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In a country like India, kids sleeping with their parents till a certain age has never been a taboo. Western countries have different traditions and various studies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic are against children sleeping with parents due to its potential ill-effects on the child.
Cozy cribs must have been invented due to these potential negative effects and to help a baby safely sleep in a separate room. In Indian culture, a family sharing the bed may seem harmless and non-sexual, but it could have some negative effects. Hence, it is important to understand the reasons for your children wanting to sleep with you even after growing up. Let’s see what the experts have to say about the possible reasons for a child’s need for bed sharing.
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We all want to be loved and for this reason, kids also want to sleep next to people they love the most – their parents. Also, since lots of parents are working these days, kids don’t get enough cuddle time during the day. As a result, children want to spend time with their parents in the night and love to be close to them. It can differ from family to family and there is no harm in doing so if it helps to increase family bonding.
The darkness of the room makes children scared. The extreme silence may also scare them and in some cases, it may bring scary thoughts to their tender minds. A parent in the bed, or beside the bed, work as their safety wall. Also, the stillness of the night allows anxiety and worries to enter the child’s mind. These may be stupid thoughts to you but in a child’s imagination, they are real problems.
Another possible reason could be that from a young age, they are used to a bedtime wherein they sleep with you in your bedroom. It may take time to change this habit and it will take up to a couple of months for a new routine to be set. To break this routine, you can probably arrange a side bed for him/her in your own room and once the child is comfortable sleeping separately, you can gradually prepare him/her to sleep in a different room. Starting this practice, first on weekends only can also be a good idea.
Kids naturally feel safe and secure when they sleep with their parents. The sense of insecurity in sleeping alone can only be removed by giving all your love to your child. You need to speak with your children about what are the things that scare them at night and think of some possible solutions such as reading a book before going to bed or maybe put a night lamp in his/ her room or a big teddy bear to accompany them. Such props go a long way in gradually helping them overcome their fears and eventually help to make them comfortable while sleeping alone in their room.
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