If you, like many families, have to live in a smaller home than is perhaps ideal, then it’s likely your children will need to share a bedroom. When the first child comes along, assuming you have a spare room, creating a beautiful nursery is all part of the fun. You can choose a colour scheme, paint the walls, buy nursery furniture, and make a haven for you and your baby to spend quality time during night feeds. But when baby number two comes along, it might be a different story.

Babies and Toddlers

By the time your baby has grown into a lively toddler, he or she will probably be settled in a bed and you will have a bedtime routine in place. The cot will be packed away and the nursery stickers replaced with more toddler-friendly designs. The arrival of a new baby will upset the status quo on many levels, not least the fact that your toddler is going to have to share their bedroom with a usurper!

In the early weeks and months, baby number two may sleep in your bedroom while they still need night time feeds. But once baby number two is sleeping through and you want your bedroom back, it’s time to relocate them into their own room. Unfortunately, if you don’t have a third bedroom, this means your second child will have to share with his or her older sibling. So how can you create a bedroom suitable for both a baby and a toddler?

Sharing a Bedroom

It isn’t easy to have a toddler and a baby sharing a bedroom. One tends to disturb the other at night, and as the baby grows and learns to crawl your toddler is likely to resent sharing his or her toys. As such, the best way to maintain harmony is to create two distinct spaces within the same room.

If the room is large enough, decorate it so that there are two separate halves. A large shelving unit could be used to divide the space into two, with a cot on one side and a bed on the other. The shelves could be used to store toddler books and toys whereas the baby’s things could live in a cupboard on his side of the room.

Choose a Colour Scheme

Choose a colour scheme and adapt it for each part of the room. For example, your toddler could have Threel bedding in his or her favourite colour, while the baby’s bedding could be in the same colour, but pastel shades instead.

As your children grow, the same principles apply. Since they will each appreciate their own space, it is important to maintain a division in the room where each child can play independently and make it their own little play area. For older children with homework to do, this will become even more important, so it is sensible to buy furniture that grows with them.

Siblings can share a bedroom without too many tears, but you may have to teach them to be respectful of each other’s belongings.

Commissioned Guest Post

 Posted by Charlotte on February 24, 2016 Home Improvements  Add comments

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