Co sleeping - Effects, Advantages & Disadvantages of Co-sleeping
Movies depict the beautiful moments of babies sleeping alongside the parents and poems picturise the most beautiful motherly care by letting the babies sleep next to the mother, hearing sweet lullabies. But is a much debated issue that if co-sleeping is beneficial for the mental growth of kids. Many professionals and scholars differ in their opinions and there are arguments that support co-sleeping and deny co-sleeping. Co-sleeping, as defined in dictionaries, is the practice of letting the babies sleep on the same bed where parents sleep or letting babies sleep in the same room in which one or both parents sleep. It is a common practice in many parts of the world. In certain countries, especially in developed nations, it is a practice that children are put to sleep in a separate room. Let us see the advantages and disadvantages of co-sleeping.
Co-sleeping becomes an issue of debate when the children of 2-5 are concerned. Toddlers, of course, need to be kept at close proximity of parents always. They can’t be allowed to sleep alone. It is always better to keep the toddlers on the parent’s bed. Letting toddlers sleep on parent’s bed instead of cribs increases breastfeeding rates, according to studies. Kids grow more confident and affectionate if they are allowed to sleep with the parents in early childhood.
When kids from the age of 2-5 are taken for consideration, many say that co-sleeping is beneficial to grow them healthy and mature. It is a fact that the presence of parents helps kids to remain confident, happy and healthy. Even at sleep they experience the loving care and protecting heat of parents. When kids are put to sleep alone, they are found developing anxiety disorders and unwanted stress. Most of the kids are afraid of darkness. When they are forced to sleep alone in a separate room they may get scared and will not get proper sleep. Keeping them near to the parents help them to relax and rest properly.
When safety is concerned, it is quite advisable not to keep the children in a separate room. Children may develop health issues or illness during sleep. Only if somebody sleeps next to them, they can be attended well. It is also possible that abnormal sleeping postures or blankets blocking the proper respiration. The result may be deadly as kids may fail to get back into proper postures or remove the blankets from face. Co-sleeping helps parents to find if the child struggles. Healthcare professionals say not to follow the etiquettes at least regarding co-sleeping. Kids are highly prone to suffocation and strangulation.
Co-sleeping has numerous psychological effects on babies. Studies proved that kids who grew closely with parents have more amounts of hormones necessary for physical growth, compared to the babies who were isolated and kept away from parents. Babies who sleep with parents are found more stable when the physical conditions are concerned. Their heart rhythms, temperature levels and reaction levels are highly stable. It is true to say that babies who grow with parents are tending to be more emotionally balanced and affectionate towards co-beings when they grow.
Some argue that co-sleeping is a bad idea and affects the child adversely. Every human being is an island with own privacy and relationship levels. A child may remain ignorant of the relationship degrees if allowed to sleep with the parents. Proper behavior habits are to be learned from the very infancy itself.
Learning to sleep alone in the designated room helps the child to feel independency and maturity even in childhood. Co-sleeping is against the basic etiquettes a child should learn.
Whatever be the arguments favoring and abandoning co-sleeping, it is the parents to decide what is best for their kids. If the parents feel that the kid is ready to sleep alone, then it is good to give him/her a separate room and bed. It is a bad idea forcing the child to spend night alone, scaring at the growing darkness. Prepare the child mentally and irradiate all his/her fears and tension before you make your kid sleep alone.
