You might not be able to catch up after a long day, snuggle, or watch a movie together.Īnd bedtime sex is, of course, also off the table when you have a toddler smushed between you and your other half (although many parents find ways to get creative in solving this issue).Įven without the concerns of how co-sleeping affects your relationship with your partner, you may just desire some time during which you can rest and recharge without feeling touched out and on-duty. Sharing a bed as a family may limit your ability to have quality 1:1 time with your partner. Parents are notoriously starved of rest and downtime many moms and dad need mental and physical space to reset and refresh their bodies and minds before the start of another hectic morning.Ī 2018 study found that moms who co-slept with toddlers that perpetually woke or disruptively moved around, lost an average of 51 minutes of sleep per night and had higher reported levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. Sleep deprivation and well-being go hand in hand. If you’ve ever watched a toddler’s sleep acrobatics you can guess that trying to snooze through that doesn’t get any easier. Suffice to say, that while toddlers look angelic in slumber, their little limbs like to flail around, and your quality of sleep may suffer as a result of this veritable dream dancing.Ī 2015 study found that mothers with infant co-sleepers reported more night wakings and poorer sleep than their counterparts with infants sleeping on their own. Poor quality sleepĬute as it may sound, co-sleeping can also be majorly disruptive. Whether it’s due to recurring nightmares, sleep regression, or plain old habit, these disruptions can impede everyone’s ability to sleep.Įven if you make the conscious decision to co-sleep, it’s important to realize that it does come with a few potential drawbacks. You may feel exasperated when a toddler who started out sleeping in their own bed, comes padding into your room at 1 a.m. While co-sleeping is a blessing for some, other parents view it as an unfortunate habit they fell into rather than a choice they actively made. As with all parenting decisions, you have to pick your battles.Īre there drawbacks to co-sleeping with toddlers? The sleep drama can be exhausting, especially in the middle of the night, and many parents would rather keep the peace than spend hours in hostile negotiations with a tantruming toddler.īed sharing can cut down on the time, energy, and effort it takes to get a little one off to Snoozeville. This can lead to a war of the wills, and, spoiler alert: your toddler may win. They don’t want to be relegated to their own room and separated from the comforting proximity of their parents.Īs an adult with limited time of your own, you may have other ideas about how you want to spend your evening hours. Some toddlers have a serious case of bedtime FOMO (fear of missing out). Room sharing helps you can try a co-sleeper that pulls up to the side of your bed or get a traditional bassinet that keeps baby safely at arm’s reach. While traditional bed sharing is not advised with infants, you can find other creative ways to foster successful night-time nursing.
Co-sleeping may even encourage extended breastfeeding. In close proximity, you’re able to keep this activity hushed and peaceful - fostering a sense of restful relaxation. BreastfeedingĬo-sleeping can help nursing parents more readily feed their babies in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning. Plus, you get to see their chest rise and fall and watch their eyelids flutter. Co-sleeping while children are in the toddler stage enables you to make the most of this time.Īdditionally, parents who have unusual work schedules and are unable to be present at all hours may choose to co-sleep to have more precious time with their growing children.Įither way, co-sleeping can help you bond on a deeper level, and give your child a sense of safety and security. As kids get older, they’ll claim their independence and want more physical space. Reality check: The days are long, but the years are short, and these sweet snuggles are fleeting. There are other benefits to co-sleeping, too: Bonding It’s not something we need to do in solitude or privacy, and young kids may long for the comfort of a parent’s arms throughout the long hours of the night. When you stop to think about it, sleeping next to a loved one feels completely natural and innate for most human beings. Many cultures value the practicality and physical togetherness of sharing a bed. Are there benefits to co-sleeping with toddlers?Ĭo-sleeping might not be viewed as the norm in the United States, but elsewhere in the world it’s a common and encouraged practice.
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