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Children 'should sleep with parents until five
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"Margot Sunderland, director of education at the Centre for Child Mental Health in London, says the practice, known as “co-sleeping”, makes children more likely to grow up as calm, healthy adults.
"She argues that the practice common in Britain of training children to sleep alone from a few weeks old is harmful because any separation from parents increases the flow of stress hormones such as cortisol. "For example, a neurological study three years ago showed that a child separated from a parent experienced similar brain activity to one in physical pain. “What I have done in this book is present the science. Studies from around the world show that co-sleeping until the age of five is an investment for the child. They can have separation anxiety up to the age of five and beyond, which can affect them in later life. This is calmed by co-sleeping.” "Sunderland says moving children to their own beds from a few weeks old, even if they cry in the night, has been shown to increase the flow of cortisol. "Studies of children under five have shown that for more than 90%, cortisol rises when they go to nursery. For 75%, it falls whenever they go home. "Sunderland argues that putting children to sleep alone is a peculiarly western phenomenon that may increase the chance of cot death, also known as sudden infant death syndrome (Sids). This may be because the child misses the calming effect on breathing and heart function of lying next to its mother. “In the UK, 500 children a year die of Sids,” Sunderland writes. “In China, where it [co-sleeping] is taken for granted, Sids is so rare it does not have a name.” Posted on 07/13/09, 08:07 pm |
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oops, forgot the link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1083020.ece 
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wow. i really dont agree with this. my cousin died while sleeping with my uncle and aunt, of sids. there are LOTS more factors, smoking, bumpers, breast feeding, exposure to people [actually lack there of].
Just my humble opinion. my child will sleep in the cradle right beside of my bed until 6 months, then he will move to the crib.
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Kiotsygirl, sorrry to hear about your cousin. However, you say your cousin died of crib death. Therfore, I would interpret that as being that although the parents co-slept, the baby still happened to die...(or was he accidentally smothered?)
Of course there are many factors to consider. It is much safer to co-sleep if a mom is bf, as she is intuitively more aware of her baby. It is not good to co-sleep if you smoke in bed (gasp!), or if you drink or take druhs, or medication to sleep. If your hubby is a very heavy sleeper (unless you position baby between yourself and thhe guard rail of the bed, or a wall, or something). A baby should also not be sleeping in bed with a toddler or young child, as they have very heavy sleep, adn can smother the baby sibling. However, I have co-slept with all 3 of my children, and insisted on it when my last one was hospitalised for 4 mths after birth. They had a fit at the hospital, but I would not yield. In the end, they had to let me do it. I as, however, bf. It was very important to have him glued next to me, so I could feel and hear his every breath. As a matter of fact, at one point, he lost the nasal canulae that were bringing him oxygen, and he started to breathe eratically. It woke me up and I called the nurse even BEFORE the alarms on the saturation monitor went off. I swear by co-sleeping, esp. if you are bf, it makes for a much better relationship, and facilitates nursing and building up milk supply. This study cites a compilation of 800 studies world-wide. They cannot all be wrong.
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I don't agree with the article at all. If you want to co-sleep sobeit, but be prepared for the problems with getting the kid out of your bed.
All 3 of our girls slept in our bedroom until they were a few months old, then moved into their own room. They were all breastfed, so it was convinient to have them in the same room. We didn't cosleep with any of them because of the threat of possible suffocation of the baby. Again, do what you feel is right for your family but no one should feel bad for choosing to put their baby in a crib. Also, don't think that that you know exactly what you are going to do before you have your child. We had ideas of what we just knew we would do, but when it came down to it, plans changed.
