The things we must do to make it work...
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
United States
August 23, 2010 7:54pm CST
I live in a very small space, but have 5 kids. The 4 boys share one bedroom while my daughter shares her room with the washer and dryer.
In the boys room we have bunk beds for the older 2.. the youngest was in a crib while my 4 year old had a toddler bed. However, the older boys broke the toddler bed and the crib was starting to fall apart as well.. but I was afraid to do anything about it due to lack of space. I do not have room in there for 2 more larger beds.. the crib and toddler bed hardly fit in there as it was.
Well, today I did something about it. I went out to the shed and got the car bed my 7 year old used to sleep in before we moved here. I set that up in the boy's bedroom and am making the 2 year old and 4 year old sleep in it together. It's large enough for both of them.. and once they get too big for it we'll buy another set of bunk beds (with the older boys on the top of each, and the younger ones on the bottom of each).
Ideally I'd love for each child to have their own bed... I'd love it even more if my 13 year old and 2 year old didn't have to be in the same room... but we do what we must to make it work.
Do you have issues with lack of space in your home? What sorts of things have you had to do to make your space work for your family? Have you ever had to make 2 kids share a bed for awhile?
6 people like this
12 responses
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Hi Kats,
I grew up sharing a room with my brother. When my girls were all younger, there were 4 of them here all at once and I'm sure I don't have to tell you how hard it is to find a place big enough for that many kids. I haven't had a bedroom of my own in years. My bed is the couch and I use the coat closet in the hall for my clothes. My 25 year old is here and we share a vanity table and I store some of my things in her very tiny bedroom but technically...it's her room. The 16 yr old has the other much larger room. She is lucky. When all 4 girls were home they did share the rooms. Things were crowed but it was a roof over our head....it was home. One thing I did in the smaller room was to put a futon. during the day it was folded up and gave much more floor space and at night it was a double bed which was big enough for two of them. At one point we had air mattresses which could be deflated during the day to give space. You do what you have to do to get by.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157551)
• United States
24 Aug 10
At various times we have had flip chairs that could be beds. It works. I even live in a large house, but have stretched it at times.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
I don't expect I'll ever have the space I need for 5 kids... and can't imagine what it will be like when I have grandkids!
@AmbiePam (85484)
• United States
24 Aug 10
You go girl! You see a problem and you fix it! That's a lot of boys to be in one room. Especially with the ages so varied. At least when and if they do get their own room they'll certainly be appreciative. : ) My dad had to share a bed with his younger brother for years (him being 1 of 16), and he said the only thing he minded was when his brother wet the bed. And unfortunately for my dad, his younger brother wet his bed until he was seven. So my dad was nine before he knew he'd be dry when he woke up in the morning. That really makes me laugh. I mean if it had been me, I wouldn't have found it funny. But since it wasn't me, I can laugh. hee hee
1 person likes this
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
24 Aug 10
My sister and I shared a room and a bed for awhile when I was younger. I am not really sure how long, but she will tell me stories about how I would be bouncing around in the bed keeping her awake and that a few times I actually stepped on her head. LOL
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
My oldest was the only one who ever had a problem with wetting the bed, and that stopped awhile back. Though the youngest still isn't out of diapers yet.. so we'll see what the future holds.
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
24 Aug 10
This brings back alot of memories..lol I have had to share bedrooms and beds with my siblings more time then I can count. My mom having 9 kids and that doesn't include the step kids that used to stay with us on occasion. SO at times it was a real squeeze to get to sleep. I bet your boys are just loving that car bed..
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
25 Aug 10
Yeah, that is good. well, at least they don't have to sleep in camp beds they are narrow and not as comfortable as a real bed..but it would give them room.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Yes they sure are loving it... I'm glad to have them out of their broken beds before it became a safety hazard.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Aug 10
hi katsmeow I had to sleep with my younger sister til I was in my midteen and thought nothing of it as people used to make their kids share a bed. but she was grossly overweight so it was not all that much
fun.I was delighted when my dad added two bedrooms and a bathroom onto the farm house as I had my own bed. b ut sadly I was almost ready to
move out on my own and did so two years later. I had room for my children as I could only have two because of my uterus being torn u p so badly after the second childbirth. then we lost our little daughter when she was eight. I so regretted having had to have a hysterectomomy but we wanted three children and finally only had one.He is now 51 and I an very
proud of him.,
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Aw, that's so sad. At least you did have 1 healthy child.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
24 Aug 10
Congratulations on solving your problem. Lady, I grew up sleeping in the middle of a double bed between my two sisters. One was five years older than me and the other ten years older than me. even in my teens I still slept with the sister who is 5 years older than me.That's just the way it was as my parents had separate bedrooms probably from my birth.
Until we got bunk beds for my sons they slept in a king sized bed until the eldest was about 5 and then there were the bunk beds they moved into.
We just do the best we can given the circumstances. Now I live in a two bedroom two bathroom house and when all the family are here and in fact almost every weekend we use a blow up bed and often someone is still sleeping on a sofa.
