Q re: sharing a room w/ your kids?

[Dsnygirl]

Okay, I know most of you are probably wondering why I'd post a question like this, as most families travel and share rooms together.

But -- we have been lucky/blessed enough to travel mostly with friends to homes they have where our girls (ages 7 & 10) could each have their own twin bed and share their own room, or we've had my MiL with us and connecting rooms, and we've each taken a child -- so once again, they've had their own bed.

Secondly, in the same vein, we've never had to all go to sleep at the same time since they've mostly been in their own room, or we could go next door to the adjoining room while they fell asleep.

Fast forward to this upcoming December - we are travelling on our own this time, we've got a room at CBR again (no balcony to sit out on) - but no MiL to "split up" the girls with or adjoining room to go to while they are off to sleep.

My question? What do all you parents do to 1) help you children fall asleep in the same bed peacefully/quietly (our girls have never shared before, ever) and 2) what do you guys do while your children are going to sleep? You can't really have the TV on, and I'm not thinking it would work for anyone involved to just sit there and watch/wait for them to doze off...

... we're going to try for a room that is off a "courtyard" area, so maybe we could go out and sit at one of the tables outside the room and relax while they're falling asleep... but if we don't get one... any ideas/inspiration/advice/tips?? :blush: As you can see, I'm a little anxious about this part of the trip... ;)

:thanks:

[Kidsmom]

We are the same as you....4 kids and NEVER shared one room (not even when we only had 2 kids). (We always love Embassy Suites as we take the pull-out and put the kids in the bedroom!)

I would think the best thing to do would be to all get on the same schedule. Have your kids up late and all go to bed at the same time.

My kids never sleep in the same bed except on vacation (in the kids room), but they do fine. Especially at Disney where everyone is soooo tired. If they don't do fine in one bed then maybe mom with one and dad with the other.

I am sure more experienced advice will come along. But you are not alone in not sharing rooms with your kids.

Good Luck!

[King Triton]

We did the trip last year with our then 10 and 12 year olds.

On the one hand, for part of the trip, we were able to get a great AP rate at CBR, so I rented adjoining rooms for less than $100/night each.

But for the other part, we did stay in one room and it worked out fine. Because we normally did a nighttime theme park show (Illuminations, Wishes, etc.), we rarely got back to the room before 10:00 and often closer to 11. After spending most of the day in the park, we really had no problems with all of us going to bed at pretty much the same time.

[Jasper]

Actually, we have done this many times and have no problems with getting the kids to sleep together or go to sleep while the adults in the room were doing other things like watching television or reading. Of course, it may be a little more difficult since your girls have never had to do this before.

I would suggest that you sit down and lay it out straight to your girls that they will be sharing a bed and that you expect them to go to sleep even if the adults in the room are still up with the television on. Of course, if you have had a busy day you will be amazed at how quickly they fall asleep under ANY conditions!:D But in all seriousness if you are clear about your expectations up front, don't falter from the rules you lay out in advance they will normally be worn out enough at the end of a busy WDW day that going to sleep will not be the problem you are concerned about.

OH, I also forgot to say that other than laying out the sleeping rules to them don't otherwise make a big deal out of it. Believe me, kids will pick up on any kind of nervousness you have over the situation and will run all over you if you don't take control of the situation.

[KineGirl]

I only have 1 child but when Ive had to share a room with my daughter when she was smaller I would do like PP stated and let her know that bedtime means bedtime no matter what. I would still turn the tv on low volume and swivel it out of her immediate eye line. If she still seemed preoccupied I would have her roll over facing away from the tv. Turning on the news or some other "boring grown up show" usually helped her not be so interested in the tv. :D At Disney we never really had a problem because she was so tired from the parks anyways.

Good luck! Im sure it will be fine ;)

[Mickey'sGirl]

This probably isn't the answer you were looking for.... :blush: We don't worry about it. They will sleep when they are tired. If we need them to go to sleep earlier, than we all go to bed, because in all liklihood, we will all be staying out late together the next night. This said, we always take quiet time back at the resort for swimming and resting in the afternoon. There is frequent napping done during this period.

Actually -- when DS4 was little -- I would take him back to the room to sleep in the afternoons. I would draw the drapes and have the lights/tv off. DH and DS10 would hang out by the pool or something during that time.

[kakn7294]

We don't worry about it either. My DD's just go to bed when we tell them to and eventually they drift off to sleep. We watch tv but it's usually ESPN for DH to catch up on the day's sports - it's something they don't like to watch so much. I usually am moving around the room, getting stuff ready for the next day and DH and I both shower and get ready for bed while they are sleeping. It's never really been much of a problem for us.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We only have 1 DD, but we always travel where we share a room with her.

You will be amazed at how well and how quickly they will fall asleep. You'll all be very tired after a day in the parks, and once we've put DD down, she's asleep in minutes, even though we're still up, with the TV, walking around, having our showers, etc.

[elmjimmlm]

Our 2 boys share a bed at POR and our DD sleeps on the trundle...By the time we get back to the room and shower they might talk for a few minutes but it doesn't take long for them to fall asleep...
I wouldn't worry too much about it because they will most likely be ready for bed when you get back to the room...
Good luck...:mickey:

[mouseketeer mom]

I have never ever thought about this issue. I have 3 kids..when the five of us travel, we all just kind of go to sleep at the same time. Our bedtimes aren't as stringent as if we were home and it was a school night. We just go to bed when we are tired. And boy, do we get tired. We are on the go all day., then usually stay up for fireworks, so bedtime can be on the later side. Mornings are a different issue. My little man is 8 now, but has always gotten up real early, and continues to do so. So my DH usually gets up with him and takes him out of the room. The concierge lounge staying club level has been helpful for this issue. Staying in a villa helps too. We can shut my girls door and turn on the TV for my son. It all works out. We also pack a "sound machine"..it's a white noise machine and then we all don't seem as bothered by sleeping with the others..we don't hear snoring, shuffling covers., etc..

