The Very Real Dangers Of Co-Sleeping

Your poor baby or toddler can’t sleep. Maybe he has a cold or one of those nightmares you’ve helped to create, so you let him crawl into your bed for a sound night’s rest. As you look over at his angelic sleeping face, that little shiver of parental joy envelops you and you tumble into sweet dreams.

As he’s still a bit sick or scared the following night, you let him do it again. Then again, and again, and again…

Fast forward six, seven, maybe even eight years. Your now noticeably enlarged child still expects a welcome invitation to your bed. You’re stiff and fatigued from lack of sleep, your marriage is in shambles, and that uber-pricey “grown-up” bed you bought is gathering dust in your son’s room.

If I can offer one piece of advice about co-sleeping, it is this: do not do it, ever! It is habit forming for both child and parent and habits, as we all know, are very difficult to break.

Children Will Often Take Extraordinary Measures To Get Attention

When it comes to using extreme attention getting maneuvers, my son definitely takes the cake. One day, when he was about four, I explained that I would be leaving him in the kitchen for a short time to have a private conversation with his sister upstairs. No more than two or three minutes later, my rather handy voice-activated caller id device announced that the local police department was on the line. I picked up the phone, only to learn that the officer was responding to a 911 call from my very home. I assured him that no one had called the police – I, in fact, hadn’t used the phone all day.

Moments later, as the squad cars pulled in the driveway, I remembered teaching my son about calling 911. I raced downstairs to find him contentedly playing with his blocks, the phone nestled between the legs of his oversized Elmo doll. “Did you call 911?,” I demanded? “It was a 'mergency,” he said. “I missed you.” Needless to say, the officers weren’t too pleased by this, but they at least were kind enough not to book him.