Sibilings sleeping in same room.

[Dannilance7]

I am moving into a 2 bedroom apartment and I have a boy and a girl. Is it ok for them to sleep in the same room different beds for about a year? Their ages are 8 and 5.

 

[ElleMD]

Why would it not be legal? Siblings often share bedrooms.

 

[Dannilance7]

I was told by a certain person that they are 2 old for the law for them to sleep in the same room. I had to question that because I shared with my brother until I was 10. thanks

 

[ElleMD]

Socially, maybe, but not by law. The older children get, the greater the desire for privacy and it would be awkward for opposite sex teens to share a room for numerous social reasons but it is not illegal.

 

[Proserpina]

I was told by a certain person that they are 2 old for the law for them to sleep in the same room. I had to question that because I shared with my brother until I was 10. thanks

My brother was shoved into the same bedroom as my sisters and I when he was about 11. Ages of females: 10, 7, 3.

We really loved that.

(no, no we didn't)

Not illegal, anywhere in this country. The only time it becomes a legal issue is in a foster care situation and even then the rules are state-specific.

 

[army judge]

I am moving into a 2 bedroom apartment and I have a boy and a girl. Is it ok for them to sleep in the same room different beds for about a year? Their ages are 8 and 5.

It's your call, mom.
If it troubles you, or causes you to take pause, all you need do is have your daughter share your bedroom.
Another approach is to assign each child a bedroom, and you could sleep in the living area.
I understand people struggle.
You're doing the best any mother can do who loves her babies.
Somehow I think you're smart enough to do whatever you feel is best for your family.

 

[cynthiag]

I think a lot of people labor under the misconception that there's some kind of law that says opposite-sex siblings can't share a bedroom. I've seen more than one person present that idea during a custody battle, trying to say that the other parent was somehow not taking proper care of the children because they had to share a room. One person I know even said that they'd heard not only were you supposed to provide separate bedrooms for them, the rooms had to be a certain size to satisfy the "law"!

 

[txls]

I've only heard of this in foster care situations. Otherwise there would be a lot of people in trouble with the law. Many families with children of the opposite sex would have difficulty affording a 3 bedroom place.

 

[cbg]

There ARE such laws as cynthia describes in some states - however they apply ONLY in foster care situations.

 

[Betty3]

This is fine - when they are older (though you indicated just for a year), it might not be the best situation but it isn't illegal. (except sometimes in foster care & adoption situations) Many people cannot afford as many bedrooms as they would like.

 

[Proserpina]

One person I know even said that they'd heard not only were you supposed to provide separate bedrooms for them, the rooms had to be a certain size to satisfy the "law"!

Alrighty then... roll call, everyone!

Clearly, my husband and I are unfit.
Daughter #1 would be unfit
Daughter #2 would be unfit
Deb across the street would be unfit (and she has the audacity to use the larger spare room as - gasp - her office)
Joelle from 7-11 ... yeap, she's unfit, too.
Grandson's homeroom teacher ... darn, she's also unfit...
Granddaughter's Daddy? Yeap, him too
Aw jeez... my liver doctor..he's also unfit.
My PCP is unfit and so is his wife, Mrs PCP (they have 6 people in a 2 bedroom house... the nerve!)

Now are we talking about human offspring only? Because we allow our 90lb lab to sleep not just in the same room, but in the same darned bed, too.

I could go on...

 

[cynthiag]

Absolutely my thought, Proserpina! My parents bought a three-bedroom house when I was 13 and there were four kids living at home. When we moved in there my youngest sister slept on a daybed in what was just an extra-wide hallway between the two upstairs bedrooms, and my dad made a (very small) bedroom for my brother by curtaining off one end of an enclosed porch. Nobody ever suggested that they were unfit by having two of their kids sleep in small, makeshift spaces, and I just found out recently that my sister didn't even realize that her childhood "bedroom" was actually just a glorified hallway!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by it, but it never ceases to amaze me the ideas some people get into their heads and then they convince themselves that there's actual law that covers their misconception.

 

[army judge]

Being poor, or having a hard time doesn't make anyone a criminal.

Two of the things I enjoy about this forum: reading the issues people get into and the legal myths that abound.