Is there a LAW for this???

[Freyja]

Someone just told me there was a LAW in the US about siblings of the opposite sex not being allowed to share a room after a certain age. Is this true? Can anyone tell me more?

 

[CherCrazy]

Not true.

There's alot of untrue things about the US out there. But I guess you already knew that.

 

[EthansMom]

No, but in many states (not all) it's illegal for first cousins to marry.

 

[Kimmie5870]

I'm not sure about it being a law but in Indiana you will not pass a home study by DFC if two children of the opposite sex are sharing a room.I can't remember what the age cut off is though.

A friend of mines DH was trying to adopt her son,They failed the home study because her DD and DS were sharing a room.DFC also ordered them to seperate the kids sleeping areas.

 

[lindalinda]

I think they probably confused it with some social services rules for foster children. There are rules like that for prospective foster parents. I'm not sure of all the details.

 

[Freyja]

I thought so. Social services here in Iceland have the same rule. I just don´t get "why"???

 

[HERSEY]

I don't know if it all of the states. In Illinois if you are renting and you have a boy and a girl over a certain age they need to be in separate bedrooms.

 

[Becky2005]

I think they probably confused it with some social services rules for foster children. There are rules like that for prospective foster parents. I'm not sure of all the details.

I know we had at one time were thinking of being foster parents. One of the rules were siblings of opposite sexes had to be in seperate bedrooms, I want to say the age was 7.

I also know...some apartments follow that rule.

For example, if you had mom/dad/brother & sister. You would have to get a 3-bedroom apartment -- 1 for mom/dad; then one for brother & 1 for sister.

Or at least in the past they did.

 

[Kimmie5870]

I thought so. Social services here in Iceland have the same rule. I just don´t get "why"???

I think one reason is that there are alot of cases of older siblings molesting the younger sibling.

 

[MrsPete]

I asked my mom, who works for social services, and here's what she says:

You can have your own biological children sleep anywhere you please at any age -- the living room sofa is perfectly legal. You have to provide heat, electricity, etc., but privacy is not a requirement.

If you have a foster child, he or she may share only with other children of the same gender. Also, a foster child must have a permanant bed (i.e., not a pull-out sofa or a blow-up mattress).

Realistically, since it's so hard to find a child who's available to adopt, a family who can't provide a private room won't have a chance.

Finally, an individual or an apartment complex can decide what it will and won't allow on its property. If they choose to say that you can't have children sharing, they can make a rule.

 

[Sparx]

No, but in many states (not all) it's illegal for first cousins to marry.

It is not illegal for cousins to marry in tennessee.

and I'm still not sure how I feel about that. lol

 

[ChrisnSteph]

If you are a prospective foster parent, the cut-off age is 5. At least in California it is. But aside from that, there aren't any rules or laws about same-sex bedrooms.

 

[aprilgail2]

The people across from me are foster parents and I know they had their own kids share a room and the foster kids had their own room. Even if it wasn't a law I wouldn't want kids of the opposite sex sharing a room after about 7 years old anyway. I know I liked my privacy by then and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to have to share a room with my brother.

 

[Freyja]

I shared a room with my sister until I was 13. I certainly would rather have shared it with my brother whom I got along with a lot better.

I definately agree that seperate rooms are more desirable, but I can by no means see why that would be a requirement.

 

[bicker]

It is not illegal for cousins to marry in tennessee.

It is illegal to marry aunt, uncle, nephew or niece, however.