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Lone parents

6 yr old son sleeps in mybed

29 replies

northwick · 06/05/2013 02:14

It has only just occurred to me that perhaps the reason why marriage failed and i ended up having a brief interlude with another man, resulting in the ultimate demise of the relship with dad - is perhaps due to our son having always come to our bed.
Now that i am alone and feeling abandoned and often times low, sad and depressed, I am struggling to get him out and into his own room. this has not been helped by much upheavals coz we have moved so often and are due to move again in a couple of months.
thing i dont understand and would really love some clear feedbak on, is why it is purported to have such damage to him long term - some theories have been suggested - that he is taking on my needs and therefore unable to be a child and this will affect him later etc etc
also i read about sexual development going awry.

Please if anyone has know;edge, experience or evidence for this stuff, please do share with me. I am struggling to separate myself and especially struggle to be firm and consistent - so i think i need some cognitive therapy - ie a good strong argument explaining why it is detrimental to him (when he so clearly loves the closeness and the cuddles) that will lodge in my mind and enable me to stick firm with the process when I do start to work on getting him out.

of course, advice for getting him to sleep in his own bed would be much appreciated too

thank you

OP posts:
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buckingfollocks · 06/05/2013 21:27

I think you may be over-worrying on this one. My two DC's regularly come into my bed as well. Can you cuddle up with him in his bed when he goes to sleep then leave when he's asleep. You can tell him he can come into your room if he wakes in the night. This is what I do and sometimes they sleep right through, sometimes they come in in the middle of the night.
I think it is lovely you can cuddle and I think it really helps children with any anxiety if they are able to sleep in bed with their parents. I know it is not totally conventional, but if it works for you, don't worry too much and move towards him being in his own bed/ room slowly. If you have had loads of stressful stuff going on, co-sleeping has probably done him loads more good than any possible bad.

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cestlavielife · 07/05/2013 12:01

dont sweat it - he will sleep in his own bed when he is ready. best you offer safety and security as he needs it thru these changes.

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Machli · 07/05/2013 12:04

My ds regularly slept in my bed till he was 8, not every night but often. Not so much now, probably about once or twice a month.

I honestly don't see an issue with it.

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bollockstoit · 07/05/2013 12:05

You could see if he will sleep on a mattress or blow up bed on the floor in your bedroom. That's where I'm up to with my ds, and while I would prefer him in his own bedroom, he just will not accept it at the moment. He wriggles a lot while he's asleep though, so I'm much happier and sleep better now he's not in with me.

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cuteboots · 07/05/2013 17:36

I have a similar thing going on with my 9 year old son. So its good to get some feedback on this one. Most nights he sneaks in leaving me clinging to the edge of the mattress and coming into work looking like I need more sleep ; 0 )

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gettingeasiernow · 07/05/2013 21:57

My ds still likes to co-sleep and he's 10, although he very rarely gets to because I wouldn't get a wink. I suspect it does more harm to leave those needs unmet than to meet them. Be careful that he doesn't feel he's doing it for your benefit, but if he just can't settle on his own, go with the flow and eventually he will.
Mine finally broke the habit by having friends over for sleepovers when he was 7 - try that?
I think it gets so much bad press because it's bad for any marriage, but if you're single, just do whatever it takes to get decent sleep, no?

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mummytowillow · 07/05/2013 22:19

Hi, there is a thread I started in classics about co-sleeping. It has some very good advice from other MN's.

My daughter is nearly six and has only just gone back in her own room in the last two weeks. Previously she had slept with me for years I like it so wasn't in a rush to get her out Wink

But, I wasn't sleeping well with her in there, so I moved her to my bigger bedroom, redecorated, let her choose the colour etc and she has not been back in bed with me for two weeks now.

The first two nights were hard I'll admit, crying etc. But if it had been very traumatic I think I would probably of let her get back in with me Blush

But, if your happy with him sleeping in your bed, and he is happy leave things be, if not then maybe change a few things in his bedroom, new duvet, pictures, curtains or similar, make it a big adventure and a big fuss and stick to your guns!

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mummytowillow · 07/05/2013 22:21
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Trying2bMindful · 07/05/2013 22:38

2 of my 3 brothers spent many nights in my parents bed until they were much older than your DS. They are now married and my parents are still too.
Don't worry about your DS. He will sleep in his own bed when he is ready. With all this upheaval he just needs to be close to you. You are his secure safe place. Let him be. In a few years time he will be out all night & you will wonder why you worried about this stage!!

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BabiesAreLikeBuses · 07/05/2013 22:55

Like the advice about whose benefit it is for, sounds like with moves etc you have a lot of change and it may make him feel more secure, in other cultures all the family sleep in one room without it causing deviancy so i don't buy that theory!

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redskynight · 08/05/2013 12:23

As long as it is solely his choice to be in your room, and you gently encourage him to try sleeping in his own room so he knows he has the choice, I don't see how is can cause problems.

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paneer · 10/05/2013 11:57

I agree, so long as it's his choice to sleep in your room and you are not getting him to sleep in your room for your own comfort I wouldn't worry.

I slept in my mum's bed until I was about 10 (she was a lone parent).

My 5yo DD has been sleeping in my bed. My rule was she started the night in her own bed, if she woke in the night and I was in bed she could come in. I didn't mind her sleeping in my bed, but at the same time I wanted to encourage her to sleep in her own.

