The Benefits of Siblings Sharing a Bedroom
Encourage Sibling Relationships and Help Children Get Along
Feb 16, 2009
When families must use one of a home's bedrooms as a home office space or live in a home that has fewer bedrooms than family members, an obvious space-saving solution is to have children share a bedroom. Some parents fear that it is unfair to make children share rooms and believe that each child deserves and needs a private bedroom.
Other parents embrace a chance to curb overindulgence and give siblings experience with how to live together in close quarters and get along with others. Parents deciding whether or not to have siblings share a room should consider the following benefits to be gained from sibling room-sharing.
Siblings Sharing a Bedroom Can Develop Close Sibling Relationships
When children spend their days rushing from one activity to another, it can be difficult for siblings to find enough time to spend together to build close sibling relationships. Children sharing a bedroom can find it easier to get to know each other than children who might stay isolated in their own rooms pursuing their own interests.
In fact, in The Successful Child [Little, Brown and Company, 2002], authors William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., and Elizabeth Pantley report that many parents observe that children who share bedrooms develop a special connection with each other. For example, older siblings often look after, read to, or otherwise entertain their younger sibling roommates. Siblings that live together have a valuable opportunity to make shared memories that will last them a lifetime.
Sharing a Bedroom Can Help Children Get Along with Others
Sharing a room can also help siblings develop important life skills. As Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish note in Siblings Without Rivalry [W.W. Norton & Company, 1987], room-sharing siblings must stand up to each other to protect their interests, yet must also learn how to negotiate and compromise so that everyone in the room has his or her needs met. Siblings that have already learned how to live in close quarters with someone will find it easier down the line to share a room with a college roommate or a spouse.
Younger Siblings Can Learn Responsibility from Observing Older Sibling Roommates
Furthermore, younger siblings can learn and adopt good patterns of behavior from observing the actions of older sibling roommates. If a younger child sees an older one putting toys away, dressing him or herself in the mornings, putting dirty clothes in the laundry hamper, and so on, the younger sibling will want to copy his or her older brother or sister. Younger brothers and sisters will soon take on more responsibility for taking care of themselves and their things.
If parents do decide to have siblings live together, siblings and parents must work together to establish fair rules for the roommates to follow, and adults must make sure that the room is safe for both older and younger children to inhabit. Done fairly and safely, however, sibling room-sharing can benefit the whole family in ways beyond just saving money and space.
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