There are many good reasons why you might want children to share a bedroom, not least because you may not have the space for them not to!  Sharing a bedroom has positive and negative aspects to it.  On the plus side, it gives you more room in the house, encourages children to learn to share, and strengthens the bond between siblings.

On the downside, children may feel they lack privacy, and feel that they don't have any personal space.  These feelings may lead to arguments and may impact negatively on the relationship between siblings.

There are generally no rules preventing children from sharing a bedroom.  Rented houses or housing association homes may determine the maximum number of people allowed in the house, and may also lay down bylaws against children sharing, but this is unusual.

Issues of privacy tend to become more of an issue as children grow older, particularly as they enter their teen years.  Very young children are unlikely to have concerns, indeed the adventure of sharing a bedroom with siblings may be really exciting in early years.  Even baby's can share a room with older siblings, although it is best to avoid sharing until your baby sleeps through the night and no longer need night feeds.

Try to be equitable with children sharing a room - make sure they have the same storage spaces for clothes and toys, that they have the same benefits, such as bedside tables and lamps, and that they all have a say in how the room is decorated.  They may want to introduce rules for their room concerning privacy (such as knocking before entering) and sharing (rules about borrowing toys and clothes etc).

Sharing a bedroom can be great fun, and if you manage the issues that arise, it can lead to a stronger bond between siblings than they might otherwise have had.

Every baby deserves a nicely decorated bedroom - here are various options that will let you give your baby a special bedroom to grow up in.

Wallpaper: You can buy some really fun wallpapers for children's bedrooms but beware that a small pattern or dark paper will make a room appear smaller.  If you choose wallpaper, make sure you select a paper that can be washed with a damp cloth.  The disadvantages of wallpaper are that you can't then add your own paint designs on top, and if you want to redecorate, you can't just paint over to change the look of the room.

Paint: If the walls aren't in great condition, then fill any marks, then line with lining paper.  Choose light paints to make the room feel bigger, if there's not a lot of direct light, then look at using high light-reflecting paints to create better light. The great thing about simply painting is that when you want to change the look of the room, you only have to repaint again.  You can use various techniques to make the room more interesting:-

• Paint whole walls in different shades to create variations on a single colour
• Paint the lower or upper parts of the wall in complimentary or contrasting colours and cover the join with a border, dado rail or picture rail
• If you are artistic, draw and paint your own giant wall mural

Wallies: Wallies or wall decals are vinyl stickers that you can stick to your wall and create little scenes or other decoration.  Wallies are becoming more popular in the UK, but for the widest selection of designs, look at buying online from a supplier in the USA where there is so much more choice!  If you hunt around, you'll find wallies for many different popular characters as well as generic themes such as space, dinosaurs, sports, fairies, animals and so on.

Stencils and sponging: If you aren't able to create your own mural, you can always buy stencils or use sponges to create your own effects.

Choose a theme and decorate the room in a common theme throughout.  Ideas include jungle, space, under the sea, fantasy fairy land or princess, although with just a little imagination, you'll come up with lots more!