Baby Sharing a Room With a Sibling

Siblings sharing rooms can be a great experience for children, giving them companionship as well as comfort from knowing their brother or sister is in the same room as they drift off to sleep. It can also be a handy solution to a space problem!

Should They Be The Same Age and Temperament?

However, if the children are incompatible in terms of age and temperament, room sharing can actually make things harder for everyone involved! A toddler sharing a room with a baby might cause problems as toddlers make lots of noise getting to sleep, and more noise when they wake up! This will result in a tired baby and exhausted parents! Similarly, if one of your children is a poor sleeper who makes lots of noise in the night, they will probably wake the other child up. A baby who wakes up during the night shouldn't be put in a room with another child as they will get broken night's sleep. Wait until your baby sleeps through the night before introducing a roommate. An older child who is able to sneak into bed quietly, and get up quietly if they wake up earlier than the baby, is a more suitable roommate for a baby. Or, if your children are close in age and have similar sleeping habits, room sharing is more likely to work.

Child Proofing the Room

A shared bedroom should be baby proofed, just as you would baby proof any other room, with blind cords safely wound up and placed out of reach, plug sockets covered, windows locked, medicine and toiletries kept in a locked cupboard in a different room and electrical cords safely fixed to walls. But in addition to this, you will need to adapt your older child's bedroom to accommodate for your baby moving in. Older children have toys which aren't suitable for babies, so you need to take extra care childproofing a bedroom shared by a baby and a sibling. Move any toys that your baby could choke on into a separate room, for your other child to play with when baby is not around. Move any chairs that a baby or toddler could pull themselves up on out of the room.

If your child has any freestanding furniture in their room, such as bookcases or wardrobes, make sure this is attached to the wall with furniture straps or brackets so they can't topple over if baby pulls on them. Also remember to cover sharp corners such as tables with corner covers, to avoid nasty cuts when baby starts toddling around! Replace toy chests that have heavy lids that can crush little fingers with plastic containers, preferably with air holes in.

Make sure there is another room in the house for your older child to play, when your baby is having her naps in the day. Move some of her toys out of their shared bedroom before the baby goes down for her nap, so she has something to play with.

Your Eldest as a Role Model

Babies love copying what their brothers and sisters do, so make sure your older child doesn't display any potentially dangerous behaviour to your baby, such as climbing up bookcases or standing on stools. Explain to your older child how they are role models for their baby sibling (it helps to add some flattery: "Baby Harry wants to be just like you"), so whatever they do, the baby will want to do it too.

As your children get older, they might want their own space, even if they have previously enjoyed room sharing. Even twins sometimes want separate rooms. Don't assume your children will always want to share a room, when they are old enough, ask them what they'd prefer.