Need grammar help on "plural" possessives.

[Ruken]

@Nars_Glinley

Alice and Bob are sister and brother. I want to refer to their kids. Which would be correct?

“What about Alice’s and Bob’s kids?”
“What about Alice and Bob’s kids?”

The first sounds awkward to my ears. The second, taken literally, could imply that Alice and Bob are the parents of the same children.

Your thoughts?

You’re asking about style, not grammar, so you’ll not find a factual answer here unless you’re writing to a specific style guide. There are ways to completely remove ambiguity, but as noted, those constructions can feel awkward.

Depending on audience, it’s quite ok to assume some knowledge, e.g. that Alice and Bob are siblings and that they, separately, have children.

[commasense]

@Askance

The parents are separate and so are their kids. So you separate them:

“What about Alice’s kids and Bob’s kids?”

This is what I was going to suggest. (I’m a professional copy editor and writer.)