Traditionally, experts have sounded the alarm about parents sharing a bed with an infant, particular before the age of one when the child is vulnerable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
However, there hasn’t been much research into the health or psychological effects of sharing a bed after the age of one, reports WebMD.
A new study published in Pediatrics by researchers at Columbia University and State University of New York has found no link between bed-sharing and behavioral or learning delays.
Researchers analyzed data from 944 low-income families with children who had been assessed at ages 1, 2, 3, and 5. While toddlers who shared a bed between the ages of 1 and 3 were more likely to have behavioral or cognitive problems by the age of five, researchers indicated these issues were due to factors other than bed-sharing, such as socio-demographic factors and maternal education levels.
Although bed-sharing is uncommon in North America, the team concluded that “there seem to be no negative associations between bed-sharing in toddlerhood and children’s behavior and cognition at 5 years.”
"The idea that bed sharing may be bad for toddlers is mostly based on folklore," said study researcher R. Gabriela Barajas at Columbia University. "From what we see, there is no additional risk of behavioral and cognitive problems among toddlers who share a bed with their parents."
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