Woman says that her friend's kids sharing a room is sign of poverty, sparking debate

Markers of poverty can differ from person to person depending on how privileged they are themselves. However, certain statements might seem out of touch to anyone. A mom who was told that kids sharing a room is a sign of poverty found herself in a similar predicament. Although she felt that such a thing simply couldn't be true, she turned to the internet for more perspective on the situation. The woman, who goes by @DesTeeny on Mumsnet, shared her living situation with the platform.

"A close friend has said that sharing a room as children is a sign of poverty," the mom wrote. For context, she explained, "We have the opportunity to be mortgage-free in a 3-bed house through inheritance; our two children (3 & 1, both girls) will share a room and we will keep a spare room." She added, "The spare room is for family/friends visiting as we have no nearby relatives, so we have people to stay often, but it will be used as a 'break out' room for the children if they need space." The woman went on, "We will set it up with a desk for homework and a day bed to read and relax on, but it is quite a small box room, so it seemed sensible to have the children share a very large room (15*13ft) rather than one daughter have a huge room and one has a tiny one."

She further added, "The room is big enough for a day bed, so for example, my Mum will be able to stay, or our nieces and nephews on a day bed and a pull-out, but other than a desk and a day bed there's no room for anything else." The mom remarked, "The alternative was that we use the inheritance to take out a mortgage on a 4+ bed house, but we don't see the point as the house we have is a large three-bed and will suit our needs entirely." She concluded, "However, a close friend has said that sharing a room is a 'sign of poverty' and can't believe we're even considering it when we could have a larger house with a mortgage." The woman wondered what would be ideal in such a situation and people in the comments believed that the friend's comment was out of touch.

@TempsetTost wrote, "My kids have always shared a room at some point. I have four kids and four bedrooms; someone has to share. Over the years, it's varied, most recently, my eldest (teenager) shared with my youngest (age 6). Now that the eldest is in her place, the others all have their own rooms for the first time. We are pretty solidly middle class, and are by no means poor." @Dweetfidilove commented, "Sounds like absolute rubbish to me. Separate bedrooms are lovely, but I can't imagine people having a stable, mortgage-free home being considered impoverished."

@WhatNoRasisins remarked, "It's not what I'd choose myself, but I don't get why anyone would offer an unsolicited opinion on this. Besides, if the room sharing doesn't work out later on, then you just move on to the spare room and reconsider your housing options. It's not like it's set in stone." @Mlanket shared, "Everyone will have different opinions & ideas of the life they envisage. Plenty of people would not like my 800k terrace in London & would move further out for a big house, but that would be hell for me, neither of us is wrong, just different likes & wants."