The Family Bed: Where Boundaries—and Authority—Go to Die

“Why, John,” asked the mother of a 6-year-old, “is something that humans did for thousands of years suddenly not good for humans to do?”

She was referring to children sleeping with their parents. Called “the family bed” and recommended by advocates of “attachment parenting” and “gentle parenting,” this co-sleeping arrangement has become one of the standards of good parenting…in certain circles, that is. If you allow your child to sleep with you, the implication is that you are a more devoted parent than one who insists upon separate beds.