Co-sleeping, in its broadest form, refers to the practice of an infant child sleeping within sensory range to its adult caregiver, as opposed to sleeping in a separate room. The activity suggests that through close proximity, whether in arm’s reach or if the baby is asleep in a crib ten feet away, both the mother and child are able to respond to each other’s sensory signals and cues. Co-sleeping is a generic classification (McKenna, 2005) of a series of complex behaviours that need to be divided up specifically, depending upon the type of co-sleeping behaviour that is occurring, such as safe and un-safe forms of co-sleeping. A primary concern regarding co-sleeping is the belief that the behaviour results in issues such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). It is argued that bed sharing, a subset of co-sleeping, is the main cause of sudden infant death, and subsequently brings …show more content…
There is maternal motivation for parents to be close to their infant. The initial issue surrounding co-sleeping is the risk the behaviour imposes upon the condition of the infant, there are a vast variety of potential risks and dangerous factors that need to be acknowledged. When Bed sharing should be avoided in certain circumstances, and if practiced dangerously can result in negative consequences. When an infant dies in an adult bed, the presumption that the practice of bed sharing is solely responsible for the death of an infant is inappropriate. There is a lack of delineation made within the studies referring to the specific characteristics or details of the infant death. Reports may inappropriately suggest that all forms of co-sleeping are hazardous and all the practices that surround co-sleeping share the same level of risk; and that no co-sleeping environment can be made
Parents are expected to train their children to sleep alone in their cribs, in a separate nursery, from the time they are born onward. This practice stems from the belief that there are far too many risks involved in co-sleeping, but the truth is that there is little to no evidence suggesting that children who sleep with their parents are at any greater risk than those who don’t. In reality, according to James McKenna, a professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame and director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory, co-sleeping is very beneficial for the child. He states: "Studies have revealed that co-sleeping babies often grow to be less fearful and more independent than their non-co-sleeping counterparts.
When/if I have a baby, I will not have him/her sleep with my husband and I in the same bed. I probably would be the same as my mother and not get any sleep and become paranoid with the risk of my husband or I rolling over our baby. When he/she gets older and has nightmares and needs that security I will let him/her sleep with my husband and I. In addition, I feel like the child needs to be able to be independent and sleep on their own. In my sources, I have learned many things. I was very surprised with the study of how early co-sleepers show more independence and self-reliance than children who sleep in the crib by themselves. I also learned that there could be some advantages to co-sleeping, like it is easier for the mother to breastfeed since the child is right next to the parents. If you feel like co-sleeping is the best choice, then that is your choice. You, do
Beginning in the 80s, divorce rates began to skyrocket and parenting itself started to become hands off. On top of all this, there were a few people who gave advice on baby care. This being the hot topic of these decades (BBC). One of these people, Nancy Kohner wrote, "For the first two months or so, the safest way for babies to sleep is on their fronts, head to one side, or else curled up on one side. Then if they are sick there is no chance that they will choke." This was horrible advice from the child rearing "experts" at the time because they hadn't realized the baby would suffocate if placed face down (Gil, Ali, Jenny). For older children disciplining had transferred into the reasoning and praising of good behavior. The 1990s saw the continued rising of divorce rates and an increase in close parenting. This close parenting was known as “helicopter parenting". This form of parenting created antisocial behavior from children, yet children were increasingly independent
Sara believed that it was important for the infant to establish a sense of security by sleeping in the same room as the parents early on, so that in the future when the child becomes old enough to sleep in a different room, the child will feel secure and be calm even when she is alone by knowing that her parents are just in the other room. One way to understand the link between Sara’s sleeping arrangements and her goal of making the infant feel more secure is to consider Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development (Erikson, 1963) The first stage of Erikson’s (1963) theory is trust versus mistrust, during which babies come to trust that their caregivers and other people will meet their physical and emotional needs or start to mistrust that the parents and other people will not take care of them. Sara hoped that by sleeping near her infant so that she could let her child see her when the child goes to sleep or wakes up in the middle of the night, the infant could feel more safe, or “trust,” that the infant’s needs would be tended to whenever necessary. The “trust” would then impact the child’s future development and especially when the time comes for the child to move to a separate room. The child, having received reliable
First of all, it is necessary to understand some of the important features of this syndrome (Naeye, 1976). As mentioned initially, SIDS deaths occur in infants ages one month to one year. Also, 90% to 95% of these infants die during sleep, and most of these deaths are silent. One-third to one-half of the SIDS victims have been found to have a mild infection (normally respiratory in nature) prior to death. SIDS has also been found to be in part associated with a low socioeconomic status, and it is more common among non-whites. Although SIDS seems to be associated with a low socioeconomic status, SIDS is not caused by malnutrition. A more recent article also reported that more male infants were victims of SIDS than females ( Becker 361 ). Finally, SIDS has been more often associated with prematurely born infants. This seems to suggest that developmental immaturity may present a likely situation for the development of SIDS. Each of these characteristics must be considered when forming hypotheses for the possible cause of SIDS.
