Kids and housing?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Question, I was reading some other baby message boards (got kids on the brain) and someone was asking if they could afford to move. And reality was no. But people were suggesting sticking kids in rooms together which is fine.

But is there a limit where you live or you put on children to a room? In CA when we rented it was no more than 2 people (adults or kids) per a room. So the suggestion that 3-4 kids/per room was not realisitic.

What is realistic? Obviously sharing a room is very doable, but I'm wondering 3-4 kids same sex in the same room? Opposite sex is it okay? And are there laws where you live on how many people can be in one room?

[kork13]

I grew up with 5 kids in my family. I was in a room with my older and middle brother (bunkbed and a single). There was no issue for any of us, and although we obviously fought on occasion, sharing the room of 3 was never a problem. Also, my younger sister and youngest brother were in a room together up until he was about 4, she was 7. After my older brother wasn't at home anymore, my youngest brother moved in with my middle brother and I. Again, no issues. My family was in a rather small house, so doing things this way was necessary.

In short, I think 3 siblings in the same room is just fine. 2 kids of opposite sex is fine to a point... For young siblings, is not inappropriate (in my eyes). However, once they get older than 5, 6, 7, it probably would become more inappropriate.

On a slightly separate note, I think that by sharing the room with my brothers, I was closer with them than I would otherwise have been had we all been in separate rooms. Even after it was just my two brothers, they still shared a room together.... Not by absolute necessity, but also partly by their own preference.

[jIM_Ohio]

More than 6 women in one house in Flint MI is considered a brothel. (Not allowed). Caused problems for sororities- they needed to be outside city limits for this reason.

Not that the sororities resembled or did not resemble a brothel... I'm just saying.

Avoid being a women with only girls and no live in husband is best course of action.

[PrincessPerky]

Legally I leave the google-ing of your local laws to you, I do not even want to begin to rant on how the govt should keep it's nose out of our houses.

IMO the perfect, have all the room you want situation would be one room per gender, plus a nursery (and one for mom and dad) No wait an extra room for Daddys stuff....

Truthfully I have 'only' three bedrooms, and life is fine. My kids are hardly ever in their rooms, preferring to bring their toys out to play in the living room. (they sleep in them though-I have 4 kids under 6)

Sharing rooms does turn some folk into anti socialites, but for others it fosters closeness. For me, I had a bedroom made out of bookshelf wall as a kid, it was my space and fine, I also at times shared a room with my brother. Either way was fine.

Having your own room, an entire room is actually quite a bit of space for a kid. and quite a bit to have to clean. It is a bigger question than can be answered in general for all folk.

However, if the pilgrims managed on one room for the whole family I guess I can make it with 'only' 5 plus indoor plumbing.

(I personally would avoid putting preteen or older opposite sex siblings together..but a bookcase does make a mighty fine wall)

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'll accept that. But PP, don't they do it to prevent fire hazards? Thus the laws for # of people in a bedroom?

[simpleyme]

the only time I have ever hear of rules about the number per bedroom is landlords do not want dozens of people living and wearing out their homes
so a limit of 2 people per bedroom lessens wear and tear

my cousin has to have a 5 bedroom home because she is on hud and they have a rule of only 2 same sex children per bedroom she has 3 boys and 1 girl so she gets to pay 35 dollars a month for 4 bedroom house

my aunt has been renting the same house for 20 years its a tiny 2 bedroom and she has had 5 kids over the year and the landlord does not care ,although he most likely would not have rented to her had she had the 5 kids before they moved in

[momof1in150]

If you are in a HUD house or in military housing then there are strict rules. There aren't any real rules for personal housing other then common sense. The military won't allow opposite sex siblings over 6 in the same room or same sex with more then 6 years between them in the same room. My boys are 6 years apart so we qualified for an extra bedroom when my son was born.

As far as rentals then you need to defer to state laws.

[PrincessPerky]

I'll accept that. But PP, don't they do it to prevent fire hazards? Thus the laws for # of people in a bedroom?

Think about a local restaurant...space as big as my house(or smaller) and rated to hold 20-50 folk (depending on exits)

fire safety is well above two kids per room.

However, because of fire safety I love that each bedroom has a large window opposite the door and on ground floor...Also smoke alarms.

Having only one kid in a room doesn't help if it has only one exit. (my house has three doors, plus windows, more exits than rooms!)

Our church has a chapel, size of my living room, fire safety rated to hold I think 40, perfect for small weddings, two kids in a room half the size is fine. $ would be too, i bet you run out of room for beds before you really get into a safety issue. (again two exits is important)

[Investing First Steps]

I think it's to some degree a testament to how well off our country is that we get to worry about such things. Not to go all "old fogy"-ish, but in prior generations you slept where there was room and you dealt with it. I know many families that were quite poor, they slept wherever there was room available at the time and they all grew up perfectly well-adjusted. I know that's anecdotal, but at the end of the day I think if you care about your children and take good care of them, having to share a room is pretty low on the scale of deprivations.

[sj999]

I think 2 in a room is enough.