Co-sleeping (often spelled cosleeping, and also known as bed sharing or having a family bed) is the practice of having your infant in your bed with you during sleep. Co-sleeping promotes breastfeeding and bonding, and it is safer than crib/cot sleeping when practiced correctly. Co-sleeping beyond the breastfeeding years is common in many non-Western cultures, and even in the West many families choose to extend co-sleeping through toddlerhood and well into middle childhood.

Infants and children sleeping in isolation is a recently devised cultural practice to which the human species is not adapted. Our young thrive and grow optimally when they feel safe — in close proximity to familiar, nurturing caregivers — especially during sleep, when they are most vulnerable. Open-minded parents who’ve learned to “think outside the crib” are discovering that co-sleeping is one of the easiest ways to give their children a healthy start in life.

Learn more about co-sleeping…

Dr. James McKenna’s Mother-Baby Sleep Laboratory, University of Notre Dame:
Safe Cosleeping Guidelines
http://cosleeping.nd.edu/safe-co-sleeping-guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions
http://cosleeping.nd.edu/frequently-asked-questions

The Natural Child Project, co-sleeping articles:
www.naturalchild.org/articles/sleeping.html

Mothering.com, co-sleeping resources:
www.mothering.com/community/a/family-bed-and-nighttime-parenting-resources

Attachment Parenting International, co-sleeping information and advocacy:
www.attachmentparenting.org/principles/night

CoSleeping page on Facebook
www.facebook.com/CoSleeping

Co-sleeping on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-sleeping

Last updated:  July, 2014