At what age should opposite-sex siblings stop sharing their bedroom?

Question

Comments on this question suggested a companion question about opposite-sex siblings. We had our son and daughter in the same bedroom till age 7. We moved things around last weekend, not because any kind of problem was developing but because the opportunity arose.

Could they have carried on sharing?

Answer 1

I guess this answer is just as suitable here: As long as they want to. Eventually they'll want their private space for various reasons, certainly when puberty kicks in.

Anecdote: a set of boy/girl twins I know shared a room until age 9 and that worked well. I'm not aware of the separation reason; whether it was just an opportunity like in your question, or a wish from the kids, or uh, biological considerations.

Answer 2

It wasn't that long ago that less well off families in the UK would all share a bed, or have a couple of beds for a large number of children, and in some developed countries there is no option but to fit families wherever they can - and they seem to get by.

If your culture is one of more privacy between sexes, you may wish to segregate them, or they may wish to have some privacy. But as @Torben says, I don't think you need to force it, until they tell you they want to be separated.

Answer 3

I think it's probably best to have kids in a separate room as soon as they ask if you can, or at the latest at puberty.

It doesn't have to do with opposite sex siblings :

• some girl in my family used to share her room with her younger sister. At puberty, her sister started to make some weird noises before going to sleep ... No need to make a drawing for you. The parents didn't have any spare room so I guess there was no choice at this time.