[azdisneymom]

At Disney we usually requested a room with bunk beds. (AKL) Luckily we always got one. My kids enjoyed having their own space. Usually we watched whatever the kids wanted at night and news in the morning. Since they were older (teens) we asked the last one up to turn off the tv. Honestly we were all asleep about 2 hours after we got back to the hotel.

Although the last time we all went it would have been nice to have 2 connecting rooms. Imagine - 2 teenagers, 4 beds, 2 bathrooms, 2 tired parents. Ahhhh would have been nice.

[Dsnygirl]

:) Thank you so much for all your replies.... funny, I hadn't thought about the fact that we'd probably be getting back to our room so late every night that we'll all probably just fall into bed!!

I looked at our "schedule" that I'd pencilled out when I was figuring out ADR's... and just about every night is an 11pm or later night... so I have a feeling we won't have much of a problem crashing and not worrying about what to do while the girls fall asleep... we may even be asleep before them!! ;)

So - thanks again... and if anyone has any other comments/suggestions... they're welcome, too!! :thumbsup:

[sardanem]

When we were a family of 4, we just split the kids up. I got my DD and my DH got my DS. This always worked fine for us. We also have a thing about leaving the TV on all night so it was never a problem for the kids to go to sleep and we could still watch television. Now we are a family of 5, so we got 2 connecting rooms at POP. Only my 2 DD's will have to share a bed, but the rest of us each get our own and like a PP poster said, I love the 2 bathroom and 2 TV thing. They can do their own thing and we can do ours. Oh, the kids are 16,13 and 6. I am also assuming that everyone will be so tired, they will crash as soon as they hit the pillow.

Lisa

[wendy*darling]

... we may even be asleep before them!! ;)

That's what I was going to say!
When our kids were little- we all crashed at the same time- never had an issue.
Now that they are older (will be 18 & 21 on the next trip) I am so thankful we have DVC. In a 2 bedroom, they have their own room and TV and can go to sleep whenever they want. As long as they can get up when I say so! ;)
DH and I are alseep in our room long before they are! :D

[brownie]

We've never had a problem with our 2 sons sharing a bed on a trip. They might argue over covers a little when they first lay down to go to sleep, but that doesn't last long since I won't tolerate it.

If you tell your daughters this is how it's going to be and what your expectations, you shouldn't really have a problem. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[DestinationWDW]

We have 3 and they do argue a little in the beginning. But all I have to do is show them the Duct Tape, that shuts them up real quick. No really, usually there isn't a problem. We put the DD13 with the DS5 and then DS10 on the trundle bed. We usually arrive back to the room late so the kids are usually a sleep with in 10-15 minutes. But we do have the tv on most of the night to drown out the kids snoring.

[thrillme]

I only have one but it's never been a big deal. He gets one bed I get the other. IF I occasionally travel with a second child a cot or "air mattress" works like a champ if they don't want to share a bed. If they're siblings I've never seen a problem with them sharing beds.

For the most part they are so worn out from the park and then maybe a late night swim the trick will be to keep them from falling asleep. I know a nuclear explosion doesn't even phase my DS. The TV doesn't even remotely bother him. He usually falls asleep with it on.

If you're really concerned about how they'll take to sharing a bed pick up an inexpensive double or queensized airbed. Set it up in the living room and let them "camp out" one weekend in front of the TV with popcorn and snacks. (My DS and I always did that on weekends when he was little). You'll probably be surprised how well they enjoy the "treat".

[CleveRocks]

We have two, now ages 8 and 5. We travel lots of places with them. They each get a bed, so that way they don't fight while trying to fall asleep. Then 1 parent sleeps in each bed, too.

At WDW, we've never had trouble getting them to fall asleep rather quickly, and then putting on the TV, etc.

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

We went last year withoutr 2 DD (then 2 and 9 months.) The little one didn't like the port-a - crib, so DH and I each took one girl and slept with her (we made sure to get the bed rails on both beds for whichever side they slept on.) Both were pretty exhausted and crashed even with lights and a tv on.

I am taking them again this year, this time with my mom, as DH has to work. I expect we will each take one of them again.

On a side... both were pretty tired by the time we were leaving the parks (which was never very late.. usually around 7 pm) My oldest would actually fall asleep sitting up in the bus.

[tinksmom02]

We only have 1 DD, so sharing a bed isn't a problem for us, but having her fall asleep can be, even when she's exhausted. She's the type of kid who will never, EVER fall asleep if the TV is on. If DH is still awake, we'll keep one light on and we'll each read something. I had a booklight last trip, but it broke. Have to get a new one...I like to relax by reading a little before bed, and the booklight was great for not keeping everyone else up, too.

[FenwayGirl]

Have you given any thought the family suites at All Star Music.
There is a separate bedroom for parents and the living room furniture (couch, chair, ottoman)converts into beds.

We stayed there in jan with 3 kids...it was the best. Plus it has 2 full bathrooms and a kitchenette/