Upon bringing home a newborn child, parents are faced with many questions and decisions to make about how to care for their child. One for the many debates that parents face, is sleeping arrangements for their child and how to manage them waking up at night. According to Loutzenhiser, 2014 “night- waking is considered to be the most common sleep problem for infants” p. 282. When the child is young, it is extremely likely that the parents will respond immediately, since the child waking at this age probably means that the child needs to be changed or fed, which is something that should be taken care of immediately. As they age, there are many different methods a parent can use in reaction to the child’s nighttime awakenings. One method that
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One reason might be that cosleeping promotes closeness and togetherness (Cortesi, 2008 p. 90). Being close to one’s parents at an early age and having trust in them can help form a secure attachment between the parents and the children. A child’s attachment with their parents is said to shape the way that the child creates relationships and interacts with others for the rest of their lives. Another positive aspect to cosleeping is that this gives the mother and baby more time together with positive interactions, which is also an important part in creating a secure attachment between a mother and child. Parents who are in the same room or bed as their child are also quicker to respond when their child shows signs of distress which can help the child form a sense of trust that their parents will be there when they need them, rather than feeling as if they cannot rely on their parents to help them when they are distressed. Across cultures, families have been cosleeping for ages to protect and be close to their young while they are still helpless and need protection. Although American society’s values are slowly moving more toward independence, those who choose to still cosleep support this practice that has occurred across time to protect children. Parents are still using this method to protect their child, however they are no longer protecting their child from other predators. Parents are protecting their babies …show more content…
One risk associated with cosleeping is that some studies show that if they cosleep too many years into their childhood, that they may form relationships that are inappropriately strong, “leading to difficulties when the child matures and attempts to form romantic, sexual relationships” (Rath, 1995 p. 441). Some may also fear that cosleeping increases the risk of sexual abuse as the child ages since they sleep in such close proximity to a parent. Cosleeping may also be a negative practice because in Western culture, parents think a child should have a sense of autonomy and should be sleeping alone at an early age to encourage this type of behavior (Cortsei, 2008 p. 90). The extinction method promotes autonomy because the child is learning that sometimes the parent will not be there to help them, and they have to learn soothing methods for themselves. Sleeping alone and learning self-soothing methods is one of the first signs of a child learning to be autonomous. Cosleeping may also not be supported by some because there are studies that show that it may increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or suffocation if they are sharing the same bed as the child. this risk can be decreased if parents take the precautions to ensure that their bed is safe for cosleeping (Mao, 2004 p. 97), but many parents do not want to take that risk and choose other methods, such as the
One reason might be that cosleeping promotes closeness and togetherness (Cortesi, 2008 p. 90). Being close to one’s parents at an early age and having trust in them can help form a secure attachment between the parents and the children. A child’s attachment with their parents is said to shape the way that the child creates relationships and interacts with others for the rest of their lives. Another positive aspect to cosleeping is that this gives the mother and baby more time together with positive interactions, which is also an important part in creating a secure attachment between a mother and child. Parents who are in the same room or bed as their child are also quicker to respond when their child shows signs of distress which can help the child form a sense of trust that their parents will be there when they need them, rather than feeling as if they cannot rely on their parents to help them when they are distressed. Across cultures, families have been cosleeping for ages to protect and be close to their young while they are still helpless and need protection. Although American society’s values are slowly moving more toward independence, those who choose to still cosleep support this practice that has occurred across time to protect children. Parents are still using this method to protect their child, however they are no longer protecting their child from other predators. Parents are protecting their babies …show more content…
One risk associated with cosleeping is that some studies show that if they cosleep too many years into their childhood, that they may form relationships that are inappropriately strong, “leading to difficulties when the child matures and attempts to form romantic, sexual relationships” (Rath, 1995 p. 441). Some may also fear that cosleeping increases the risk of sexual abuse as the child ages since they sleep in such close proximity to a parent. Cosleeping may also be a negative practice because in Western culture, parents think a child should have a sense of autonomy and should be sleeping alone at an early age to encourage this type of behavior (Cortsei, 2008 p. 90). The extinction method promotes autonomy because the child is learning that sometimes the parent will not be there to help them, and they have to learn soothing methods for themselves. Sleeping alone and learning self-soothing methods is one of the first signs of a child learning to be autonomous. Cosleeping may also not be supported by some because there are studies that show that it may increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or suffocation if they are sharing the same bed as the child. this risk can be decreased if parents take the precautions to ensure that their bed is safe for cosleeping (Mao, 2004 p. 97), but many parents do not want to take that risk and choose other methods, such as the