Читать книгу The Good Behaviour Book: How to have a better-behaved child from birth to age ten - Martha Sears - Страница 30

Nighttime is scary for little people, but our usual Western custom is to separate parents and babies at night. We would like you to consider nighttime not as a block of time for you to finally get away from your baby but a special time when you can strengthen your connection. Every family needs to work out a sleeping arrangement where all sleep best, and we believe the nighttime environment that can best strengthen your parent-child attachment allows for baby sleeping near you – a style we call sharing sleep.

Our observations over more than twenty years, our examination of studies of mother-infant sleep-sharing pairs, and our own studies on one of our babies lead us to conclude that a baby’s overall physiological system works better when baby sleeps next to mother. The cardio-respiratory system is more regulated, less stressed; therefore, baby is less stressed and thrives better.

Besides these physical benefits, there are emotional benefits to the sleep-sharing pair. Babies show less anxiety. They feel right at night, just as they do during the day. The connection continues. Sleep-sharing babies get the message “I’m just as valuable to be next to at night as I am during the day. I belong to someone twenty-four hours a day.” For a mother who responds to her baby’s cues, breastfeeds, and wears her baby, sleep sharing naturally becomes part of the attachment package. Our daughter-in-law Diane, who is a new and very attached mother, said, “I can’t imagine us sleeping away from each other. Nighttime with Lea is our special time to be together without interference.”

The time in your arms, at your breasts, and in your bed lasts a very short while in the life of a growing child, but the messages of love and security last a lifetime.