It is natural for babies and children to want to sleep with their parents, or very close to them.
Answer: In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with letting children crawl into bed with their parents. Babies and young children have a legitimate need for closeness during the night, and I recommend letting them sleep with their parents until they reach an age at which they no longer request this.
Parents should introduce sleeping in their own spaces as early as five years old. This is when they are fully grown, and still young enough to get used to the norm of having their bed and space.
After 12 months, there is no proven risk of harm. There is no evidence that bed-sharing produces children who are more spoiled or dependent. Proven harm to parents. Several studies have shown that more than half of the children who sleep with their parents resist going to bed and awaken several times during the night.
Dr. Basora-Rovira says, “The recommendation overall is that kids should sleep on their own, on their own surface, in their own room.” If the family makes the choice of co-sleeping, they should practice safe sleep practices and co-sleep consistently.
The solution: To encourage your child to fall asleep alone, help him or her feel secure. Start with a calming bedtime routine. Then offer a comfort object, such as a favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Turn on a night light or leave the bedroom door open if it will help your child feel better.
Co-sleeping is not recommended, but a 7-year-old child sleeping with parents is considered normal in many families and cultures. The American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) warns against co-sleeping at any age, especially if the infant is younger than four months.
Co-sleeping is a practice in which babies and young children sleep close to one or both parents, as opposed to in a separate room.
Early childhood co-sleeping is associated with increased risk in multiple preadolescent behavioral problems, including anxiety, depression, withdrawal, attention, and affective problems, even after controlling for individual differences in early childhood behavioral problems.
He said, age five should be suitable for them to begin sleeping in a different room from their parents. On his part, a business manager at a Lagos-based firm, Mr. Babatunde Ayodeji, identified age two as the appropriate time to allow kids start sleeping in a separate room from their parents.
When's the best time to move a baby to its own room? I recommend doing it around 6-7 months. After that, infants become much more tuned in to the particulars of their surroundings and may have trouble with the change. Also, by 8 months, many babies suddenly notice—and really care—if there's no one nearby.
They Feel Close To You
According to Ask Dr. Sears, co-sleeping promotes bonding between parents and children. Being physically close and the power of touch creates a special closeness between the two of you.
Recent studies indicate that near-epidemic proportions of children are co-sleeping with parents today. According to Parenting's MomConnection, a surprising 45 percent of moms let their 8- to 12-year-olds sleep with them from time to time, and 13 percent permit it every night.
Normally babies develop a close attachment bond with their main caregiver (usually their parents) within the first months of life. If they are in a situation where they do not receive normal love and care, they cannot develop this close bond. This may result in a condition called attachment disorder.
In fact, 62% of parents said they co-sleep so their families get more sleep, while another 62% said they do so because they want to make their kids feel safe and secure. Just over half, 52%, cited bonding with their infants as to why they share a bed.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) takes a strong stance against co-sleeping with children under age 1.
For example, co-sleeping during the school-aged years has been associated with problems initiating sleep, less nighttime sleep, more daytime sleepiness, more bedtime resistance, increased nighttime awakenings, and greater levels of sleep anxiety (Blader et al.
Is co-sleeping safe? Co-sleeping (aka bed sharing) is not endorsed by the AAP. This decision is based on research showing that bed sharing with babies results in a higher rate of SIDS. The risk of SIDS is even higher if you smoke, drink alcohol before bedtime, or take medicines that make it harder to wake up.
Remember that some separation anxiety is completely normal and expected. When 3- to 4-year-olds are afraid to go to bed alone at night, or 5-year-olds become anxious when Mom and Dad go out and leave them with a babysitter, we see a normal response to the broadening sense of the risks in the outside world.
Kids who suffer from daytime anxieties—about school, separation from parents, or other concerns—are more likely to fear the dark and fear sleeping alone (Gregory and Eley 2005). You may be able to reduce your child's nighttime fears by helping him cope with daytime stress.
At 5-11 years, children need 9-11 hours sleep a night. For example, if your child wakes for school at 7 am and needs approximately 10 hours sleep per night, your child should be in bed before 9 pm.
The AAP recommends infants share a parents' room, but not a bed, "ideally for a year, but at least for six months" to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Well, according to the NSPCC, there are laws in place to help make sure everyone's home is safe and comfortable. Section 325-326 of the Housing Act 1985 states that children of the opposite sex should not share a room beyond the age of 10; otherwise, it is seen as 'overcrowding'.