How to fit as many children as possible into a bedroom

[Feberin]

I found these instructions for jamming as many children as possible into a bedroom .largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/10/siblings-sharing-bedrooms-you-have-how.html

 

There aren't any shelving but I found all the *chuckle* and such to be funny. Also the idea that the girls need to keep their toys in their room so the boys won't break them and because boys just don't like girl toys.

 

Edited to fix link breakage method. Please, for the sake of those on mobile devices, remove prefix, don't replace dots with DOT.

 

_lilith

[Rowan]

properly broken link for those on tablets and otherwise

largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/10/siblings-sharing-bedrooms-you-have-how.html

[Carla Bruni]

Pardon me, but does anyone else see a HUGE PROBLEM with hanging what looks like a really heavy shelf directly above the crib of an 18-month-old? I mean, that's just a splat waiting to happen... *I* wouldn't sleep with that over my head, and I'm 26.

[Guest]

The shelf over the crib was very weird. As was the fact that they locked the closet in the boys' room at night. I mean, I can see that for the girls' room because she said that there were small dolls and the twins shouldn't get into that, but they only locked the boys' closet so that the little boys wouldn't go in there at night when they weren't supposed to. It seems a little overly controlling.

I don't like the idea of the little girl having a trundle bed either, but I think that's just a personal thing, because I've always thought of my bed as "me" space. I would hope that she had some other little corner of her own. It's obviously not the biggest problem in the world, but it seems like she's staying in the trundle for awhile, and by the time I was a teenager, that would have been very frustrating for me. But maybe I'm just weird. I'm sitting here typing in my bed right now, rather than my couch ;)

Also, I can't get over the whole *smile* thing. *shudder*

[Wolfie]

Pardon me, but does anyone else see a HUGE PROBLEM with hanging what looks like a really heavy shelf directly above the crib of an 18-month-old? I mean, that's just a splat waiting to happen... *I* wouldn't sleep with that over my head, and I'm 26.

Yeah, I have a painting that my mom has tried to tell me to put up over the head of my bed. Nope, it's not going there even if it is on canvas, it does have an 18"x24" frame that I don't want landing on me. *smile*

"Briar" horses *gag*

Bunk Bed in front of the window *scream*

I do like those folding door locks, I need to keep my cats out of my closet, but I think I'm just going to go with a hook and eye.

[salex]

properly broken link for those on tablets and otherwise

largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/10/siblings-sharing-bedrooms-you-have-how.html

I dislike this woman a lot based wholly on her writing style--and I always wonder why you have so many "on purpose kids" that you seem to not quite be able to afford,seem not to want to be around and in fact seem to lump into a collective group. And the smirky *grin* *mock* *drool* comments are horrible. Mostly, it sounds like she likes to lock them all in at night so they will leave her and her husband the hell along and if they are sick, not her problem, because if they are not in their room they might get in the way of her or her husband, and as they get older, they must stay in with the little kids because, well, less privacy means they are less likely to masturbate *snicker*.

[rene76]

I cringed when I read about the consequences for the twins. I'm sure it involves much more than just laying them back in their own cribs.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I think 9 kids in 2 bedrooms is a bit much. I also dont like having the child sleeping on a trundle bed, those are for sleepovers and stuff and its not a real bed, I would also worry about the child who sleeps in the other bed standing on her if she gets up in the night to go to the bathroom. A bedroom is more than just a place to sleep, especially if you share a house with so many other people, its somewhere you can go to have a bit of peace and quiet from the rest of the family.

Also the bunk bed in front of the window in the boys room doesnt seem like such a good idea, it blocks out the light

[Loveday]

"Briar" horses *gag*

Took me a minute to work that one out. *laugh* (what is UP with all that *gigglesmilechuckle* crap? )

I cringed when I read about the consequences for the twins. I'm sure it involves much more than just laying them back in their own cribs.

She mentions 'Biblical' spanking in a reply to someone's question about consequences. :?

[guidedbybobafett]

The girls room is a fire hazard, especially with those babies. That would scare the hell out of me as their mother.

[Feberin]

Mostly, it sounds like she likes to lock them all in at night so they will leave her and her husband the hell along and if they are sick, not her problem, because if they are not in their room they might get in the way of her or her husband, and as they get older, they must stay in with the little kids because, well, less privacy means they are less likely to masturbate *snicker*.

I found her putting all the kids to bed at the same exact time and saying nobody needed more then 10 1/2 hours of sleep and must nap until age five including putting them in a crib with at tent at three. I would love if my three-year-old napped daily and he does get out of sorts in the evenings because he's tired but I can't imagine putting him into a crib at his age just to get him to nap. It also seems very unsafe as I'm sure my son would find a way out sooner or later. My son does get 12 hours of sleep at night and until recently took a 2 hour nap each day. So the idea of her 18 month olds only getting 10 1/2 hours of sleep worries me.

[anniebgood]

You learn not to put things on the wall over your bed or put the headside of your bed beneath the window if you live in SoCal. When the 1994 Northridge quake happened we were lucky our windows didn't shatter and we were 30 miles from the epicenter. Our kids bunk beds were flat and my husband leaped like a super hero to get our son from the window area, his sister had her bed the other way so I just grabbed her and we held on for dear life.

Stacked beds, even attached to the walls with bolts can come down if the quake is big enough. But of course they'll never have a quake there.

