The absent child’s interests should be taken into consideration when addressing issues. For example, after asking the child at hand, “What color would you like your room to be?” you then need to ask, “What color do you think your sister would like?” This will help prepare each sibling sharing a bedroom to understand that final decisions will require joint approval.
After each child has received an opportunity to share their vision of the room, bring them together to share their ideas.
If the children agree on similar issues, praise them for their good ideas and help them negotiate a compromise for issues they disagree on. Hammering out all the details will likely require a number of discussions over a period of time. Let the siblings sharing bedrooms know that if they can’t agree on an issue, the ultimate decision becomes yours. Your ability to offer solutions and help the children make compromises will be very valuable during this stage of negotiations.
The following are some issues siblings sharing bedrooms may be confronted with, along with some possible solutions:
Space:
Personal space is a huge issue with siblings sharing bedrooms. More often than not, there is too much stuff, not enough privacy and a lack of personal style in shared bedrooms.
Consider these ideas to help siblings sharing bedrooms happily co-exist.
Bunk Beds
Kid bunk beds certainly help maximize space and keep arguments to a minimum since each child has a cool place they can call their own.
For two siblings sharing a bedroom, a futon bunk bed or double kid bunk bed is great for children who enjoy entertaining friends in their room or having sleepovers.
Colors
Privacy and taste aren’t the only issues siblings sharing bedrooms have to address. Color-coding as well as labeling storage containers helps keep each child’s belongings organized and separate.
Consider giving each child a box that locks to store small treasures.
Give each child a shelf close to their bed if there is not enough room for bedside tables.
Maximize space by giving each child an under-the-bed storage bin on wheels.
The Ups and Downs of Siblings Sharing a Room
The Upside
The most obvious benefit to putting siblings together is that sharing a bedroom encourages them to learn to negotiate a relationship both can be happy with. How to share or decorate the room teaches your children to co-operate towards a common goal. It may not always be peaceful negotiation, nontheless they are learning to combine forces to accomplish a task. You can play a key role in supervising how this partnership is fostered by creating the ground rules that your children use to make decisions.
Siblings can bring out the best in each other when they see each other's good behavior in action. Does your child who loves reading encourage it in your reluctant reader? Does the creativity in one child draw out the artist in another? The best each of your children has to offer is powerful role modeling for good behavior.
The Downside
Although role modeling can be a real benefit at times, it can also turn into a double-edged sword. Does one child wake up often at night, creating a domino effect in the other child? Do delay bedtime tactics spur up a competition? ("I want a glass of water." "Can you take me to the bathroom?") The not-so-good bedtime behavior of one can clearly impact the other, making things difficult for you.
Some children can co-exist with each other effortlessly. But for children with opposite temperaments, sharing a room can create more conflict than you can handle. Is one child a noisy night owl? Is the other an early-to-bed, early-to-rise child? Is one child neat while the other is messy? Your children's temperament fit will be important considerations as you make family decisions about room-sharing.
Ideas for Kids Sharing a Room
Even siblings who get along famously will need time to themselves now and then so a shared bedroom must be flexible to those needs. Such a bedroom needs to provide an environment that is at once communal and private. Children who share a room also need to feel like their room's decor still represents their individuality. You can create a shared space that fulfills all those necessities.
Room Divider
A room divider of some sort is a necessity for any shared bedroom. The siblings that share the room are going to have times when they fight and times when they want privacy or solitude. Since neither child has his own room, a room divider can give a sense of privacy and seclusion. For example, install folding shutter doors across the room or sliding doors. The simplest room divider will make a difference, even if it's just a heavy curtain or a large bookcase. Children need to feel like they're not chained to their sibling every single moment of the day and do have the option of turning their shared space into a concealed area.
Communal Space
If the size of the bedroom allows, designate an area of the room for the children to spend time together by creating a space that belongs to both children. For example, this could be as simple as a large round table with festive comfortable chairs suitable for doing homework together, or a soft large throw rug as a designated play area. Children should take advantage of one of the best parts of sharing a room, which is always having a playmate or buddy around to have fun with or bounce ideas off of. This communal space should encourage them to do exactly that.
Sense of Identity
Part of the fun of having one's own room is being able to decorate it in colors that express your personal style and individuality. This is an important part of growing up and something that you don't want your kids to miss out on just because they're sharing a room. Let kids pick out their own beds, desks, dressers and linens. In fact, have each child select a designated color or colors that are expressly their own in this shared room. This will make a world of difference as children sharing a space will still be able to have a sense of autonomy.
http://www.decorating-kids-rooms.net
http://parenting.kaboose.com
http://designdazzle.blogspot.com
http://www.ehow.com
http://www.home-designing.com
After each child has received an opportunity to share their vision of the room, bring them together to share their ideas.
If the children agree on similar issues, praise them for their good ideas and help them negotiate a compromise for issues they disagree on. Hammering out all the details will likely require a number of discussions over a period of time. Let the siblings sharing bedrooms know that if they can’t agree on an issue, the ultimate decision becomes yours. Your ability to offer solutions and help the children make compromises will be very valuable during this stage of negotiations.
