One way to help everyone in the house to get a good night sleep is simply take your baby into your bed. Some parents choose this as their regular routine; others use it only when a child is wakeful. They either let the child spend the rest of the night in their bed or they return the child to his or her own bed after a child falls asleep.
By the way, the United States is one of the few countries that has a cultural bent against the family bed. Families in most other countries sleep together routinely.
• The concern most parents raise about sleeping with their children, especially with new babies, is that the child will be smothered or crushed. Remember a baby is not helpless or passive; if a parent starts to roll on to a baby, he or she will most certainly wake up, cry, or make a noise. A baby will just not lie there and allow itself to be smothered.
• A restless baby will take time to adjust to, and a damp bed might never feel right to you. The experience may be more or less pleasant for you depending on the various ages and stages of your child.
• Try to be flexible and open minded. If you wish to try a family bed arrangement, it doesn’t have to be a now and forever decision.
Vicki Lansky’s practical, common sense approach to parenting is familiar to millions throughout the world. Vicki’s first book, Feed Me, I’m Yours, published in 1974, and still one of the most popular baby/toddler food cookbooks in the country, was followed by The Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her other titles include: Toilet Training, Birthday Parties Best Party Tips & Ideas For Ages 1-8, Dear Babysitter Handbook, Welcoming Your Second Baby, Getting Your Child to Sleep … and Back to Sleep, Trouble-free Travel with Children, Baby Proofing Basics and Games Babies Play From Birth to Twelve Months, Koko Bear’s New Potty, A New Baby at Koko Bear’s House, Koko Bear and the New Babysitter, and Koko Bear’s Big Earache. Vicki Lansky’s Divorce Book for Parents: Helping Children Cope with Divorce and Its Aftermath
