Five Essential Tips for Encouraging Siblings to Get Along in a Shared Bedroom

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Despite popular belief, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having siblings share a room when they're young.

Sometimes it's simply unavoidable. Consider the following circumstances, for example, where sharing a space just plain makes sense:

·    You're stuck in a crowded space or will be moving somewhere with less room: even if the situation is temporary, younger siblings can get along in the same space for years

·    You need to give up one of your kids' rooms for a long-term guest

·    You want your children to establish a bond at a young age rather than try to raise them separately

Just because you need to save space doesn't mean that your kids' comfort needs to suffer. In fact, it's crucial to give your sibling pair equal opportunities and treatment when it does indeed come time to share a room. By sticking to the following principles, you're more likely to encourage a positive environment for your children to get along.

Keep Comfort in Mind

Again, you should strive to give your children equal treatment. This rings true in the bedroom in terms of where your kids' respective spaces are set up and whether or not they can get a good night's sleep. For example, it wouldn't be fair to have one of your children exposed to the glare or sunlight or try to rest in a region of the room where there's poor air circulation

For this reason, it may be necessary to learn how to install blinds or put in some bedside fans to ensure comfort. Your kids don't want to feel like they're getting the short end of the stick, after all.

Beds on Separate Sides of the Room

This tip is straight and to the point, but critical to making sure that your children have as much space as possible. Whether separated by a window or set against opposite walls, little good comes from having your children too close during bedtime. Likewise, such a setup provides each of your kids with their own sense of personal space despite being in a shared area.

Provide Opportunities for their Personalities to Shine

On the same note, don't force your kids to have uniform décor throughout the house. Whether it's through having different wall arrangements or posters, small touches of décor can go a long way to allowing your sibling's individual personalities to shine in their sleeping spaces.

Give Them Opportunities to Split Up

Don't expect your kids to stay cooped up in their rooms all day. Provide additional spaces throughout the home to play separately and do homework, for example, rather than confine them to one spot. This also gives you opportunity to spend quality time with your children individually which is crucial to both your role as a parent and your kids' personal development.

Find Opportunities to Share

That being said, you can keep storage to a minimum by finding opportunities to share. Whether through a communal toy box or closet, sometimes it just plain makes sense to keep their stuff in the same area. This ultimately allows more room for activities and doesn't require you to purchase new storage solutions for no reason.

Making your siblings' shared space work requires some planning and creativity. The more you nurture their unique needs and personalities, the more comfortable they'll ultimately feel.