The following are some issues siblings sharing bedrooms may be confronted with, along with some possible solutions:
Space:
Personal space is a huge issue with siblings sharing bedrooms. More often than not, there is too much stuff, not enough privacy and a lack of personal style in shared bedrooms.
Consider these ideas to help siblings sharing bedrooms happily co-exist.
Bunk Beds
Kid bunk beds certainly help maximize space and keep arguments to a minimum since each child has a cool place they can call their own.
For two siblings sharing a bedroom, a futon bunk bed or double kid bunk bed is great for children who enjoy entertaining friends in their room or having sleepovers.
Colors
With siblings sharing bedrooms, sometimes it’s a challenge to get them to agree on a color scheme. Try not to lock yourself into thinking the colors absolutely must co-ordinate. If you keep an open mind you might be surprised at the results.
When painting kid rooms, try to keep favored colors closest to the child who chooses them. For example, the siblings sharing bedrooms in our house received their desired colors when we decided to paint the rooms in half horizontally. Further, by giving each kid bunk bed wall its own color, each bunkmate enjoys a sense of individuality & style.
We weaved each child’s favorite colors throughout the room by:
Allowing them to choose accessories and storage bins in their favorite color.
Allowing them to choose their own bedding.
Painting each child’s dresser drawers in their respective colors.
Having the children place their handprints on the wall using complimentary acrylic paint colors to create a decorative rooms the boys love.
Kid Room Storage Ideas
Privacy and taste aren’t the only issues siblings sharing bedrooms have to address. Color-coding as well as labeling storage containers helps keep each child’s belongings organized and separate.
Consider giving each child a box that locks to store small treasures.
Give each child a shelf close to their bed if there is not enough room for bedside tables.
Maximize space by giving each child an under-the-bed storage bin on wheels.
The Ups and Downs of Siblings Sharing a Room
The Upside
The most obvious benefit to putting siblings together is that sharing a bedroom encourages them to learn to negotiate a relationship both can be happy with. How to share or decorate the room teaches your children to co-operate towards a common goal. It may not always be peaceful negotiation, nontheless they are learning to combine forces to accomplish a task. You can play a key role in supervising how this partnership is fostered by creating the ground rules that your children use to make decisions.
Siblings can bring out the best in each other when they see each other's good behavior in action. Does your child who loves reading encourage it in your reluctant reader? Does the creativity in one child draw out the artist in another? The best each of your children has to offer is powerful role modeling for good behavior.
The Downside
Although role modeling can be a real benefit at times, it can also turn into a double-edged sword. Does one child wake up often at night, creating a domino effect in the other child? Do delay bedtime tactics spur up a competition? ("I want a glass of water." "Can you take me to the bathroom?") The not-so-good bedtime behavior of one can clearly impact the other, making things difficult for you.
Some children can co-exist with each other effortlessly. But for children with opposite temperaments, sharing a room can create more conflict than you can handle. Is one child a noisy night owl? Is the other an early-to-bed, early-to-rise child? Is one child neat while the other is messy? Your children's temperament fit will be important considerations as you make family decisions about room-sharing.
Ideas for Kids Sharing a Room
Even siblings who get along famously will need time to themselves now and then so a shared bedroom must be flexible to those needs. Such a bedroom needs to provide an environment that is at once communal and private. Children who share a room also need to feel like their room's decor still represents their individuality. You can create a shared space that fulfills all those necessities.
Room Divider
A room divider of some sort is a necessity for any shared bedroom. The siblings that share the room are going to have times when they fight and times when they want privacy or solitude. Since neither child has his own room, a room divider can give a sense of privacy and seclusion. For example, install folding shutter doors across the room or sliding doors. The simplest room divider will make a difference, even if it's just a heavy curtain or a large bookcase. Children need to feel like they're not chained to their sibling every single moment of the day and do have the option of turning their shared space into a concealed area.
Communal Space
If the size of the bedroom allows, designate an area of the room for the children to spend time together by creating a space that belongs to both children. For example, this could be as simple as a large round table with festive comfortable chairs suitable for doing homework together, or a soft large throw rug as a designated play area. Children should take advantage of one of the best parts of sharing a room, which is always having a playmate or buddy around to have fun with or bounce ideas off of. This communal space should encourage them to do exactly that.
Sense of Identity
Part of the fun of having one's own room is being able to decorate it in colors that express your personal style and individuality. This is an important part of growing up and something that you don't want your kids to miss out on just because they're sharing a room. Let kids pick out their own beds, desks, dressers and linens. In fact, have each child select a designated color or colors that are expressly their own in this shared room. This will make a world of difference as children sharing a space will still be able to have a sense of autonomy.
http://www.decorating-kids-rooms.net
http://parenting.kaboose.com
http://designdazzle.blogspot.com
http://www.ehow.com
http://www.home-designing.com
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