[Lillybee]

Did this person read Emily's blog?

[Feberin]

Did this person read Emily's blog?

If she had then I think there would be some in the kitchen too *giggle*

[Markie]

The parents should have the smallest bedroom, the boys (4) the middle sized room, and the girls (5) should have the master bedroom.

[IceQueen]

This blog is difficult to read because Erika is way to cheerful. It reads like a Stepford Wife's narrative with all the *smile* *giggle* I don't even know how much vallium I would need for me to sound like that *laughs*

[VaSportsMom]

Did this person read Emily's blog?

Lol, I had to go back and look at the link again to see if it went to Under1000 and then had to check the blog out just to make sure it wasn't Em resurfacing. Em & Dna were my intro to FJ and snarking.

[YPestis]

Ok, I've seen aircraft carriers that allows for more space than the boys' room. It's looks so cramped! The girls' room would be ok except when the thundle bed comes out. There's no place to walk once that daughter sleeps. What happens if the older daughters need to go to the bathroom? Get a glass of water? It looks very difficult to navigate at night. I think the mother has done the best with the space she has, but there's no need to cram so many kids in the first place! If it's obvious her husband cannot afford to get them a larger home, then they should have halted the baby making.

[alba]

Personally I'd have finished the two-car garage into a bedroom or two, not a clothes closet. I was going to ask where the older girls do their homework, then figured the family probably homeschools. Still, are they doing their schoolwork with toddlers running underfoot? There's no privacy, no escape from the sheer noise of a big family.

Besides, is it just me, or is the girls' room really babyish? The colour scheme and curtains look suitable for the twins, and maybe the six-year-old, but not the teenagers.

[miffy]

One of my friends came from a family with 5 kids (because her parents had two kids, tried for another & got triplets!) they had 4 bedrooms between them, so two had to share. They solved this by changing bedrooms all the time, so everybody had a chance to have their own space. They were very good at sharing, because they shared everything. But you don't have to pack kids like sardines to get that benefit!

[snarktastic]

The one little plastic drawer that each girl's allowed for her personal positions makes me a bit sad. My DD has a tiny room but it's stuffed with her own possessions - photos of friends, makeup, little souvenirs of days out etc. But I guess those girls don't get to have any of those things. They don't even have their drawings on the wall, or collections of stones / feathers / napkins from Burger King etc etc - the tat that little kids adore accumulating. I'm guessing that Mommy Dearest would be implementing some swift consequences if someone dared to blu-tack a painting to the bedroom wall or wanted to hold onto the pine cones they'd collected on a walk.

Also this makes her sound like a cartoon baddie, only not funny -

we did have a problem initially with the biggest boys jumping between the two top bunks. But this acquired some swift consequences and it no longer a problem. *chuckle*

And NO WAY would I have that shelf above a baby's cot!

[Feberin]

Personally I'd have finished the two-car garage into a bedroom or two, not a clothes closet. I was going to ask where the older girls do their homework, then figured the family probably homeschools. Still, are they doing their schoolwork with toddlers running underfoot? There's no privacy, no escape from the sheer noise of a big family.

Besides, is it just me, or is the girls' room really babyish? The colour scheme and curtains look suitable for the twins, and maybe the six-year-old, but not the teenagers.

They have a fourth bedroom that is a school room. If I was crazy enough to have that many kids then I think I would partly finish the garage for the older girls with study space for them in their rooms. Keep the three younger girls in one room. And split the boys into the remaining two bedrooms. If you look at her whole house tour then you can see the girls room with two sets of bunks.

[CuriosityMuseum]

Personally I'd have finished the two-car garage into a bedroom or two, not a clothes closet. I was going to ask where the older girls do their homework, then figured the family probably homeschools. Still, are they doing their schoolwork with toddlers running underfoot? There's no privacy, no escape from the sheer noise of a big family.

The toddlers are kept in their gender appropriate bedrooms to play unsupervised while schooling is going on. Which is obviously completely safe.

The 3-year-old does not climb up at night but does climb up once-in-a-while during play time in his bedroom, but we try to discourage that as much as possible as well.  But we cannot worry about it too much.

*giggle* A head injury may be part of God's plan. *shrug*

[Katiebug]

I have a coworker with 8 kids - they were raised in a 1400 square foot 3 bed/1.5 bath house. One bedroom for girls (5), one for boys (3), one for parents. I find that a bit over the top - buy a bigger house or stop having kids, crazy fundie lites!

I'm certainly not saying that every kid needs their own bedroom or that sharing bedrooms is bad, far from it. I shared a bedroom with my brother until he was 2. Our daughter will share her room with the new baby for a few years simply because of our house's layout. I can see having 2 or even 3 kids share a bedroom if it's a suitable size, good use is made of space, and everyone has a proper sleeping location and the opportunity for privacy once they get older. Bunk beds are fun when kids are small (hell, our kid wants bunk beds NOW). But 4+ kids in one typically-sized bedroom in a typical North American house is just too many.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Sharing a bedroom is fine-it makes sense if you want a large family, cause youd have to be rich to afford a 10 bedroom house. 2-3 kids sharing a bedroom would be fine, depending on the size of the bedroom. Id say for the size of her kids rooms, maybe two can share each room and then I personally wouldnt have any more if I lived in a house thats small. Maybe three in the parents room, if I had a lot of kids, I wouldnt take the biggest room in the house.