The small space does not stop them from coming home
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
While growing up I lived upstairs from a family and I never could figure out where they all slept. There were 4 kids, the oldest was my age.. then the 2 parents and even the grandmother lived there to watch the kids while the parents worked. There were only 2 bedrooms! The parents had their own room, and the youngest slept in there.. and I guess everyone else slept in the other bedroom. There was a large bed, possibly queen maybe even king sized.. and a toddler bed. I always wanted to ask if the grandmother slept in the bed with the boy who was my age, or if she had to sleep on the sofa... but I was afraid of what the answer might be so I never asked. I guess to them it was no big deal.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
24 Aug 10
I guess that they were just coping and could not do any better at that time. I think though that the GM probably slept on the sofa or a pull out bed or something like that. They must have been so glad to have the GM living with them to help with the children.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Actually I think they could do better.. they seemed to have a decent amount of money.. I always assumed they lived there so they could spend their money on more frivelous things.. the boys all had the latest video games and toys, they had so much food in their kitchen at all times that most of it was stored all over the counters and on the floor.. Or perhaps they chose to live that way due to their own upbringing. I really don't know.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Oh gosh yes, I owned a beautiful and spacious bungalow home for 20 years, which had 4 bedrooms, two story and countless closet space. So I am down on my luck and my home was repossessed.
So I had to move in with my boyfriend. Ended up donating a life long history of 20 years of furniture to move into a two bedroom apartment. In my home I had an office space completely my own space to stretch and keep as I wanted. Now I am sitting in a corner at the dinning room table and even after 3 years have many of my clothing still in bins and suitcases as we have no room for this gals clothing. One of the bedrooms had to be turned into sort of a storage area, so watch out when this gal needs something as the frustration kicks in as I am not use to being disorganized. It is a small and not so great space and when I remember back to my beautiful home, 2 1/2 car garage, I get really weepy. Not so much because I have lost, but because I have lost and am so uncomfortable in the process.
My boyfriend really tries to help but there is so much you can do in a small area. I am happy that you are making the best of your living arrangements, as I really try but when I see the clutter here and there it drives me insane.
Best of luck
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Are there kids living there too? That is our problem too. We had a large, 2 story, 3 bedroom house with a basement. It wasn't beautiful but it was big. From there we moved into a mobile home with nothing but a shed for storage space.. and we have 5 kids! You think you're cramped?
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
I suppose some of that is frustration at your financial situation. Though I do wish I could have a nicer home.. we chose to make this move, not because of financial reasons but for other reasons. We were very happy when we made the move. Not so happy now that we've been here over a year, but we don't have the financial means to move again anytime soon.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Same as mine with it being two story, a basement, well a huge house and yes three kids. We are all struggling and I see it in their faces but what you are doing the right thing in making do and trying to keep everyone comfy. I silently cry everyday but what are we suppose to do, keep trying that's all.
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
24 Aug 10
I live in a 2 bedroom house. There are only 3 of us. Well...4 if you count the babysitter that practically lives here. My son has his own room and my 3 year old has a toddler bed in my room. Karen gets the couch in the dining room or the one in the living room that pulls out into a bed. Whichever she is in the mood for at night when she goes to sleep. My house is about 1200 square feet and while I would love to have a 3rd bedroom it is plenty big.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Well there's nothing wrong with your daughter sharing your room. Until we moved in here we had both the younger boys in our room with us.. the toddler in a toddler bed and the baby in his crib... and the twins were sharing a room with each other. That was starting to worry me since they're boy/girl and they were around 6 yrs old when we moved out of there.
Before I moved in with hubby Javy and I shared a bedroom until he was about 4 and my mom and sister were sharing a room as well, and my sister was about 6 at the time. When we moved out my mom took my room.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
31 Aug 10
In my house the only real issue over space is for my daughter who is in the box room which is box as in box. I cannot even fit a full sized bed in there. I have four children altogether, three good sized bedrooms and a box room. Two of my boys share one room, my eldest has the other and my daughter in the box room, when we first moved into this house my daughter was due to be born and so the box room really was big enough for her. Now she is getting older, nearly 5 it is starting to be a bit small. My eldest son who is now nearly 19 is in the RAF and so is away from home a lot but he still classes his room as his and comes back every couple of months for a visit. I want to give his room to my daughter as it is much bigger and better for her but yet I would feel really guilty to my eldest to do this! My daughter has a cot bed and it should be ok for her for another couple of years so I probably will not do anything just yet and maybe by then my eldest will have a proper place of his own!
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
25 Aug 10
I had a house guest for a while, so one of the girls was sleeping on Cary's trundle in the bonus room. And now I'm sleeping in the bonus room. But no, the kids each have their own bedroom. Down in LA, the girls shared a room, but not a bed.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
24 Aug 10
Have you heard of a trundle bed? It rolls away under the bed during the day. You could get a bunk with a double on the bottom a single on top and a trundle under. Whoever gets the trundle doesn't have to make his bed because you can just push it under the bed for space during the day.
Ive actually seen beds were the bottom bed converts to 3 singles in a few minutes and goes back again into a single really fast. It's for people with small apartments and a lot of kids.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
24 Aug 10
Half the problem is affording the beds as well. The bunk beds are easy because hubby's store sells them and he can employee purchase them where the payments come directly out of his paycheck. If we can't buy it from his store then we pretty much can't afford it.. and he doesn't sell any sort of beds like you've mentioned.
@santosmarichris (1849)
• Philippines
24 Aug 10
Hi! Sometimes we gotta to do what we gotta do. The important thing is you have a home. When I have family visitors we tend to sleep together in 1 room, lol. I think it's fun. We just have foam mattress laid on the floor and everybody seems to enjoy it. Kids like sleeping in our living room cause that's we're the games are so we also lay foam mattress there. It's a bit chaotic sometimes but kids want to stay together all the time. 
When I have family visitors we tend to sleep together in 1 room, lol. I think it's fun. We just have foam mattress laid on the floor and everybody seems to enjoy it. Kids like sleeping in our living room cause that's we're the games are so we also lay foam mattress there. It's a bit chaotic sometimes but kids want to stay together all the time. 