DC Child Accident & Safety Blog

Few things are as satisfying in the parent-child relationship as affectionate physical contact. But some psychologists have drawn the line at parents sharing their bed with their children. As noted in a story on WebMD, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents not to sleep with their infants because of an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, but what about toddlers, who often are the ones seeking the comfort of the parental bed?

Not to worry. New research published in the journal Pediatrics says that toddlers who share a bed with their parents do not face increased risks for behavioral or learning problems at age 5.

"The idea that bed sharing may be bad for toddlers is mostly based on folklore," researcher R. Gabriela Barajas of Teachers College of Columbia University told WebMD. "From what we see, there is no additional risk of behavioral and cognitive problems among toddlers who share a bed with their parents."

The study involved children from 944 low-income families who were assessed at ages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Nearly 50% of families said they had shared a bed at least once; 73% of the families in the study were living below the poverty line. The study did not look at why the children were sleeping in their parents' beds, information that could be critical.

"In some higher socioeconomic groups, co-bedding can be a parenting-style issue and in others, it may be trouble-shooting a sleep problem," said Nanci Yuan, M.D., of the Pediatric Sleep Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University.

"If it is because you feel like it is bonding and your child is otherwise healthy, growing, and thriving, then bed sharing is not associated with cognitive and behavioral problems," she said.