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Yep, sharing a bedroom with siblings is a rite of passage. (Unless, of course, you were an only child. In which case, it was with an imaginary friend. Morto.)
Sharing a room could be a good thing, but was frequently a terrible thing. There were many bedroom battles that had to be resolved with military precision, carefully crafted ruses and dirty tricks.
Here are the explosive politics of a childhood shared bedroom laid bare.
Battle of the bunk bed
A constant source of jealousy and contention between younger and older siblings. Top bunk meant top dog.
Wallspace. A hot commodity in a shared bedroom. Who would get to put more posters up? Who would insist on putting up MORTIFYING stickers and posters, shaming the other sibling?
Many siblings who shared a room actually decided to hell with vagueness and the possibility for opportunism: a strict line would be drawn. Literally. A line would divide the bedroom in half. Why mess around?
This is where the unfairness of differing ages in the same room came into play. If you had a much younger sibling, chances are the lights were out in your room way too early. Not to mention that whoever had their bed closest to the light switch controlled reading time. WAR.
Lock and key
You know what they say: if you’ve got something good, don’t let it go. Personally, we took this very seriously as young ones. Any good item of clothing, entertainment, reading, make-up, appliance, etc was squirrelled away under lock and key so no one else could use and abuse it. Sharing a bedroom makes you possessive like nothing else.
Of course, sharing a room wasn’t all bad. You always had a trusty sibling on hand to get up to maggotry, whisper stories to at night time – and check under the bed for terrifying monsters.
Did you share your childhood bedroom? Spill your guts in the comments. C’mon, we know you’re still aggrieved.
Sunday 22 December, 2024
Sunday 22 December, 2024
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The delicate politics of your childhood shared bedroom
WE’VE ALL DONE it at some stage.
Yep, sharing a bedroom with siblings is a rite of passage. (Unless, of course, you were an only child. In which case, it was with an imaginary friend. Morto.)
Sharing a room could be a good thing, but was frequently a terrible thing. There were many bedroom battles that had to be resolved with military precision, carefully crafted ruses and dirty tricks.
Here are the explosive politics of a childhood shared bedroom laid bare.
Battle of the bunk bed
A constant source of jealousy and contention between younger and older siblings. Top bunk meant top dog.
Writing’s on the wall
Wallspace. A hot commodity in a shared bedroom. Who would get to put more posters up? Who would insist on putting up MORTIFYING stickers and posters, shaming the other sibling?
Boundary commission
Many siblings who shared a room actually decided to hell with vagueness and the possibility for opportunism: a strict line would be drawn. Literally. A line would divide the bedroom in half. Why mess around?
Lights out, soldier
This is where the unfairness of differing ages in the same room came into play. If you had a much younger sibling, chances are the lights were out in your room way too early. Not to mention that whoever had their bed closest to the light switch controlled reading time. WAR.
Lock and key
You know what they say: if you’ve got something good, don’t let it go. Personally, we took this very seriously as young ones. Any good item of clothing, entertainment, reading, make-up, appliance, etc was squirrelled away under lock and key so no one else could use and abuse it. Sharing a bedroom makes you possessive like nothing else.
Enemy territory
And when you had friends over and wanted the room to yourself? Forget it. That was the time it was impossible to get your siblings to feck off.
Medal for bravery
Of course, sharing a room wasn’t all bad. You always had a trusty sibling on hand to get up to maggotry, whisper stories to at night time – and check under the bed for terrifying monsters.
Did you share your childhood bedroom? Spill your guts in the comments. C’mon, we know you’re still aggrieved.
Read: 9 things you definitely had in your teenage bedroom>
Read: 7 things that ruined your childhood bedtimes>
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