When to switch to seperate rooms?

CHERYL - posted on 07/18/2011

hi i have 2yr b-g twins and i put them in sep rooms at 6m as 2 cots didnt fit in 1 room.it was the best thing i ever did,as 1 has always been better at sleepin and would disturb the other. its loads better and both get a good night sleep and are very excited to see each other in the morning.ive havent put mine in beds yet as they havent tried to get out,but thinking maybe to try

Sara - posted on 07/04/2011

My twins have always shared a room. They are 8 now and would be devastated if I split them up. They get upset if we even mention it. When they would play instead of sleep we made them lay down and take naps during the day. It wasn't always convenient or easy but better than the crankiness. They've decided going to sleep earlier is worth the sticker they get in the morning and not having to take a nap. :) Good luck to you. I'm sure whatever decision you make will be the right one for you and your little ones.

Andrea - posted on 07/04/2011

We separated them at 3 when they didn't let each other sleep. However in 6 months they were back in the same room without incident. Now they are 6.5 and they asked for a separate room. So we got them involved and asked them to put their toys and books on the shelves in their rooms and make their beds with pillows and stuffed animals they like. They love it and they sleep longer in the morning because they don't wake each other up. I'd say if you have a reason to separate them, do it. If things work the way they are, leave them in the same room.

Melissa - posted on 06/28/2011

I also have b/g twins that are now 4. At 2 1/2 years old we moved into a home that allowed us to have seperate rooms for the kids. We initially did not have them in seperate rooms but after everything settled down we got both of their rooms decorated and all set up. I once had someone tell me, who also had twins, that when she finally split them up their beds were on the same wall in seperate rooms. I did this and NEVER had a problem, I think I was truly blessed to never had issues. They did tend to "Try" and talk to each other and I would just have to yell to them to be quiet and go to sleep and pretty quickly they started going to sleep. It's just about consistency and as long as you make them feel like this is the next step to becoming a big girl or boy they are usually excited about it. If they seem to be overwhelmed just talk to them about what we do to become big kids and you'll be surprised.



Just get them involved in "Their room" for decorating.



Only other thing I will add is, I think the older they get the harder it will be....just my thoughts. You will know your children and just follow their ques on what they are feeling.



Good luck!!

Karen - posted on 06/25/2011

I have boy/girl twins that are 3 years 3 months old.We tried seperating them at 18 months because the boy wouls always wake up his sister(which has always been the sleeper).But neither would hear of such a thing.They screamed for each other. so back together they went.Hahaha!After they turned 3 we decided they could have seperate rooms again....well that was another NO No!One would always end up going in the room with the other.So we just put them back together.They sleep in the same bed even though theres two beds in there.Its cute because some nights she will be in his bed and vice versa.Its funny how even as babies they wanted to face each other sleeping and each of them holds a peice of the others shirt.Something always has to touch the other..LOL..and its still the same .I dont know when they are going to want to have their own space but until then I will just let it stay as it is.

Tom'Anita - posted on 06/24/2011

My b/g twins will be 4 in the fall. They have always shared a room. Thankfully it has just worked with them and with us. Have even considered adding baby #3 to their room and returning her room to the play room, but sadly #3's sleep schedule is just a little different from her big brother and sister.

One suggestion you might want to try before the seperation si ridding the room of all night lights and cracked doors. If you want the kids to sleep then get the room pitch black. It is harder to have a conversation in the dark. But you need to do what works for you and your family. Speration may be the best thing for your two. Give it a try it doens't have to be forever.

Kelly - posted on 06/24/2011

My suggestion would be give it a shot. If you have an extra bedroom go ahead and seperate them and see how it goes. Just move over a bed at first and if it goes well then you can move everything else over. We moved our b/g twins to toddler beds right after their second birthday and we had similar problems that you are having. Naps were more difficult and there were times that they would both be in the same bed. We ended up moving our son into a room with his 9 month old brother and had no problems after that. Our daughter loved having her own room and our son loved that his room was decorated for a boy. Now we are in a different situation as we have 2 year old twin boys and really do not want to split them up as that would take away our guest room. They are still in cribs because any time I have tried to put them in big boy beds they just want to play. I figure I will keep them in cribs as long as I can before worring about what to do next!!

