# anyone have a sibling bed?



## moonshine (Dec 5, 2002)

Dh and I were talking about beds tonight, as in what we might do for DD who is 14 months and still in bed with us (and appears to want to be there for some time yet). I mentioned that I thought that we would eventually have a sibling bed, meaning that the kids could sleep together, if they wanted to, of course. I did not do this with my siblings, nor did DH, but I think that it sounds like a really nice idea. DH's initial reaction was no, I don't think so, but then he often responds negatively to a new idea, almost as a gut reaction, and then often comes up with a different answer later when he has more time to think about it.







:

Do any of you with more than one do this? If it is a brother and sister situation, is there an age cut off when both in bed would no longer be considered acceptable? I know that Elizabeth Pantly discusses siblings sleeping together in her book, but other than that and the traditional family bed, I haven't read too much about it. Just curious, however hypothetical it is right now with only one child!


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## Cheri (Nov 9, 2002)

.


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## Pigpen (Dec 12, 2002)

Our boys (2&4) still sleep w/us, but I bought a twin bed with a trundle for when they decide to move on...Theirs is a very small room so two beds is not an option. This way they are side by side but have their own space. The kind we got, just slides out from under the bed, doesn't pop up like some I've seen. Then in the morning we can just slide it back under for more play space. I have a feeling if they move out of our bed, they'll still want to sleep next to each other for a while...


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## nikirj (Oct 1, 2002)

My family (my parents' family) did sibling beds when we were younger.

I shared a bed with my brother until I was 10 and he was 7. Then my sister moved out of my parents' bed (she was 4) and she started sleeping with me, and my brother got his own bed. I shared a bed with my sister until I was 16, when I decided I'd had enough of that and stopped sleeping with my sister. My brothers (5 years apart in age) did not share a bed for more than a couple of months before they decided they wanted bunk beds.

My parents recognized that people LIKE contact and like to sleep with one another, and that until we wanted to have our own space, there was nothing wrong with us sleeping together. I know that in some families it is a money or space issue, but for us it was not. We had separate bedrooms and would often switch around whose bed we slept in from night to night. My parents also had a king-sized bed and we were never unwelcome there, but with all those kids it could get awful crowded!


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## MirandaW (Apr 22, 2002)

My older kids have their own beds, but its rare for them to sleep alone in them. My brothers and I used stack all of our blankets in the living room and sleep together when we were younger. I think until I started hitting puberty. My parents were big co-sleepers (even though they were divorced, we always slept in a family bed when we were little) and if we wanted to sleep with a sib, no problem. If we wanted to sleep alone, same thing. Its what I do with the my kids as well.


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## ekblad9 (Nov 21, 2001)

Our kids have all slept together at one time or another. I think it's nice. Sometimes it's the girls, sometimes boy/girl. I shared a room with my brother for a long time when I was young. I have fond memories of it!


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## SLY (Dec 31, 2002)

I slept with my sister in a double bed off and on while we were growing up. Sometimes we had our own beds, sometimes we did bunk beds, sometimes we shared a double bed. It really all depended on the house we were in, and how many bedrooms we had. I didnt mind sleeping w/Kate, it was fine. (though she was a kicker... )


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## gurumama (Oct 6, 2002)

Most siblings end up in bed together at some point, I think--even if they have their own beds and own rooms. My sister and I shared a bed (though we had two twins) often when one or the other was scared.

We're planning "sibling bed" in 2 years or so when ds2 is 2.5 or 3. He and ds1 will have a blast, I'm sure, and DH and I can *finally* have our own fun in our own bed







.

Mel


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## Piglet68 (Apr 5, 2002)

We are planning on a sibling bed. In fact, we are in the process of buying a 2 bedroom condo and plan to have it until the kids at least hit puberty (we're planning on having one more child). Until that time, they can share a room, and even a bed if they wish.

I think there is nothing wrong with siblings bed-sharing, no matter whether they are the same sex or opposite sex, until they are no longer comfortable with it.


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## Mary-Beth (Nov 20, 2001)

If your kids want to sleep together then I think this is a great idea. My sister (3.5 years older) and I slept together all the time...from my earliest memories and continued until she went off to college...and then when she came home pregnant we slept together again until she had her baby and got her own place! My parents had two beds for us and even gave us our own rooms at one time but we kept climbing into bed together so they finally gave up and stopped trying to stop us.
My sister and I are still best friends. I think our sleep sharing helped establish this bond.
Of course, I wouldn't try to force the issue either...just present it as an opportunity and see if they want to...they'll surely let you know when they want their own beds.


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## EnviroBecca (Jun 5, 2002)

My brother and I officially shared a bedroom only until I was 9, because my friends started teasing me about it ("Ew, you share a room with a BOY?!") but we continued to share when visiting grandparents, etc. If there was a double bed, we would share it. Just a few years ago, I visited him when he lived in a one-room apt., so we slept in the same room. It was nice.
















There was a point when I stopped being willing to change clothes in front of my brother, during puberty. But I didn't mind changing in the bathroom and then sharing a bedroom. I think a lot of people just equate "sleeping together" and sex to a ridiculous degree.


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## Cloverlove (Jan 2, 2003)

Our kiddos just started sleeping in the same bed. Ds is 5 and dd is 18 mos. At this point we play musical beds, but they do start off together. They'll probably sleep together (at least in the same room) until one or the other feels uncomfortable with it.

It strikes a great balance for us. We have our own space in the early evening, we still have a family bed and we don't have to move into a bigger house.


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## Leatherette (Mar 4, 2003)

My sister and I shared a room (and often a bed) until I was 11 or 12. I think it was great. We were never afraid at night. My son is half co-sleeping with us now (whenever he wants to), but we'd like to have another soon, and I have a big huband who steals covers and doesn't wake up unless a bomb drops. So we already know we want one of those co-sleeper cribs when the baby is little, but then I'd like them to share a room.

I also don't like the idea that people have to get huge houses (or SUV's - remember when a sedan was enough room for 5 people?) just because they have more than one kid, and we don't have enough bedrooms for them to have their own rooms.

So count me in for it.


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## sevenkids (Dec 16, 2002)

My kids always slept together, my 18 year old was thrilled to get his own room last year!
The boys have a queen in their room, the girls have twins, but they pushed them together. Often, they all end up in the boys room on the queen, all tangled up in each other. If they don't come in to my bed, that is. The little one (3) still sleeps with dh and I. (After 21 years of co-sleeping, I am actually sooooo ready to evict him, but dh is adament that he stay.)
I want my own room.....


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

after buying new mattresses for al the kids they decided that they wanteds to sleep together and all sleep in one twin bed together. So now we are going to buy a full size bed for them./


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## Monica (Mar 7, 2002)

We were never allowed in my parents bed and I would have been very content to sleep alone my entire childhood, but my sister really needed some nighttime company. We always had our own rooms and our own beds, but we slept almost every night in her bed together. She had a queen and I had a twin. As we got into highschool, I wanted to sleep alone and we would start the night in our own beds, but were always together in the morning. Even after I left for college, she would beg me to sleep with her when I was home for holiday's and such. As for my children I have a boy and a girl, so I am not sure how long they will sleep together. They are both in our bed (a queen and twin pushed together) and my tentative plan is to put them together in a queen when the baby is ready to move out. We'll see how it goes. This is a few years off yet. Dh and I have actually talked about having a sleeping room for the kids and a play room instead of his room and her room. At least for the next 4-5 years or so.


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