Should children be allowed to regularly sleep with their parents? Is this detrimental to a child’s health and well-being as most experts say. Co-Sleeping or Bed Sharing is a point of major debate in the United States, although it is quite commonly practiced in most other parts of the world. Many child development experts advise against co-sleeping or promoting a family bed; they cite concerns over SIDS, mental wellbeing of the child, fostering independence and interference of parental intimacy. There is, however, a growing population of people in favor of co-sleeping and they cite just the opposite reasons. These professionals state that co-sleeping declines the risk of SIDS, promotes …show more content…
How can a baby or child who sleeps with their parents become more independent? In the article “Six Benefits of Sleeping With Your Children” we see that Dr. Jay Gordon, author of Good Nights: The Happy Parents’ Guide to the Family Bed states "When a child routinely goes to sleep in the presence of an adult, or with an adult holding her, it's extremely rare to find thumb sucking or attachment to security objects.” (Torre). Recently The University of California, Irvine recently conducted a survey on co-sleeping and dependence. In this survey they polled eighty-three middle mothers of preschool children and their family sleep habits as it relates to independence. They study did show that solitary sleepers were more independent in relating to sleep habits but the co-sleeping children were more independent in other areas. For example, these children who had co-slept were more adept at dressing themselves, providing their own entertainment and making new friends. They also seemed to work out issues with classmates and playmates more independently than their solitary sleeping peers. (Keller) Although this research is limited when combined with all the other data it cannot be denied that the benefits of co-sleeping far outweigh the dangers if the proper measures are