Heavens no - it did not bring us closer. My sister was 9 years younger than me and I finished up having to get up in the night to her when she was little - and I am sure you can imagine how it cramped my style with my teenage friends of both sexes! I had no privacy and, to be honest, rather resented my brother having his own room.

It took many years before my sister and I established our now close and happy relationship.

Not having a sister, I have no personal experience, but given the cost of housing, I expect that today many siblings share rooms.

In times gone by it was the norm. My mother shared with two sisters, adimttedly in a very large bedroom. It didn't seem to bring them closer, in fact there were often recounted tales about 'sharing'.

DHs twin brothers always had to share, even though there was a spare bedroom. They were allowed a room each at exam times! x

My DSs shared a bedroom until we moved to a bigger house. As they were quite close in age, I was able to read the same stories and poems to them. They were very well behaved at bed time - much better than my two youngest GSs who don't share, but are quite naughty about going to bed.

I shared a bedroom with my sister, ok when you are young but as a teenager it drove me crackers. I left home the eve of my 18th birthday. DH had to share a bedroom with three brothers.

I was one of four. I was lucky, we had a big house. When we were little it was fine, one room was big enough for four single beds, but I really wanted a room of my own. Eventually we all did. I really hated sharing a room, I wanted to read, the others would want the light out. They would want to talk, I did not. They would leave their tried-on clothes on my bed. If it works, it works. If not, it makes bedtime uncomfortable.

And one of my sisters ground her teeth!

We were brought up in a small 3 bedroomed house. Six children (two boys and four girls) and our parents. We had no choice.

My sister and I shared a room for a few years when we were children. We are 5 years apart and I hated sharing with her (although I know she loved it). I felt suffocated by my sister and my parents often made me take her with me when I went out with friends which only made me resent her even more. We do get on much better as adults than we did as children.

My own DGD's share a room at home (they share with their little brother too at mine) and they get along very well indeed. They are only two years apart and are like best friends aswell as sisters. The elder one (9)has a much softer/gentler nature than her younger sister (7) and she would be totally lost without her little sister to stick up for her.

Why not share? We have bunk beds in the third bedroom and when my GC have a sleepover they use these.

In fact if all four are sleeping over it's two in the top and two in the bottom bunks.

Top to tail.

I was the youngest of three girls but never shared a room with my sisters. We were always extremely close and have been all our lives.

My own four children did share, two to a room, when they were little but all had their own rooms by the age of about ten. They all get on well also.

I don't have a sister, but I know my childhood friend hated sharing as there was about 6yrs between her and her sister.
DGS share because the 3 yr old sleeps better when with his brother. They have beds on opposite sides of the room but when DD checks on them they are often top to tail in one bed

I had my own room, but my two younger sisters shared a double bed. They are definitely closer to each other than they are to me. We all get along well together but I sometimes feel as if I'm missing something.
My two eldest Gs's share a room, they have bunk beds. The younger one goes to bed half an hour before the older one, they are very good with this arrangement.

I was an only child and apart from DH do not like sharing at all. Actually if it is not TMI I don't share with him now. After H's brother died I went on a short break with his SiL and shared and couldn't wait to get home. I suggested another break with single rooms and she was a bit upset so that was the end of that.

I have a set of bunks and a pull out trundle that now fits neatly under the bottom bunk after DH fitted some wooden feet to the bottom bunk to lift it up a wee bit. Painted white you would never know they weren't supposed to be there.

We have a calendar on the childrens bedroom wall where they mark off who's turn it is to sleep in which bed, who picked the story etc.

All's fair in love and bedtime

I think it works when siblings are close I age and the parents treat the children as equals.

I shared with my younger sister for most of my childhood. We had our spats but we were very close. Circumstances meant that for considerable times in our childhood we were separated from our parents when we were at boarding school and they lived abroad and we were support for each other and I used to look after her as she was the younger.

My DC shared a bedroom for a few years but DS is a morning person and DD most emphatically is not. I either had 4 year old son grizzling on the landing in the evening because DS wanted to play and he wanted to go to sleep or I had 2 year old daughter tetchy and bad tempered all morning because she had been woken early and suddenly and didn't like it. So at the ages of 2 and 4 they got separate rooms and peace returned to the family

DGC , 4 and 7 share, there isn't any alternative. So far so good but they are close to each other anyway.

I shared with my baby sister. I was 15 when she came along and from her being 3 months old I had her in with me so I was up during the night while I was in the middle of my O' levels too. I didn't begrudge it with her though, it was my parents job to look after her.

Eighteen months before I left to get married, we moved into a cottage. I then not only shared a room but a double bed with her. On my wedding day we crept downstairs while everyone else slept on and had our breakfast together. She was 6 years old and my only bridesmaid. It was the best time of my wedding day.

What a lovely post rubylady

When I was a child we were a "one boy, one girl" family and didn't share.

A lot depends on necessity - five of my daughters shared a room for some time. That's one set of two bunks and one set of three. From what I can see they are still very close although the factor of "borrowing" one another's clothes no longer applies.

Ahhh lovely rubylady. Never had a sister, and I do envy yours.

No reason why siblings should share a bedroom- but no reason why they shouldn't either. Pros and cons- but I feel we are far too precious about these things nowadays. In my parents generation- sharing a bedroom, even with several siblings. was totally normal.

I think the first time in his life DF ever slept alone in a room for more than the odd night was after my mother died. He was 82.

He was one of a large family so shared a bedroom with a brother/s throughout childhood. He only left home when he joined the army and then slept in barrack rooms and the mess and then was married and obviously shared a bedroom and bed with DM.

He then lived on his own for the last 10 years of his life and managed remarkably well. But when you one of the oldest in a large family your domestic skills do get honed and you do grow up very adaptable.

I shared a bedroom with my younger brother until I was almost 7 when we moved into a 3 bed house
My own 2dd's shared until in their early/ mid teens my DH converted the loft, but they often slept in each others rooms even then. They have always been and are still very close.

My sister & I shared a double bed when we were young, it didn't do us any harm we had lots of fun taking it in turns trying to catch Father Christmas.
Love her so much.

When I was very young we had a two bedroomed house with seven people in.
In the large bedroom there were two double beds, my parents in one and two of us sisters in the other. In between was a carry cot for the baby.
The second, much smaller bedroom had a cot for my brother and a single bed for the other sister. We would take turns in sleeping in the single bed and would fight over it.
Later we moved to a bigger house with three bedrooms-wow. My only brother had the smallest room to himself while myself and three sisters still had to share one bedroom as our parents had the other one. It must have been bliss for them, not having kids hearing their, um, night time activities.
My own two DC, both boys, shared a room in our three bedroomed house. I wanted to keep the other one as spare.After being brought up in cramped conditions myself I liked to think of a spare bedroom as luxury.