This is very interesting.
Since having my kids I’ve always felt great comfort when they’re asleep beside me.
Maybe it’s because when they’re next to me I can see that they’re safe and sound or maybe it’s the cuddles, could be a combination of both.
When I first started co-sleeping with my kids it wasn’t something I generally told other people as there can be a lot of judgement around it.
Many believe that it is much better for babies and children to sleep in their own bed either due to safety concerns or worries that they will never want to sleep on their own.
While I understand the reasoning behind these opinions I just find that when my children were little it didn’t work for me and according to researchers from Harvard I’m not alone.
According to Robert and Sarah LeVine from Harvard University most other cultures in the world co-sleep with their children and not only is it normal it’s actually healthy for babies and parents.
In most African, Asian, and Latin American cultures co-sleeping is standard for families and children sleeping in their own rooms away from their parents just isn’t the done thing at all.
In fact, they think the idea of separate sleeping is a little strange.
While many believe that co-sleeping can lead to infant fatalities and increase SIDS LeVines doesn’t think this is true and cites Japan as an example;
“In Japan—a large, rich, modern country—parents universally sleep with their infants, yet their infant mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world—2.8 deaths per 1,000 live births versus 6.2 in the United States—and their rate of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, is roughly half the U.S. rate.”
At the end of the day I really think it’s to each their own and whatever sleeping arrangement for your family works.
To be honest as parents if we manage to get any sleep it’s a win regardless of who else is in the bed with us.