Last Thursday she decided she was now ready to sleep in her own bed. She comes in my bed in the morning when she wakes, but that's it now. I kind of miss her, but really proud that she is happy enough to sleep alone.

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FreckledLeopard · 10/05/2013 12:01

I've been lurking on this thread, wondering whether to post or not. DD sleeps in my bed. She's 12! I am a lone parent. Her friend, also 12, sleeps with her mother (a lone parent).

I sleep fine, DD sleeps fine. It's not an issue for us. At some stage I wouldn't mind having a bed to myself but I really don't see it's an issue.

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makemineamalibuandpineapple · 10/05/2013 18:04

After ex-dh and I split up when my son was 4, he spent about 18 months sleeping in my bed. I finally decided that it had to stop. I decided to talk to him about it and why it had to stop over the course of a week or so. I then took the plunge and put him in his bed. He screamed nearly all night for the first couple of nights but by about the fourth night he was fine and slept all night. Just take the bull by the horns and do it.

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bollockstoit · 10/05/2013 18:53

I tried the taking the bull by the horns approach for about 3 weeks and still got nowhere. I think I have an exceptionally stubborn child though tbh.

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ohmeohmyforgotlogin · 10/05/2013 19:29

Mine is 7 and regularly in my bed night. I don't think you ar doing himany harm though obviously it needs to be reconsidered if you enter a relationship. I tell dd not to come in if her dad is at home, she ignores me and I end up I her bed. Se is now sleeping in her bed all night more since we got a cat that she doesn't want in her room so is closing her bedroom door.

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chocolatespiders · 11/05/2013 22:55

Another one who shares with her 9 year old. It is me sleeping in her bedroom though as I don't have a bedroom. I am hoping it will be okay until she is 12/13 ish.

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worley · 11/05/2013 23:09

im a lone parent whos 6yr old ds shares my bed. he goes to sleep fine by himself in my bed and sleeps through. he went through a phase of going to sleep in his own bed but would wake in night and cry and come through. ive suggested he sleeps in his room again and he had agreed until it came to bedtime and he couldn't do it. he decided to get in my bed again, so now hes come up with the idea that when hes 7 he will sleep in his bed again (in june) wether it will happen i dont know.
i think it is a security thing. he told me thursday he is scared of two things, 1- i will run out of money for food (i reassured him this wont happen! Financially i am able to support us all well) 2 - i will leave him like daddy did ( i have promised and promised him i will never leave him. i have to go to work but i always come back.
so i think reason 2 is the underlying issue of why he sleeps in my bed.
i have a kingsize and he sleeps through so not really an issue to me.

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NannyPlumIsMyMum · 11/05/2013 23:10

Another co- sharer here.Smile

I have given up worrying about it.
I think life expects so much of children and we as parents are frazzled with the pace of life.

I think that the time during co sleep can be really healing for everybody. It's like connecting time out of the craziness of busy lives.

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StealthOfficialCrispTester · 11/05/2013 23:17

I could never do this, my DCs wriggle, kick and break wind :) If that isn't an issue for you I don't see the problem.

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NotaDisneyMum · 12/05/2013 10:59

My DSS (9) still co sleeps with his mum regularly - and he expects to be able to do the same with DP and I when he's here; which I'm not comfortable with at all.

It leads to a lot of disturbed nights during contact - which I'm not sure is good for him either?

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RooneyMara · 12/05/2013 11:21

I had to oust ds2 (who is nearly 6) from my bed a few months ago when ds3 arrived.

Now I co sleep with ds3, and ds2 has a single bed right next to my double, which makes it rather a 'room of bed' and you have to climb over it to get to mine but still, he is perfectly happy and it's a gradual transition.

Ds1 still asks to sleep in my room some nights. He is nearly 10 though, it's just fear/insecurity, nothing odd about it, but I often have to say no as it makes for NO sleep for anyone, he is too big!

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LadyBoubou · 12/05/2013 13:12

I once read that children really need ( for their l/term emotional development) a lot of physical cuddles/ strokes. I didn't have that as a child and am aware of the effect on me later as an adult so I have always given my DD loads...she sleeps with me sometimes (single parent) and falls asleep holding my hand, while I'm stroking her. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world. I say just enjoy !

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PintandChips · 14/05/2013 17:27

Enjoy it while you can (as long as you can get decent sleep). my ds (6) always prefers to sleep with me, and if he goes to bed in his own bed then he'll climb in with me when he wakes up at whatever time. i figure that he will grow out of it in his own time. i slept with my mum whenever i could until i was about 12, then i just didn't want to anymore.

the only thing you might want to consider is that when you get a serious partner that you want to share your bed with, your DS will need time to adjust to that, so ideally will have been sleeping in his own bed for a good while so as not so feel usurped by the new man.

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FannyBazaar · 14/05/2013 20:47

Spanish Paediatrician Carlos Gonzales talks a lot of co-sleeping and how it should not affect a relationship with your partner. He gives examples of relationships in the animal kingdom. I heard him talk last year, really fascinating. Check out his book www.amazon.co.uk/Kiss-Me-Raise-Your-Children/dp/1780660103?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21, I'll confess I haven't actually read it yet though Blush.

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