Toddlers Sharing a Bedroom: 5 Tips

I get asked a lot how we made it work with our two toddlers sharing a bedroom, and I want to share with you some tips and tricks that we have learned through trial and error. When Henri and Leonie started room sharing, Henri was 9 months old and Leonie was 2 years old. It has been about 7 months since they started sharing a bedroom so we have been through our fair share of sleep regressions, schedule changes, wake ups, and more.

First off, let me start by saying that we really didn’t have a choice when it came to them sharing a room or not. Currently, we have a 2 bedroom apartment so once Henri was old enough to move out of our room, the only place for him to go was into Leonie’s.

I was so nervous because I didn’t want to disrupt Leonie’s sleep. She was sleeping a solid 11-12 hours per night and was doing so great. I was also really worried about bedtime because it typically took both of them a little bit before they went to sleep and I didn’t want them to make each other not go to sleep. And if you are about to start having your toddlers sharing a bedroom, maybe you have these fears, too.

Toddlers Sharing a Bedroom: 5 Tips

Make sure you have good sleepers before moving together

Now, I know this isn’t always possible, but if you can try to make sure both kids are sleeping well before putting them together. You don’t want to have to sleep train while they are sharing a room because this will likely affect both kids. We kept Henri in our room until he was waking up just once a night (or sometimes not at all).

We made sure to prep Leonie and let her know that if she hears her brother crying in the night, Mama and Papa would come take care of it and she could just go back to sleep.

Also, to get good sleepers in the first place, we really loved the Taking Cara Babies courses and highly recommend them to anyone who needs help with naps or nighttime sleep.

Use a sound machine

I am a huge fan of a sound machine for so many reasons. If you have the space, try to put the sound machine between your two kids. This will help with the noise the other child might make. I love using the Hatch Rest+ sound machine because I can control it from my phone, lock it so they can’t turn it on and off, and set routines so it turns on/off automatically.

Stager bedtimes

This was a huge one for us. The first time we tried to put the kids down together, at the same time, it was a disaster. Neither one of them wanted to fall asleep and they just “chatted” with each other. What we realized was that if we put Henri to bed at 7pm, he would be fast asleep by the time that we put Leonie to bed between 7:15-7:30pm. And even with us all coming into the room, and her making noises, it very rarely wakes him up.

Create a bedtime routine (and make sure you can do it as a solo parent)

Of course we had a bedtime routine before our kids started room sharing, but that needed to be edited once we moved them together. We now get my son all ready for bed in their room while my daughter plays. Then we make sure to get anything out of the room we need for Leonie’s bedtime routine. We all go to the bathroom and brush teeth. Then we say goodnight to Henri and put him to bed. Leonie then gets to get her PJs on and read a book in Mama and Papa’s bed until it is time for her to go to sleep.

Also, often times, my husband and I are both doing the bedtime routines. I take my son and he takes my daughter. Which worked well until the first time one of us had to do the routines alone. We realized that they didn’t really work with just one parent and two kids so we made sure to modify them so that we could stay consistent if it was just one or two of us doing it.

Use an OK to wake light

We are still getting the hang of this one, but we are using our Hatch Rest+ Sound Machine to turn on a blue light in the morning at 7am. This signals to our kids that it is ok for them to get up- well ok for my daughter, since my son is still in a crib and can’t get out on his own. We don’t always make it but my daughter is starting to learn that when she wakes, if it is before 7am, she can play quietly in bed until the light turns on.

Hopefully these tips will help you with your toddlers sharing a bedroom. For us, the transition caused me so much stress leading up to it because I was worried about all the things. However, I know now that it really was pretty easy. Kids are super adaptable and I am sure it will go well for you too!

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