My five-year-old didn't sleep well with us. (We tried cosleeping with her, but it really didn't work out for either her or us.) She and my son (2 1/2) share a room now, and have since the little guy stopped exclusively cosleeping. He still wakes up at night and wanders in to sleep with us, but he prefers going to bed in his own bed. {Shrug.} They seem happy enough, and the only times bedtime ends up being a fight is if they're overtired. Plenty of cuddling and storytime before bed, regardless.

We bought a 400 dollar cosleeper basinette and 10 months later it's never been used except as a place to store cloth diapers so I don't have to get out of bed to change him at night. hahaha

At some point we're planning on getting a toddler bed to side car to our queen size bed since things are already getting a bit crowded. My husband likes it because he works during most of my son's waking hours, so it lets him cuddle with the baby even if he doesn't get to see him most of the weekdays. Also it makes night nursing a lot easier. Bed time is totally drama free. I like that.

Our daughter slept with us in our bed until she was about five, and our son until he was about three. After they both moved to their own beds, there was still a period where they would wake and spend the rest of the night in bed with us. Now at ages twelve and eight, they each have their own rooms, and most of the time, fall asleep quickly and sleep all night, about nine to eleven hours. Most of my friends co-sleep/slept with their young ones, but a lot of family members found this very strange. I found it so comforting to wake to their breathing in the night, and I loved watching them be so peaceful, no matter how trying of a day we may have had...

Quite honestly I'm not sure why this is frowned upon in the West. I think forcing your small children to sleep alone can also have some long term behavioral effects. Specifically you might find your children to act in negative attention seeking behavior. Especially if you work and don't get to see your children often anyway, the more time you spend with them when they are really young I think the less problems you'll have in the long run. The brattiest kids I've ever seen are parented by parents who tell their kids to find something to do or leave them alone for long periods of time while they are small. The quietest babies I've ever seen are Asian babies, Asian mothers are very attentive and stimulating to their small children. Every time I step onto an airplane I get stuck by a bunch of noisy American kids. I look over and there is an Asian mother sitting with her son/daughter still and quite. Not only have Americans forgotten how to eat they've forgotten how to raise children. African-African babies are quite as well. And I love when when parents make excuses for their children's behavior. Alexander Hamilton was running a shipyard at the age of 14. In fact most kids in those times had more responsibilities than some adults do today. Children are perfectly capable of being responsible and making good choices if you take the time to be a good parent.

We coslept with all three of our kids. We also did extended breastfeeding.

I put my oldest child in his cradle the first night we were home and laid down (across the room) in our bed. I couldn't sleep at all. I went and got him, put him in bed with us, and never looked back. Plus, it made night feedings soooooooo much easier. I got way more sleep than most of my friends did because I didn't have to get out of bed to feed a hungry baby--I barely even had to wake up.

Starting around age 2-3 they had their own toddler beds in their bedrooms, so they could choose to sleep there if they preferred (they rarely did). But, eventually all of them did move out and into their own rooms.

my three were vastly different from one another. the oldest slept with me until he was four; the second never slept with me and happily waved good-bye to the room as he was carted off to his solitude. the youngest slept with me on and off till age six.

i think that treating people as individuals is what is most natural.

7 month old sleeps with us and the 4 year old (who slept with us for about 18 months) sleeps in her own bed. I just finished reading "The Continuum Concept" actually, so I've told my 4 year old she can come sleep with us if she wants to (we have a king size mattress on the floor now instead of the double bed w/ frame we had when she was a baby). So far she hasn't taken us up on the offer, but she's always welcome.

All three of my kids coslept with me. The now 13 yr old went to her own bed when her brother was born (she was 4). My 8 yr old finally moved to his own bed a few months ago but he gets up in the middle of the night and gets in bed with me. My youngest is 3 and sleeps with me, but didn't start out that way. I moved him to my bed one night that he got sick and the rest is history.

I have a king size bed and I am divorced, so it's just us. I've actually gotten everyone out of my bed before but I hated it. I actually enjoy the wind down time where I am reading a little and we're talking. Almost like dinner table type stuff....oh wait, I guess that's pillow talk eh?

Our two daughters (1 and 3) sleep alone, and go to bed at 7pm, about 1 and a half hours earlier than us parents. The 3 yo had a brief period of bedtime protest, but that ceased when I started singing songs to her after the lights were out. Now she turns the light off herself and is eager to hear "Sweet Baby James." They will soon share a bedroom, and I hope that they both ask for songs when that time comes.

Co-sleeping for two years, nursing for longer. At eight still enjoys curling up with us. Just followed my instincts on all this.

My son who turned 21 today, slept in our bed for the first 3 1/2 years. That's how long I nursed him also. Which btw gave him an awesome immune system. It never made sense to me to separate the baby from the mother at night. When it gets dark they don't need us anymore? Totally unnatural and goes against the laws of nature.

Yeah, my four year old still sleeps in our bed. The two year old actually prefers his own bed...go figure. They both co-slept while nursing.

And glad to see yet an article validating "what comes natural".

Our 5-year-old and our 2-year-old (still night nursing) both sleep in bed with us. To do otherwise seems totally against nature. No other altricial mammal kicks its vulnerable young out of the nest so early, so speak.

Small child? NO.

Child almost as big as me? YES.

We never planned on co-sleeping and in fact, my daughter slept in her crib by herself just fine. She even transitioned to her toddler bed fairly well. Switching to the full size bed was not as easy, but she really didn't fit in the toddler bed anymore. I started out by laying down next to her while she fell asleep, then that turned into me falling asleep in there and my husband waking me when he came home from work. Then when he started working from home (in our bedroom) we all just started hanging out in our bed so we could socialize with him before bedtime. YEAH. It just kind of happened. Now it's me, husband, nine year old, two dogs and a cat in our bed.

For us I think it's more of a social thing than a fear thing.

I just keep telling myself that someday she won't want to sleep with me and I'll be sad and reminicing about when she couldn't be without me. :)