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Wednesday 7 September 2011

Where Children Sleep

My one year old and eight year old girls share a very small bedroom.

Ella has a cabin bed, Lissy has a cot bed, there's a small wardrobe with drawers for Ella's clothes and Lissy's clothes are stored in our bedroom because there's nowhere else to put them. Both girls' toys and books are in the recess under Ella's bed.

I love where we live but the lack of space can sometimes get me down. My hubby and I go round in circles discussing the 'what ifs-maybes-but hows' of bringing up our family in a nice area (pretty, lots of green, safe, quiet), near to most of our friends and also to Ella's dad (due to our shared childcare arrangement) but with a more liveable amount of space. On one average income that's a tall order in Oxfordshire.

A documentary photographer from Oxford has a new book out that shows children from different cultures and their bedrooms. Where Children Sleep shows a 4 year old from Romania who sleeps outside on a mattress, an 8 year old who lives with his family on top of a large dump and a 15 year old trainee geisha who sleeps on the floor in a teahouse. Have a look and let me know what you think. I, for one, realise how hugely lucky both me and my girls are.

2 comments:

MilkChic said...

We are in a very similar situation, 5 of us currently squeezed into a 2 bed house. My 18yr old stepson sleeps in the basement, our 2 year old sleeps in with us and we now have to decide whether to move her in with her 10yr old sister, and suffer the inevitable bedtime issues for both so she can finally have a proper bed.
Thanks for sharing those images. It's good to remember how lucky we really are.

Anna Colette said...

Milkchic, that's tough but we are all so fortunate when we compare ourselves to others on a global scale. My 8YO and 1YO girls share a bedroom quite well as they have different bedtimes and we're lucky that little Lissy sleeps well so there's no disruption. In fact, Ella mostly enjoys sharing her room with her little sis. Let me know how you get on!