As if the issue of where your children should be sleeping could not already be complicated, a new research study proposes that allowing children aged 2-6 to co-sleep may help them to feel nurtured and less likely to turn to food for comfort. The original work performed by Olsen and colleagues as part of the Sund Start Study investigated children who were at risk for becoming obese. There work saw that children who were allowed to enter the parents bed at night were 3 times less likely to become obese even with predisposing risk factors.
This new research is not intended make parents feel that they are putting their children at risk if bed-sharing is not part of your families practices. Nor is it necessary for families to change their sleeping arrangements if bed-sharing will not work in your family. Instead, take the time to engage in other forms of positive reinforcement and non food centered comfort measures.
This new research is not intended make parents feel that they are putting their children at risk if bed-sharing is not part of your families practices. Nor is it necessary for families to change their sleeping arrangements if bed-sharing will not work in your family. Instead, take the time to engage in other forms of positive reinforcement and non food centered comfort measures.
Olsen NJ, et al “Entering parents’ bed during night and the risk of overweight among 2-6 year old children predisposed to overweight: Results from the Sund Start Study” ECO 2012; Abstract CO:OS1.3.