Older kid gets bigger bedroom by default?

[BillSears]

I was the oldest of 4. Me, Sister, Brother then Sister. We usually shared rooms.

My sisters always got the bigger room. When we moved to a house with 4 bedrooms my sisters each got thier own room.

So no the oldest doesn't always get the best room.

 

[dyna]

The house I raised my DD's in the kid bedrooms was all 3 the same size. 1 did have a smaller closet tho an I knew which 1 was not going to be into clothes an stylish so I out her in that room.

Kid bedrooms being same size was 1 selling factor in the house.

As a kid I always thought my brothers had the better room because it was a tad bit bigger at least a twin or full sized bed fit in it my little room was so little even a twin bed did not fit in it. Then 1 brother moved out an the other only there part time mom gave me the bigger bedroom with a full sized bedroom suit there was even less room in it that the tiny room I had before.

BIGGER is not always better as I found out.

 

[zoemurr]

Does the younger child spend more time in his/her room playing on the floor with toys? If so it makes more sense to give the younger child the larger room. When we moved both rooms were close to the same size.

I agree with this one. When we moved into this house DD (older) got the bigger bedroom both by default, and the fact that the baby's room would be closer to us. As they got older I wish I had given him the bigger one. He creates amazing things on his tiny little floor. She sits on her bed and reads or works at her desk. She doesn't really need any more floor space.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

moving to a new house and wondering what others do. why don't they make all bedrooms the same size 14 year old and 11 year old - the bedrooms are very clearly different in size.

When we moved into our new home:

DS was 10
DD was 4.

DS got the smaller room in the back of the house with the awesome view of the ponds across the street
DD got the bigger room.

Seems I made the right choice. DS sleeps in his room, thats it.
DD spends way more time in her room alone and when friends visit. Plus she has more clothes and just stuff in general.

DS is 15 now
DD is 10.

 

[EmJay2001]

gender of children and what's the closet and bathroom situation? That makes all the difference....

This really worked out well for us. My DD got the bigger room, with an attached bathroom and a walkin closet. The boys got the smaller rooms. We made this decision because she was older and that room was at the top of the stairs and she did not leave her room at night. The younger ones did, and still do, wake and come for a visit . We did not want them to make a mistake while half a sleep and fall down the stairs. It was a score for my dd because it is a very very nice room .

 

[Skywalker]

I remember when we moved as a kid, my brother (who was older) wanted the larger room. My uncle came to visit and said the girl always needs the bigger room lol. My parents caved. Love that uncle lol. (My brother was fine with it by the way. He didn't care.)

 

[DebbieB]

I was the oldest of 3 but the younger two were boys. They shared the bigger room, I got the small room.

 

[acebatonfan]

At my first house, my two younger sisters shared the largest room in the house. I had my own bedroom, but it was a 7x7 and shared a closet with my mom. At the next house, they still shared a room, but both rooms were of similar size to make no major difference.

Currently, I have the largest bedroom (the princess suite. The master bedroom is on the main floor), but both sisters have their own rooms. My room is also used as a guest room when company comes over and as a decompressing room for youngest sister.

 

[aprilgail2]

At my first house, my two younger sisters shared the largest room in the house. I had my own bedroom, but it was a 7x7 and shared a closet with my mom. At the next house, they still shared a room, but both rooms were of similar size to make no major difference.
.

Growing up my brother had a 11x11 room and I had a 8x8 room- it was SO tiny so I cant even imagine a 7x7 one! When my brother was 8 he moved to the upstairs which they converted into a 2 bedroom suite- one side was his desk, couch and books and the other his bed and dressers. I thought "great, now I get his room" but I did not, my parents turned that into a TV room and I was stuck in my 8x8 closet of a room LOL. Right now my room is 11x11 and my daughter room is 12x22 or 12x 24, I cant recall. She has way more things and needs a bigger room than I do.