Sandy - posted on 06/24/2011

Hi everyone, I have 7 year old B/G twins. We only have a 3 bedroom house so my twins were in the same room until they were 5 years old because we wanted to have a guest bedroom. We switched them to toddler beds when they were 3 years old and it was relatively easy. But my daughter wakes up very early and would wake up her brother, who likes to sleep. So when we moved them into their own rooms, it went really well. We also gave them big kid twin beds when we separated them. It was a little hard the first couple of nights because my son didn't like being alone but after 2 nights he liked having his own room and that his sister wasn't waking him up. They are still very close friends and usually once my son wakes up they go into one of the rooms to play together before coming to wake us up if my husband and I are still sleeping. Looking back, we could've separated them sooner but it worked out fine. Good luck with whatever decision you make :)

Emily - posted on 06/21/2011

Hi Melissa, Funny how we are all wondering the same things! Mine were actually great when we put them in the toddler beds. We expected at least a week of no sleep so we did it over the Christmas holidays and we were off work, but it only took really one night and even that wasn't that bad. They did fall out, but I have pillows around their beds, so the first couple times they woke up crying a bit from the surprise I think, and then there were times they didn't even wake up. They would play together a bit at first before bed, and Megean liked to crawl into bed with Kaleb. Naps were tougher, we sometimes had to sit in their rooms until they were alseep to make sure they didn't play for a few hours instead of sleep! But otherwise, it's been totally fine - until now! Now they are really encouraging each other to play instead of sleep and that's why I'm (sadly...) looking at seperating them. I do wonder if it would have been easier to do seperate rooms when we did seperate beds, but I think they liked having each other there for that transition, as the beds were a very big new thing already, so I can't really help you there. I think it is somewhat dependant on them, and how adaptable they are? You may find you actually may have more problems with your daughter if she loves her crib and doesn't want to give it up. Although if she does love to sleep, that really might be helpful - I know that we often have one fall asleep while the other continues to play/read/bounce/shout/sing, so maybe your daughter will be fine if your son takes full advantage of being able to be out of bed. It was like that for us for months, and now is when that has changed.

I hadn't wanted to seperate them for at least another year, but now I"m thinking that as much as I don't want to, it might be the right time for my little ones? However, I will say a VERY nice side benefit of them sharing a room (in addition to the obvious reasons of it being nice for them!) is that they will play for a while together on Saturday mornings when they are up at 6! Although we don't really SLEEP while they are up, it's nice to sort of lie in bed and listen to them chatter and play over the monitor while we sort of doze :) Good luck! Let us know what you decide!

Melissa - posted on 06/20/2011

I just posted a similar questions. But, we are going from Cribs to Toddler beds. My boy/girl twins are 2 1/2. I am wondering if I should separate them when we transition into the toddler beds, or wait and do that later? I actually am sad to separate them at all, because they enjoy waking up and chatting with each other... but, at the same time. I want them to get sleep!

How were your kids when you put them into the toddler beds. I think my daughter will be the easy one because she hasn't even tried to get out of her crib and she LOVES to sleep. My son, I'm afraid will keep her awake. He is VERY active....and even more so when he's over tired.

So many decisions, and never know what the right one is?

Emily - posted on 06/20/2011

Thanks Kim!!! Lets definately keep our fingers crossed for help and advice :) Ours are in toddler beds (we did it at 18 months and actually, not NEARLY the nightmare we thought it was going to be) but I would have no idea if it's better to seperate them before, during, after the move....???? Good luck!!!

Kim - posted on 06/20/2011

I have been wondering when I should switch to two bedrooms also! My boys are 18 months and I know once they switch to toddler beds, all hell is going to break loose. I may be moving soon and I'm wondering if when I do I should separate them, or keep them together till they get adjusted to a new home. I was thinking of moving into separate rooms before the switch to toddler beds. I hope someone posts something for us both!