Should Your Child Sleep With You In Your Bed?

One of the most debated and controversial topics related to baby sleep is the practice of a child sleeping in bed with the parents. This is referred to as co-sleeping.

According to some people, co-sleeping is the right and natural way to raise a child because it fosters a stronger bond and a more secure attachment. Yet some others say that co-sleeping is risky and ridiculous, or even dangerous.

So, what is the truth about co-sleeping habits?

Many couples have reported that their babies did not sleep deeper or longer because their parents were close by. In fact, some parents found that their child slept longer and woke less frequently when they stopped co-sleeping and moved him into his own crib.

It is however a personal decision for parents to choose to co-sleep or have their children sleep independently. If both parents and child are safe, rested, and fulfilled, then co-sleeping is nothing to worry about.

Ponder over these questions:

• How comfortable are you about enjoying sleeping together, or is it disruptive for someone when one of you is busy with something else?

• Does everyone in our family want to co-sleep, or are we leaning toward it because one of us feels strongly?

• Are we willing to commit to being quiet after our child falls asleep, or do we like to watch TV or talk in bed?

• Will we enjoy being able to feed our baby more often throughout the night, or will have him next to us make it tougher to wean nighttime feeds?

• Are we agreeable to getting into bed when our child does, to ensure his safety?

• For working parents, does sleeping next to our child allow us to feel more connected to him?

Co-sleeping has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

• Constant closeness whenever the child is awake. Many children and parents enjoy this feeling.

• Immediate action and support for any sleep-related problem

• The ability to nurse and respond to other nighttime wakings without getting up

• More time to spend with the child

• Possibly better sleep for both the child and the parents, if the child was sleeping poorly, to begin with.

Disadvantages:

• Parents may sleep poorly if their children are restless sleepers

• Parents may end up sleeping in separate rooms, and they may become angry at their child or with each other

• Children’s and adults’ sleep cycles do not coincide

• Parents may have to go to bed at a very early hour with their children and be left with little time for their own evening activities

• Parents have little privacy

• There may be a slight increase in the risk to the infant from SIDS and related causes.

The decision to co-sleep should be yours, made by you as parents, and based on your own personal philosophies, not on pressure from your child or anyone else. Another family’s good or bad experience with co-sleeping should not influence your decision.

If however, you are not able to put your baby to sleep by co-sleeping, there are some simple techniques that instantly puts babies to rest and helps them sleep through the night. 

Check it out here.