 

[englishteacha]

I have 7 siblings, though 5 of them were grown up and moved out by the time I came around. Growing up, my 2 oldest sisters shared a room, the 2 younger sisters shared, my eldest brother got his own room, and the 2 youngest brothers shared a room. As the older kids moved out, the other siblings got to spread out. I am the youngest, so I was put in whatever room was closest to my parents, which was the smallest.

When there were only 2 of us left living at home full time, my parents downsized to a smaller house with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. My sister shared with me in the smallest room when she was home from college. I had a double bed, and at the ripe age of 4, successfully put my feet in the middle of her back and shoved her out of the bed onto the floor. From then on, she shared a room with my brother because he had 2 twin beds! She chose his buzzsaw snoring over being pushed on the floor. When my brother moved out I got that room and my room became the guest bedroom.

So while I don't necessarily think the older child should automatically get the larger room, I think it balances out pretty well, especially if the older child is considerably older. Room locations make a difference, too. My parents didn't want little 4 year old me in the basement bedroom by myself in the new house, so it made perfect sense for my brother to get that room.

 

[DisneyDreamer2504]

Older should get the larger room bc they will live there for less time. The younger will end up an 'only child' for a few years when the older either moves out or goes to college.

Growing up with 3 sisters, we shared 2 rooms that were about 8x10 each. So when each of the older two graduated and moved out, they had shared a tiny room for 18 years! As the youngest, I had my choice of 2 rooms that I did not share for 7 years. Op, your kids are lucky to have their own rooms at all!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

moving to a new house and wondering what others do. why don't they make all bedrooms the same size

14 year old and 11 year old - the bedrooms are very clearly different in size.

I can only relate my experience - I'm the oldest, in our first house the 2 "other bedrooms" (not the master) were the same size. I got the one in the front of the house, my sisters got the one at the side of the house, because that room had the better window/closet arrangement for bunk beds.

In our second house I had the smaller bedroom on the first floor, my sisters shared the bigger bedroom (with a bath) upstairs. Although, we all 3 shared what was to become my room until the upstairs bedroom was finished.

In my current house (as the parent), older (girl) child had the smaller room, younger 2 (boys) had the bigger bedroom, but it wasn't bigger by much.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

When we moved into this house, we let our oldest choose his room first.

He actually chose the smaller room - he said it would be less cleaning.

 

[ashley0139]

I am an oldest child, and I don't like that thinking. I'm 3 years older than my brother (a very common gap). So I get the bigger room for 15 years and he gets it for 3? Sounds fair.

 

[mefordis]

My youngest has the (much) bigger room. It used to be the office and it just ended up that my oldest did not want to change rooms before my youngest was born. They are both happy with their rooms.

 

[lauradis]

youngest got bigger bedroom when we moved here.

smaller room had a bigger closet, perfect for a teen girl

 

[aristocatz]

I am the youngest and my brother and I had pretty equal sized rooms growing up. He had two beds, but I had a canopy bed.

Personally, I don't like the whole "oldest gets the biggest." I think, if I were in that situation, I would offer a choice of: a) the biggest room or b) smaller room, but throw in something extra to make up for the size (like a cool bed or something). I'm not sure how I would decide who would get to choose first.

 

[ICF]

Oldest kid gets their choice of bedroom.....that's the natural order of the universe.

 

[design_mom]

When we moved here, we only had one child and he got his choice of the non-master bedrooms. He actually picked the middle-sized room, but it has 2 windows and the biggest room only has one. (And we have him on video at 3 years old insisting that he wanted that room!) Our youngest has the biggest bedroom and the smallest is our computer room.

If we were to move now (kids are 9 and 13), I think "similarly sized bedrooms" would be pretty high on my list of wants for the new house, although I know that's not always possible. And we'd probably draw straws or something for who gets first pick of rooms.

 

[Katy Belle]

In this house, we gave oldest DS smallest room, middle DS largest room, and youngest DS medium sized room. Oldest has never spent much time in his room. He's a computer guy, and we dont allow computers in bedrooms. Middle DS plays guitar, is a artist, a reader, spends a lot of time in his room. To even it a bit, the smallest room has a full bathroom and big closet.