The survey found that co-sleeping toddlers and kids, who are able to get out of their own bed and walk into yours in the middle of the night, received higher evaluations from their teachers in cognitive tests during their first years at school.
Co-sleeping with young babies is not recommended due to the risks of SIDS.
Children who co-sleep have also been found to have a greater satisfaction with life as they grow into adulthood and often feel more secure in their relationships – this was found to be particularly true with boys.
“Turning to a sample of college psychology students, a retrospective survey found that males with a history of sleeping with their parents had higher self-esteem, less guilt and anxiety,” says the research.
Authors of a similar survey Robin Lewis and Louis Janda also reported that “a representative comment for both men and women was “It always gave me a feeling of security to know that if I had a bad dream I could crawl into bed with my mom and dad.”
This will be welcome news for parents who barely sleep themselves as their kids take over their bed every night.
“I’m not sure it’s any comfort when I am lying on a sliver of mattress with no covers and a toddler's foot in my face,” says mum Nicola Davies. “But I really will try to remember these benefits…”
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