Should Your Family Share a Bed?

I can see Http://www.treatingsleepdisorders.com where everyone sharing a bed can become a problem.

The American Academy of Pediatrics cautions against sleeping with an infant in your bed because of the danger of accidental suffocation or death. And while the AAP doesn't discount the benefits of sleeping in proximity to a child, it holds that babies reap similar benefits if they are in a bassinet near the parents' bed, or are provided with other nearby but separate sleeping arrangements.I'm a doctor,31 ,rich but still single.It's hard to get a girlfriend in my town ,most of them like my money more than like me.I just want to find my true love.so i uploaded my hot photos on seekrich .c om under the name of jexte2.u dont have to be a millionaire,but u can meet one there. ..if you girls see this comment,i hope you will check my photos out there.maybe you are the one who i'm looking for!!!

14 months ?? trust me - my kids kept coming in even around 6 years of age, they need to learn where their bed is . Its a matter of personal space. If I were you , please try to get her to her own bed habits before shes 2.

I agree with you 100%. My husband and I made a conscience choice to use "the family bed" technique when my first son was born. It worked out wonderfully for us, and for my children! As they got older and became "independent" (at their own pace), they made the choice to sleep in their own beds. Keep up the good work, you will be well rewarded in the end! (Just a side note...as one of the most intelligent species in the animal kingdom, humans are also one of the only animals in the animal kingdom that purposely choose not to sleep with their young). Enjoy the time you have with your children...it goes by much too quickly to push them away at infancy.

Personally I do think babies should sleep with their parents for the exact same reasons that you stated and also for the fact that babies tend to sleep better and longer when they can feel someone (especially the mom) sleeping so close to them. However the line has to be drawn somewhere; your child is 14 months which is still a bit understandable...but if she's still in your bed when she's 5 then you might have a problem lol. The sooner you can get the kids out of the bed the better b/c eventually your relationship with your partner will suffer.

Both my children slept in a family bed and each is confident and well adjusted. One is in college and the other is entering middle school. Surprising around the age of 9 they became "independent" and slept in their own beds. I never lost a moment of sleep and it was quite comfortable because the children weren't fearful of leaving our bed it was a natural adjustment that they took upon themselves when they were ready for their own space.

We tried to make our son sleep in a separate space from us when he was a newborn, and it was a miserable experience for all of us. My son would never settle. He was extremely insecure and would cry constantly unless he had contact with me or his father. Not only that, but I ended up exhausted and in a great deal of pain because I was trying to recover from a Cesarean. Since I was breast feeding, it's not like my husband could get up in the middle of the night to feed the baby. That left me, the one with a massive stomach wound, climbing out of bed multiple times a night.

Once we moved our son to our bed, not did the incessant crying stop, but eventually I was even able to sleep through the feedings.
My husband thought it was hilarious. My son would just reach up and latch on to me like I was the midnight buffet while I slept.

If you are letting your kids sleep in your bed-- HOW are you having more kids? Please don't tell me you're having sex with your kids in the bed. Sorry I'm just NOT that modern.

My kids are 16 (boy) and 17 almost 18 (girl), I always slept with my kids in our bed when they were little. My hubby did not get much of a choice in this decision I just did it. At the time it did put a cramp in our personal bedroom time, but we are still together 19 years later so it did not destroy us. I tried to put my daughter in her crib just like the DR. told me to do, but it just felt unnatural to have her that far away. My kids are 20 months apart so when my son came it was just natural to bring him in with us. I breast fed both my kids and this was just a better way. All these years later we are a very close family. I really like my kids and they like us. My kids are each others biggest fans. They are faced with so many difficult decisions in high school and I am happy to say they have not succumbed to any of them. Neither of my kids drink do drugs curse or any of the other things so many of their peers have fallen into. Neither child ever raised their voice to me, I stayed involved all the way through. I was a room mom in every class, taught in their Jr. high school, then loosened the reins a little in High School. I don't know why we feel it necessary to divide our kids from us, but if that is how it was supposed to be then they would be born self sufficient. My kids moved back and forth from our bed to theirs starting at around 3. I would put them in their bed they would go to sleep then during the night they would tottle into our room and sleep there the rest of the night. I know as a new mom you get too much advice. But please listen to one more bit. Look around you at the older kids, preteen to teens, you will see the ones who are on the right path. When their parents speak listen closely. Remember that sometimes your kids will be right and you will be wrong. You have to learn to see things from their perspective sometimes. Most of all trust your gut. You are the most connected to that baby. I wish you fun and good times in this venture we call parenthood.

