I was recently chatting to a friend about our childhoods, and she said she loved growing up sharing a room with her sister. They had a bunk bed and at bed time she’d hang her arm down from the top bunk so they could touch fingers while they talked to each other. It was such a sweet story, and they’d obviously formed a real closeness during those early years – a closeness she says they still share today.
Sharing a room – and a bunk bed – can obviously be a real bonding experience. It forms a strong relationship where you learn to live harmoniously together and look after each other. My friend also told me that if one of them couldn’t sleep the other one would gently stroke their hand to soothe them.
Room sharing may have other benefits. It’s thought that it could make children less possessive and teach them how to compromise, plus being in the same room together, not just at bed time gives siblings more opportunity to play together.
Of course, the downside of a room share, particularly if siblings are in bunk beds, is that they have less space of their own. That’s something I definitely wanted to address when I designed the Bunk Bed Buddy. I’d seen my own daughter, Adele, struggling in the top bunk because there was nowhere to put her books or her bed time drink so I knew a product like that would be really useful. She was thrilled when she got her own little bunk bed storage space and told me ‘Mummy, it’s cosy.’
I was reminded of Adele’s reaction when I was ill recently. So as not to disturb my husband, I decided to sleep in the top bunk in my son’s bedroom. As soon as I got into bed I looked around and realised there was nowhere to put my book or my mug of tea. Well, that was no good – so the very next day I put up a Bunk Bed Buddy so that I could use it. Sadly, my son wouldn’t stroke my hand to help me sleep – but I guess you can’t have everything!
Did you know that the Tidy Books Bunk Bed Buddy is now available in new colours? Hop over to the website to find out more.