Two Kids, One Hammock...or Two?

[NCPatrick]

I think one hammock with 2 kids would be fine maybe for a short nap, but it doesn't seem to me that either of them could sleep all that well all night long. I'd go for separate hammocks, strung very close together.

[chillyhiker]

I think they would each want thier own space.

[Bradley]

My daughters are best friends but one sleeps stock still like me
the other is a wiggler and would disrupt the night.

How about a double like a Clark Vertex
2 hammocks joined at the foot end for a bout 1/2 ways to the middle then split one rope at the foot and 2 at the head with a flat part between

it would be like sleeping together but not . . .

[titanium_hiker]

double hammocking on Risk's site: (pics!)
http://www.imrisk.com/hammock/ultradoublehammock.htm

TH

[turkeyboy]

When I take my twins (7 yrs old now), I have them in separate hammocks, either one above the other, or one right next to the other using three trees. The problem comes when the third child also wants to be "close" but not in the same hammock. I usually end up with one right above or next to me in the same arrangement.

Same hammock = trouble in my mind. Have you ever heard them say "you're breathing my air!" That has happened at my house....

[Man Scout]

I have trouble getting my 2 kids to go to sleep when they are in the same room. I could only imagine how difficult it would be if they were being slumped together in the same hammock.

I'd vote for 2 hammocks...

[Cold Butt Stephen]

I'd agree with two hammocks. I have a twin and it would have been a disaster for the two of us to try to sleep in the same hammock.

One idea that crossed my mind was to tie them both to the same two trees. The problem is that they're still squished together that way. You could hang them one above the other, or offset as was already suggested. The other idea I had was to push they're hammocks apart by using walking poles as a spreader bar between the two hammocks. With any of these methods, you could still fit them both under the same tarp, and they will have some room to grow into their own hammocks and separate them when they get older if they want to.

...My brother was ALWAYS breathing my air.

[rjcress]

One idea that crossed my mind was to tie them both to the same two trees.

Sure CBS, we've all heard of folks that would like to tie their kids to trees sometimes. Not sure that's the best solution though.

FWIW, we hang 3 hammocks in my home office... but have 5 people in the family. Even in the climate controlled office, after a hot dinner prepared for them, and with no hiking, carrying gear, etc. my kids can't last more than about 1/2 a second with more than one in the same hammock. The kicking, elbowing, pushing, screaming, hair pulling, and general unruliness start pretty much immediately when the second person enters the hammock.
I wouldn't dream of putting 2 in the same hammock unless there were no other options... like we are stranded in the woods with one fewer hammock than we need. And even then, I might be inclined to make at least one of them go to ground.

Geez.
I love my kids!

[JohnSawyer]

Given their ages, and the fact (like Bradley) that one of my kids does laps around his bed in his sleep, I'd vote for 2 hammocks. Given their size, you could off-set them under the tarp so that they're not bumping into each other. -- Put one hammock closer to one end, the other closer to the other end.

Mule tape is a cheap option for kid suspension, too...

[Dylan]

Thanks for all the great tips and words of wisdom. I have decided to build them each their own hammock, mostly due to the creative suggestions on ways to hang both between the same two trees.

The other idea I had was to push they're hammocks apart by using walking poles as a spreader bar between the two hammocks.

I love this idea!

They get along well now and are probably capable of sleeping in a close space, but I also know that could change at any time.