Sleeping with my children is one of the most wonderful thing in my life. Now sleeping with my grandchildren is just as special. As a working mother it was a matter of survival. I breast fed for a long time and it made is so easy just to put them next to me.
I have spent hours just looking at their face, drawing their face/ Telling them how much I love them and how wonderful they are.
Nothing gets better than this. I am a registered nurse and some nights at 3am I felt like calling the doctor and saying you come over and put them to bed. Unless a person is intoxicated or high I think the chances of laying on a baby is low/ There are certain soft waterbeds that should be avoided because they can get caught on the side.

We all work, work, work so many people do not have a regular dinner time to talk. I have found at bed time replaces this and they can tell you what their day has been like and you can show them love, reassurance and that you are there for them no matter what.

I get the best eskimo and butterfly kisses at bed time and I would no take this time away for anything.
It is just like doctors that have become bottle opponants..if they are eating food and do not go around all day with a bottle in their mouth I think a little milk in a bottle at bedtime is soothing and induces good sleep. I even remember my doctor telling me to put them in their own bed and let them cry for up to 30 minutes before you check on them and then you are still suppose to make them stay in their own bed. That is torture and child abuse there is no other way to look at it. If your doctor advises this, Find another doctor immediately.

Like I said I am a mother of three, a grandmother of three, I have been a Registered Nurse that worked with children and sleeping with your child is one of the most postive things you can do for them and you.

we have always had a family bed, and with 6 kids, we once had to purchase a king size. as the kids got older, they transitioned to a comfy on the floor next to me, their 'big' beds were always ready and soon they slept part time in their bed and if needful, on the comfy. if something was amiss, they always knew there was room in mom and dad's 'big bed'. in times of stress whether with a parent or not, they take refuge in the family bed

Why should a baby sleep all alone in another room, when we get to sleep with our spouses? People sleep with their dogs and cats, yet put their child in another room down the hall, and then need a monitor to hear them....The family bed works well for us, it is safe to sleep with your baby, and very benificial for them. My daughter is very secure and independent and she has been sleeping with us since she was 6 weeks old...she is 3 now. Do what works best for your family. Follow your instincts, only you know what is best for you and your family!

I agree, we have always had family bed in our house. I have three children and all of them started off in our bed. The oldest is now 17 yrs old...and for of you who think its a bed idea, she doesn't sleep with us anymore. All of my children are well-adjusted and have great self-esteem. They all sleep in their own beds and they all made that decision on their own. I wouldn't change the experience for anything.

I doubt very much that the average american husband would be thrilled about having a child in the bed night after night.

That is good to see. This sort of thing varies according to ethnic and religious affiliations too.

All my 3 children slept with me and my wife until they started Kindergarten, at that point the kids went to their rooms on their own. There was no issue in them adjusting. Actually, my daughter started sleeping in her own room, "on her own" before then.

I am a 50+ year old woman who slept with my aunt until I was about 13 years old when she left our home land to better her life and the family. When she left I did not feel any loss and I think that I have developed into a healthy individual. My grand daughter now visits with me and sometimes she will sleep in my bed or she will sleep on the couch, which ever makes her feel good at the time. It gives us the opportunity to discuss anything she wants to discuss and to date she is developing quite nicely. She is fourteen years old and we talk about any and everything including expectations from her and myself as a grandmother. She is bright, very smart and continues to do well in school. Problem??? No WAy!!!

I breast feed my youngest child and he would fall asleep with me evernight and not once did I have to wake up to feed him. I would lay him next to me and let nature take its course. I am a light sleeper so I was not afraid of smoothering him. But now I am having trouble trying to get him to sleep in his own bed, he is 4 years old now and there is not room for him in my bed anymore. I am losing sleep.I can get him to fall asleep with his 6 year old brother in his "Cool new bunk bed" but every night at 3 am he comes back into my bed. It could be because he has autism and he is extremely attached to me

Let's see how this is working when she's 17!