Should Kids Sleep With Parents?

Some doctors believe that co-sleeping strengthens the bond with the child, while others see it as a potential danger.

16:10 16 February 2022

With the birth of a child, parents often spend all their free time together with a newborn. At the same time, some parents put the baby to sleep with them. Co-sleeping has its advantages and disadvantages.

At first, this helps to strengthen the bond between parents and children, but over time it can become a problem for the whole family. In this article, we tell you how to organize safe co-sleeping with a newborn and how to define when kids should sleep with their parents.

At Little Scholars the team of professionals know perfectly how to help you with this issue. Moreover, you will get high-level care for your baby from loving teachers at times when you need some personal space.

Sleeping with a child: pros and cons

In recent years, mothers have begun to use baby carriers such as baby slings for on-demand feeding and co-sleeping. The opinions of pediatricians, neonatologists, psychologists, and lactation specialists on the latter still differ.

Some doctors believe that co-sleeping strengthens the bond with the child, while others see it as a potential danger. Parents who want to sleep with a baby should take into account their age and physiological characteristics, as well as the daily routine of the whole family.

We'll give you the pros and cons below to help you understand the advantages and possible disadvantages of this sleep mode.

Pros

As a general rule, co-sleeping with a newborn is supported by lactation specialists and perinatal psychologists. According to them, the list of benefits of such a sleep regimen includes:

1. Establishment of lactation. A mother who sleeps with the baby at night can feed her baby at their request. This stimulates the production of milk secretions.

The amount of milk secreted depends on the level of the hormone prolactin, which is produced at night. Therefore, the more a mother feeds her baby at night, the more milk is produced during the day.

In addition, it is at night when the milk secret is released, necessary for the normal development of the baby in the first months of life.

2. The quality of your baby's sleep. A baby who sleeps with mom sleeps better. Children don't have to worry about their parents going away and leaving you alone in a big room.

Also, if something wakes them up at night, they can immediately lean on their mother's chest and easily fall back asleep.

3. The quality of the parents' sleep. When co-sleeping, parents don't need to get up in the middle of the night to feed a baby. However, nighttime awakenings cannot be canceled for bottle-feeding or diaper changes.

In other cases, it is enough for parents to open their eyes, check the baby, and then go back to sleep. As a result, in the morning the whole family faces the new day refreshed and rested.

4. Help in adapting to new conditions. For 9 months, the child is in the womb, where they are warm, full, and comfortable. Immediately after birth, they find themselves in a vast unknown world full of incomprehensible sounds and smells.

The only thing that gives the baby a feeling of warmth and security is the closeness with their mother. This feeling is enhanced if the baby also feels a connection with the father. Sleeping together with parents improves the nervous system and reduces stress.

 

The question of what age should kids stop sleeping with their parents is vital for beginners. Statistically, most couples becoming parents for the first time sleep with their newborns. The more children appear in the family, the less they resort to this practice.

 

Cons

Pediatricians and other children's doctors who oppose co-sleeping have strong arguments. Among them are the following:

 

1. Lack of complete relaxation. Parents just can't fall asleep next to the baby because they are afraid of hurting the baby while they sleep.

 

Sometimes it also happens that the baby is well covered with a blanket and oxygen is blocked. Fearing for the newborn, parents cannot fully relax and sleep well.

 

2. Trouble falling asleep for a child. According to studies, children who are used to sleeping separately from birth are much less likely to suffer from nightmares.

 

Many parents practice co-sleeping from birth and then, at age 2 or 3, move the child to a separate room. No wonder they're afraid of the monsters under their bed after that.

 

3. It's hard to get used to sleeping apart. Children who sleep in a separate bed from an early age calmly endure moving to a separate room.

 

To put them to bed, parents do not need to memorize all the famous lullabies and fairy tales. Simply turn on the dim light and place your favorite toy under the baby's side.

 

4. Violation of personal space. The birth of a child should not be a reason for the separation of the spouses. They still need time for themselves.

 

When should kids stop sleeping with parents?

 

The gradual transition from co-sleeping to the separate one can help reduce your child's stress levels. Parents don't need to resort to strict arguments and outright bans to scare a child with spooky or dark stories.

 

It is better to choose a special crib with soft sides and bedding, endowed with pleasant tactile properties for a baby. In such a bed they will be warm and comfortable, as in the womb.

 

Also, an excellent solution is the side cots, which have a reliable fastening system to the parents' bed and allow you to sleep next to the baby. Dim lighting and a mobile phone playing a lullaby will help create a relaxing atmosphere in which your little one will quickly fall asleep.

 

For an older child, you also need to create comfortable conditions in which they are more interested than in a normal bed with their parents. To achieve this the following will help:

 

• comfortable bed;

• bedding decorated with images of your favorite cartoon characters;

• unusual design bedside lamp;

• night light playing fairy tales or favorite lullabies;

• stuffed toys.

 

In order for the child to quickly learn to sleep separately, it is necessary that in their bed they feel safe and comfortable. As soon as it becomes more interesting for them to fall asleep separately, the problem of constantly waking up, nightmares, and tantrums will disappear.

 

For this process, the main thing is consistency. You should not make drastic changes so as not to harm the baby. Pay attention to each stage of the process: the baby should get used to each one and gradually adapt to the next step. After calmly falling asleep in the conditions provided by you without the stressful quick separation, the child will feel happy.