one child wants to do something quietly in their room but the other one is intent on playing noisy games. It’s also tricky if one child is tidy and the other is a messy Bessie.
5. You children don’t have much privacy or time away from each other, and sharing a room also makes it hard to give a child a time out in their room because their sibling might be in their playing nicely and so you inadvertently punish both of them.
6. The spread of germs in inevitable when your kids are in such close proximity, and older children might teach their younger siblings some bad habits or attitude.
Whatever you choose to do or if you are like me and have no choice, just remember that the key to making sharing a bedroom work is to have rules and agreements in place.