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Just google this:
co-sleeping + breastfeeding + SIDS The evidence isclear and unequivocal. For some stats: http://babyreference.com/Cosleepin... For a guide on safe co-cleeping: http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/a... Benefits of co-sleeping: breastfeeding.com/reading_room/co_slepping.html" title="http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/co_slepping.html" target="_blank"> http://www.breastfeeding.com/readi... Why babies should never sleep alone: http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/articles/McKenna_why%20babies%20should%20n.pdf It is thought that there are some babies who are born with some weak muscles and may sometimes "forget" to breathe. The CO2 emitted by the mom sleepign next to her infant can actually trigger the baby to inhale, and get oxygen, where as if he sleeps alone, the CO2 is not present to trigger this mechanism, and the baby may become a SIDS victim. Dr. Sears is also a proponent of co-sleeping: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T... As I mentioned before, clearly, there are cases where co-sleeping may be contraindicated. In any event, if you really feel uncomfortable in having baby share your bed, then having the baby at least share the room is a good compromise. The point is, that it is not "natural" to shove a newborn into a crib in isolation in his new bedroom. Cavemen and cavewomen: did they have a seperate cave for junior? A seperate hammock for hm to sleep in? So he might get cold or too hot, or hungry..who would hear his cries in the next cave? Who could protect him from a predator? Cavebabies slept with their parents! Who could assist them promptly with anything the infant needed, thus creating a safe and nurturing environment. Only in our Western society, did manufacturers of baby cribs push upon us the "need" to keep baby alone...
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I also have to say I don't fully agree either. While I do believe in co sleeping if its right for the family. I co slept with all my kids.
My son till age 2 1/2 my middle child till 13mos my baby till 12mos We slept horrible when we co slept as newborns it was fine and dandy but as they got older they woke constantly. We were all tired and cranky! Once they were transitioned to their own beds they slept better and were just more content. The first two were transitioned back to back. I am happy I co slept and to me 12mos ia good time to transition but my son was 2 1/2 and that was kind of late if you ask me. But for many they will never co sleep and I can understand and thats their choice.
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if that's what a mom wants to do that's fine, but untill five?? i couldn't imagine my 4 year old still in bed with me. he loves being in his big boy bed, and it would just tire my husband and i out. my son is so squirmish. plus what about intamacy issues between the husband and wife? i could see five years as causing a problem between a couple.
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When my son was an infant i did not let him sleep in my bed, for the fear of sids. When he grew older ( about toddler age) and my husband was out of town i did let him sleep with me. He's five now and sometimes when he awakes in the middle of the night from a bad dream I will crawl in his bed with him and read him a story until he dozes off again.
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My son is 4 and sometimes he will sleep with me, he does have his own bed. But right now until I can find a job I am staying between my parents house and my grandmothers until I can move to Kentucky with my husband where our house is. (dang military life) My son has his own bed but he would rather sleep with me, while I don't mind since my husband is gone, it is a different story when my husband is there. He sleeps in his own bed while he is home. When he was a baby he never slept in the same bed with me I was so scared something would happen. We got rid of his crib when he was a little over 1 1/2 after taking the side rail off and thats when he started sleeping with me.
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My son is 28 years old. When he was born he was all of 3 pounds and a very sick little boy. Back then they did not send you home with apnea monitors and all the nice equipment. I slept with him on my chest until he was almost one year old, with one hand on his back so if it quit breathing I woke up immediately. We had a 10 month old at the time and we got so tired of getting up and down we finally just put her in bed with us too. We all slept like this for 3 years until the next one came along and the oldest one decided it was too crowded and moved into her own room. Not to be undone the son soon followed and about 2 years later the littlest went on her own too.
We are now raising a granddaughter, she is 5 years old. She has slept with us since she was 2 months old. She now wanders back and forth between her bed and ours. Mostly hers but if grandpa is out of town she sleeps with grandma and if she has friends over they all camp out in the living room. I am a nurse, I know all the SIDS "rules" and all the advice and all the science behind it. It all comes down to a personal choice. I have seen premie's that were not thriving put in beds with parents that began to improve. Touch and contact is so important and the more the better. My oldest daughter was adamant she would not co sleep when her son (4 now) was born,, but after 2 months of sleepless nites relented and put him in her bed, wow they both got sleep and hubby was much less grumpy too. Her son is 4 and her daughter 3 and they both wander in and out of their parents bed and their own beds. My 8 month old grandson sleeps only in his bed (except if he stays with me) his mom is following all the "rules" their choice. He still has to be swaddled or "snuggled" to sleep in his bed without crying but if you are holding him he goes right to sleep and will stay asleep longer when he is in the bed with us. I personally believe you cannot give a child too much touch and security and what better way to do so. Just an old grandma talking to each his own
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