Today, many pediatricians and psychologists tend to argue that sleeping together helps maintain contact between the child and his parents. At the same time, some experts are sure of the opposite: they assure that the joint sleep of parents with children is harmful to both children and adults. In general, the approach to such a phenomenon as joint sleep should be purely individual.
If your child sleeps with you, and you do not experience any discomfort from this, there is no reason to refuse to sleep together. Often, a child sleeps much more peacefully in bed with his parents than in his own crib. At the same time, the child should not be allowed to sleep in the parent's bed for too long - at the age of two or three years, it is better to wean him from sleeping with his parents. Children at this age are experiencing their first crisis of independence, learning to assert their rights and making their own choices. Therefore, parents should give the child the opportunity to sleep separately, and in every possible way stimulate him so that he takes advantage of this opportunity.
The process of weaning a child from sleeping with his parents should be gradual - for example, you can put the child alone in his bed during the daytime. If your child is sensitive to change, try placing a large stuffed animal in bed. It must be placed between you and your child so that he gets used to sleeping next to the toy. Over time, she can be moved to the baby's bed and put the baby to sleep next to her.
Sometimes it is very difficult to wean children from sleeping with their parents - babies start to be capricious, throw tantrums, sleep poorly at night. In this case, you can put the child's bed close to the parent's, and gradually move the child along with your favorite soft toy towards his bed. After the child gets used to sleeping next to their parents, but in their own separate bed, you can gradually begin to move the bed to the opposite wall. Over time, the child will get used to sleeping alone, and the bed can be safely moved to another room.
If a child who is already sleeping separately from his parents often comes to your bedroom at night, you need to behave correctly with him. As soon as he comes to your bedroom for the first time in the night, calm him down, and then escort him to the nursery, put him to bed and cover him with a blanket. If the child comes again, you can hug him, but try not to talk to him - just silently escort him to the nursery and put him to bed. If the child comes for the third time, do not come into contact with him - just take him and make sure that he goes to bed. At first, children can come to their parents' bedroom many times a night, but you should not scold them. Just show your child that you do not intend to back down from your decision - as soon as he understands this, he will immediately begin to sleep peacefully in his own bed.
