Yesterday, Joe and I bit the bullet, and moved the crib back upstairs. I've always had it in my head that the kids would share a room one day, but with imminent house guests arriving shortly after our trip, we wanted to have a good adjustment period for Colin and Cara to get used to this new living situation.
Well, folks, it may seem crazy, but the more I thought about it, I started making more sense to myself.
Colin is 3.5, and Cara is 1.5. Sure, they're different genders, but even if we had 4 or 5 bedrooms in this house, I think I'd like to give sibling roommate thing a try regardless. Why?
Bonding
They have a good relationship, they don't beat each other to a pulp (yet), and in fact are very kind and enjoy each other's company. I want them to be able to develop this relationship, outside of my radar ultrasonic mommy range. (I'm lying, there's a baby monitor in that room still). But to them, Mom and Dad are not there, and they are able to develop a bond special to themselves. Which, I hope, will come in handy when Cara starts dating.
Sharing
Well, now that they're physically sharing the same space (which is probably the hardest for adults to learn to share), it will probably be easier for them to share other things. Not just with one another, but with their friends as well. I don't want them to each have a room, full of just 'their' things, and get this idea that they own it all. Cause honey-pumpkin-doodle-bugs... you don't. Entitlement is not something that magically happens when they're 23, and looking for a real adult job. All things are learned at young ages, and I'm going to snip that entitlement virus as soon as I can. Why not start with - 'darling, everything is not your's'. If they want to earn it, they have piggy banks, and can buy it. But for now, if Mom and Dad got it, it's shared, and it's for the family.
Responsibility
I'm not so sure about this one, but I'm hoping that they'll learn what they do, affects other people. Roommates will teach you that very quickly. And, also, just putting up with someones else's crap. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?
They're young once
One boy, one girl. We will have to separate them at some point, but they're at an age where this makes sense for us to open up space for another room. Why not take advantage of their ages, and let them enjoy being around each other - because there will come a time, when they will want to shut the door in each other's faces. You'll know when that time comes, when all my updates are regarding 'door renovations'.
Bunk Bed? Hell Yeah!
Not only is a bunk bed the coolest thing ever, it's... the coolest thing ever. And if you have parents that want to relive their childhood dreams, then you're in better luck. We wanted an excuse to buy a really cool bunk bed when the time came. If our children were not sharing a room, then the world would know that we bought a bed with slide/stairs (do those come in Queen sizes...?)for ourselves, and that would be, well, embarrassing (but still really fun).
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