- First off, live in a house with only 2 bedrooms, so there isn’t even an option apart from sharing. The top parenting experts recommend giving children choices, which we have done. “Would you like to sleep in your bed? OK great, you’ll find it located in the second bedroom.”
- Become familiar with the marketplace aisles of IKEA and buy all of the bunk beds. I promise you by the assembly time of the second bunk, you’ll be flinging that allen key around with one hand and holding a soda in the other. It has been repeatedly proven that stacking stuff is a space saving dream. Dishwashers and ovens have two racks. Toasters have 2-4 slots at minimum. Double Decker buses? Those are definitely a thing too… Bunk beds simply make all of the sense.
- Utilize every white noise machine, air conditioner and fan you can find in your home, and then run to the store and buy three more. Your goal is to drown out the sounds of late night sneezes, early morning throat clears, and tiny children snoring.
- While you’re at that store buying white noise machines, make sure you grab some black out curtains to hang over top of your existing curtains. A $40 purchase has so far bought us an extra hour of sleep the past two mornings. That mathematically works out to $20 a night. Parents of young children are willing to pay for sleep, it’s a scientific fact.
- Bribe them. “Not a single word, sound, and/or peep will be uttered once the door is opened to the bedroom. It is meant to resemble a dark friendly bat cave, and I expect you to enter as quiet stealthy predators, ascend your ladders to the top bunks without the slightest wiggle to the bed below, slither into your blankets and swiftly fall asleep. If you do that, you get an extra 10 minutes for video games.” This sweet time in our lives, the time where video games can literally be bartered for all sorts of cleaning up, good behaviour, tasting of new foods, and quiet room sharing. It’s a genius era that I promise I do not take for granted.
- Put them to bed one at a time, and then eventually two at a time depending on the level of bravery existing in your heart. Let them goof around for the first few nights. There was a lot of giggling, random bangs against the wall, and exuberant greetings for about 30 minutes… but eventually (and without the door opening a single time, I claim it a miracle) sleep overcame their tiny little bodies and all was quiet.
- Now comes the best part. Creep on them when they’re sleeping. I mean really sneak into their room, recover them with their rogue relocated blankets and stare at each set of eyelashes closed and resting before you in each bed. See them as the wonders that they are. Kiss the big ones on the head in case by morning they’ll be “too old” to want your kisses in the waking hours. Exhale quietly and applaud your own efforts. You have successfully created a camping cabin experience in your very own home.
- Lastly, smile a really large smile when your boys randomly tell you that one day when they’re married and have 4 kids too, they’d also like them to share a bedroom. Then congratulate yourself on the memory making… two bunk beds, 6 blackout curtains, and 3 white noise machines at a time.
Rebecca Bergman 
WHite noise machines have all my love and respect.
They are good at masking snoring husbands too! 😉 lol
Here they share too, though they are only two. They share the double bed, because they need snuggles to sleep.
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I love it. The big boys used to share a bunk bed when it was the two of them, but almost every night for awhile we’d find the two of them snuggled up and dead asleep in the bottom bunk. Cutest ever.
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I’m just in awe that the beds are made!
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All of the time. I mean, at least all of the time when a photo is being taken. =)
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Well done, mama! That must be worth 1,000 points.
Happy dreams!
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I’d even argue 1000/bed…
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Excellent advice that I shall share with my spouse in case we have to downsize soon. Maybe IKEA will pay you for promoting their good name. Dad
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