Well, not really. We've got three bedrooms in this house which means that two of our three boys must share a room. The room configuration has remained the same for the last 3 ½ years but over the last
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| One of the "boy" bedrooms. The other is larger. |
So the noises upstairs are one boy moving rooms for a two week trial. Because we have bunk beds in both rooms it means little more at this point than moving bedding. We'll see how the experiment goes and possibly make longer term adjustments in a fortnight's time.
With our boys spaced as they are (spread over six years), it isn't easy for they have different bedtimes and different study needs.
However we aren't alone. Most families with two or more children in Japan (foreigner or not), have children sharing rooms, unlike most Western kids. We watched Monster's University on NYE and I was struck by how almost all the kid's rooms had a single bed in them (and were very untidy, but I think that's just part of the drama of the movie).
However, back to us. The boys are all looking forward to our time in Australia in a larger house and having their own bedrooms (although our highly extroverted boy is sure to have a little trouble). But the chances are high that when we return to Japan in the middle of next year, we'll either be in this house or a similarly sized house and two will have to share again.
Meanwhile, we've just got to survive six more months of this year with three bedrooms. I'm hoping today's change will make a big difference in our lives.
Did you share a room as a child? Are your children sharing rooms? With varying success?
Did you share a room as a child? Are your children sharing rooms? With varying success?
I never had to share a room growing up--big house, only one brother--but I have to say getting used to sharing a room when I was young would have made the dorms at university a lot easier, since then I had no choice as to whether I would have a roommate or even who that roommate was.
ReplyDeleteI didn't share a room either, not until I got married! I'm the eldest of three girls and 4 ½ years older than my next sister. My sisters shared rooms until we moved to a larger house when I was 15.
ReplyDeleteI guess I had a luxurious time at university because I stayed in a "dorm" where we all had individual rooms (but shared bathrooms). In fact that seemed normal for an Australian "dorm" (we call them "residential colleges").