All parents have different opinions about allowing their children to sleep in their beds with them. Some will be surprised to find out that it is not only in certain cultures that parents and children sleep together at night in the same bedroom or even in the same bed, but it happens everywhere. Some families keep it a secret for fear other parents will frown on their habits, but it is truly a common practice. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation reports that about 24% of parents let their children sleep with them for at least some part of the night.
Many questions about the causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also known as “crib death,” are still unresolved. The mysterious and elusive nature of SIDS creates problems, doubts, and more questions. This paper will present some of the most commonly asked questions as well as the answers that have been uncovered by scientists after years of research and study.
12 March 2014. “Co-Sleeping Safety.” PhD in Parenting. n.p. 11 January 2009. Web.
Newborns do not contribute much to society at large. In fact, they do not do much in general. It is impossible to know the details of what goes on in an infant’s mind. One of the things we do know about newborns is that sleep is crucial and they spend an average of 16-18 hours each day sleeping (Ward, 2015). This paper will examine the experiences of one mother’s decisions in regard to sleeping arrangements and the values, both cultural and personal, that support these arrangements. It will also compare her decisions to the decisions of U.S. and Mayan mothers discussed in the research article “Cultural Variation in Infants’ Sleeping Arrangements: Questions of Independence.” The mother who was interviewed for this paper is 54 years old and
In conclusion, the specifics of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are not very well known. Even today, research is still being carried out to determine the exact cause of this silent disease. Until that time comes, the public must rely on preventative tips in order to reduce the frequency of this disease infiltrating more families.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or "crib death" is an abrupt and inexplicable death of an apparently healthy infant. Most of the cases involve infants from ages 1-12 months, and the event occurs during the night. Various theories have been postulated from research results but without consistency of the etiology. Since the death is sudden, prior diagnostic criteria or patterns are not available for correlation, although some near-miss infants have been followed. A number of possibilities have been documented in current literature, to include beta-endorphin changes, abnormal temperature regulation, pineal abnormalities, carotid body irregularities, lead poisoning, elevated fetal hemoglobin, brainstem immaturity, and cerebral hypoperfusion. The following is an overview of these pathologies in their relation to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
There has been a constant debate of whether co-sleeping is beneficial or detrimental to infants development. But studies have shown that co-sleeping with the parent influences emotional development between the parent and the infant. By co-sleeping with the parent the warmth from their body in addition, to the sense of protection allows for attachment between the two. The infant is able to follow the breathing rhythm of their parent while co-sleeping as well. Exposing infants to toxins in parents’ breath also assist in development. Furthermore, co-sleeping has been seen to have prolonged effects on social interactions between the parent and child. The purpose of this paper is to review how co-sleeping is beneficial to infants development.
Feldman, Ruth, Weller, Aron, Sirota, Lea & Eidelman, Arthur I. (2002). Skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) promotes self-regulation in premature infants: Sleep-wake cyclicity, arousal modulation, and sustained exploration. Developmental Psychology, 38, 194-207. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.2.194
New parents often wonder when the best time is to train a baby to sleep through the night.
The purpose of this essay is to expose the dangers of allowing a child to sleep over at someone’s house without either the mother or father being present. A sleepover might be at a longtime family-friend’s house or just at a classmate's house. You might know the parents well or you may have never met them. Either way, the danger of a sleepover far outweighs any benefit.