Parents worried about sleeping beside their young toddlers can rest easy, as a recent study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found no increase in cognitive or behavioral risks to the child from sharing a family bed, reported WebMD.
Parents who co-sleep with their children for the purpose of bonding, and their "child is otherwise healthy, growing, and thriving, then bed-sharing is not associated with cognitive and behavioral problems," said Pediatric Sleep Center Medical Director, Nanci Yuan, in the WebMD article.
On the other hand, "it can be a red flag of other behavioral problems if bed sharing is not by the parents' choice or mandated by economic circumstances," Michelle Berkovits, MD and professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, told WebMD. She also expressed the concern that parents who were bed-sharing were not on the same page, and how important it is that they are.
Though co-sleeping with children younger than 1-years-old is discouraged, because of the risk of SIDS, there can be benefits to bed sharing for children over one. And according to Lauren Hale of Stony Brook University School of Medicine, in a FoxNews report, parents can and should do what works best for their family and "not feel guilty if they choose to bed-share, because there probably aren't lasting impacts."
FoxNews also reported that initially the study showed a decrease in intellectual and behavioral development when co-sleeping children were tested at the age of five, "but that didn't hold up, once the researchers had accounted for other characteristics of the mothers and children."
PyschCentral reports that co-sleeping can provide a "of safety and security sleeping regularly next to their mom and dad."
And according to the AttachedParent bed-sharing can help create consistent sleeping routines for children and their parents. It also encourages parents to take a few precautions if they choose to co-sleep, like choosing lighter bedding to prevent suffocation and allowing the child to sleep in the middle, to reduce the risk of falling off the bed.
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