According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), while room-sharing reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in small babies by 50 percent, bed-sharing is not recommended for babies under 6 months of age, and is more preferable after they turn 1 year old.
While it's not illegal for them to share, it's recommended that children over the age of 10 should have their own bedrooms – even if they're siblings or step-siblings. We know this isn't always possible.
Decide when to start
Since well-intentioned toddlers and/or older children may place objects into your baby's crib without you realizing it, here at Huckleberry we recommend holding off on transitioning siblings into the same room until after your youngest child is at least 1 year of age.
Basora-Rovira reminds parents that under the age of 12 months, there should be absolutely no bed-sharing. The AAP updated their sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) guidelines in 2016 to recommend room-sharing for the baby's first year, but to avoid bed-sharing due to accidental suffocation risks.
Is it OK for siblings to co-sleep? Sure!* In many cultures in the world, whole families sleep together in the same bed, out of custom, desire, necessity or a combination.
History. While cousin marriage is legal in most countries, and avunculate marriage is legal in several, sexual relations between siblings are considered incestuous almost universally, regardless of legality.
Generally speaking, boys and girls should have separate bedrooms when they reach the age where modesty becomes important. Initially, their need for privacy may be met by changing in separate areas or at different times.
Bed-sharing means sleeping in the same bed as your baby, or sharing the same sleeping surface. Co-sleeping means sleeping in close proximity to your baby, sometimes in the same bed and sometimes nearby in the same room (room-sharing).
In one study, researchers looked at 944 families and found that bed-sharing toddlers had no negative cognitive or behavioral outcomes. Bed-sharing is also much, much safer at this age than during the early months. But make sure your room is totally childproofed. Crawl everywhere and tug on everything to check.
DEAR CONCERNED: It is not appropriate for parents to co-sleep with adolescent children, partly because adolescents need and deserve some privacy, as they engage in the developmentally important process of figuring out who they are and what they're about.
Co-sleeping with a child over 1 year old has a little less risk than with one under 12 months. At a toddler's age of 1 to 2 years old, they can roll over and free themselves in case they are trapped in the bed. As a child gets older, it becomes less risky to co-sleep, but it's still best for them to sleep on their own.
While it may take some time to adjust, siblings can eventually learn to rely on one another and form a team due to the bonding experience of sharing a room. Also, consider that children who sleep in the same room as their siblings may sleep better at night because they have each other to lean on.
Household members aged 18 or over have a separate bedroom, except those living as part of a married or common-law couple. Household members under 18 years of age of the same sex may share a bedroom, except lone parents and those living as part of a married or common-law couple.
Except for special and/or extreme circumstances, there are no laws specifying how siblings share a room, even siblings with different genders.
“Some 4- or 5-year-olds feel very strongly about privacy, and some kids don't care about it until they are 8 or 9 years old.” Essentially, this is about consent. Once it's no longer comfortable for a child to share bath time, it's time for individual baths or showers. Full stop.
2 In the "A-level" recommendation—the Academy's strongest evidence rating—the AAP said that room-sharing should continue at least until the baby is 6 months old, ideally until 12 months. The 2017 study suggests that it may actually be better for babies to have their own rooms starting at the age of 4 months old.
For safety sake, it's recommended that you wait until children are over eighteen months old to co-sleep with a sibling, but you can make a decision based on all your children's ages, size comparison, and sleep history.
Room-sharing basics
Ideally, children who share a room should be as close in age as possible. A 3-year-old and a 6-year-old are more likely to have compatible schedules than a teenager and a baby. (Gender is a factor for many families, although this is not related to sleep.)
It is natural for babies and children to want to sleep with their parents, or very close to them. It is a primal response. Look at young dependent mammals – they all sleep next to their parents/mother.
Co-sleeping and room-sharing are considered safer options than bed-sharing and can help parents stay close to their baby while minimizing risks.
Breastfeeding mothers and babies sharing sleep is a biologically normal behaviour, while formula feeding and separate sleep are departures from the norm. It is these behaviours that need to be shown to be effective and safe, not the other way round.
For those who are homeowners or renting privately, the present guidelines are that once a child reaches the age of 10 years ideally, they should not room share with a sibling of the opposite sex.
Generally, a bedroom should not have more than two children in it. Two people per bedroom is generally considered an occupancy limit for rental purposes. In many cases, there is a “2+1” occupancy limit that states you can have two people per bedroom, plus one person in a living space.
(4) Separate bedrooms are required for children of the opposite sex over seven years of age, unless the children are siblings or half siblings sharing the same bedroom and the alternative sleeping arrangement is consistent with the health, safety, and welfare of each of the siblings or half-siblings and is necessary to ...