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DGS sleeping with parent

(48 Posts)
Nanamar Fri 02-Dec-22 15:02:48

Both DS and Ex-DIL allow 6 year old DGS to sleep in his/her bed on weekends as a special treat. This started when they were still married to each other (probably not a big intrusion since the marriage was failing!)I may have been too entrenched in my training as a psychologist but I feel it isn’t appropriate as he gets older. He has no sleep problems and sleeps fine in his own bed, etc. I would never say anything of course! Just curious as to what other Grans think?

Nanamar Sun 04-Dec-22 16:36:44

Definitely knew it was common at one time and definitely in other cultures. And as I had noted, gained popularity maybe around the 80s and 90s in the states. I slept in the same room (not bed) as my Nonnie until we moved when I was 12. I loved having my privacy! I know it’s not my business. It just isn’t something we or our friends did and wondered how common it is amongst various generations of parents. It will be interesting to see who phases it out - though I probably won’t live long enough to see that.

Grammaretto Sat 03-Dec-22 19:35:44

I had real night fears as a child with nightmares and sleepwalking. My mum who was a widow, let me sleep in a campbed at the end of her bed. I had almost forgotten that until your post reminded me.
I was aged 11 or 12.
My siblings still tease me sometimes.

When I was pregnant with DS3, the other 2 always came into our bed in the night so I was wedged, tummy up between them and DH.
They were 6 and 4.
After baby was born they were in their own beds again!
Must be a comfort thing.

watermeadow Sat 03-Dec-22 18:49:27

I’d have liked our children in our bed but there were four of them. Nowadays we are told never to leave a young puppy alone and mine have all slept in my bed.

nadateturbe Sat 03-Dec-22 11:38:38

ElaineI

DD2 sent me this last week with message "Came up to bed to this!"

So sweet, looks just like my GS.

MercuryQueen Fri 02-Dec-22 22:50:09

His parents have split. The reassurance of being able to crawl into bed with Mom or Dad, that at least THAT hasn’t changed, is probably immeasurable for his sense of stability and wellbeing.

Callistemon21 Fri 02-Dec-22 22:47:08

Our youngest used to go to the loo in the night then tunnel her way under the duvet up our bed, ending up between us. She was a small, slim child but she had sharp elbows and knees and liked her space! We'd be hanging on either side.

ElaineI Fri 02-Dec-22 22:36:53

DD2 sent me this last week with message "Came up to bed to this!"

ElaineI Fri 02-Dec-22 22:25:38

Don't see a problem if it lets everyone sleep. Unfortunately DGS2 (4) has huge tonsils and snores loudly and often migrates to Mummy's bed so she ends up exhausted. Last night he had a dream about a pigeon called Greg that Mummy had put in his bedroom!!! So he ended up beside Mummy again - she didn't I promise! Granny took him to the library and read him a book about Greg the sausage roll looking for Santa and feature 2 turtle doves which looked like pigeons I suppose so probably Granny's fault 🤣

nadateturbe Fri 02-Dec-22 22:22:03

My young GS often sleeps in his dad's bed and his mum's, since his parents separated.
I think he feels more secure. I don't see anything wrong with that. I often crept into my mum and dad's bed in the middle of the night until was about ten.

LRavenscroft Fri 02-Dec-22 22:19:04

My grandfather and grandmother did this with their children in 1930s London and they were ex British Army! They said it made the children feel secure.

dlizi4 Fri 02-Dec-22 22:02:21

I have no words OP
wind your neck in
Baulked at Trainee Psychologist
Have you not got to the bit where you keep your thoughts to yourself until fully qualified?

PaperMonster Fri 02-Dec-22 22:00:56

I co sleep with my 11 year old. Works for us. Also means she’s not as scared at nighttime as I was as a child.

imaround Fri 02-Dec-22 21:49:10

I really think it is none of your business. You do not appear to be concerned about a safe-guarding issue.

My own kids slept in my bed when my husband was out of town until they were 10. On the rare occasion, my youngest at almost 16 will still camp out there when he is gone.

The results of my parenting decisions is that now both my kids will spend 30 minutes each night sitting with me on my bed talking about their day, friends, work, or anything else they feel important. It is an amazing bonding experience and has helped me keep the line of communication open with my teens.

BlueBelle Fri 02-Dec-22 21:21:55

I wish I still had a little body curling up with me

Deedaa Fri 02-Dec-22 20:32:48

My ASD grandson who is 9 years old doesn't like sleeping on his own and shares a bed with whichever parent he is with. At the moment neither of them has room for him to have a separate room anyway. I expect he'll get fed up with it eventually.

The last time I shared a bed with my son was when he was about 20. We were stranded in the snow and had been taken in by a friend. We spent the night under a pile of blankets in front of the fire.

SueDonim Fri 02-Dec-22 20:28:20

My son is a professor of psychology. His DC have both slept in bed with their parents at times. It doesn’t happen often now the GC getting older but it hasn’t been a problem.

If you look at some other cultures, they think it wrong to ban children to a bed on their own. We have lived in Indonesia, where baby cots were called ‘boxes’ because it was felt that you were putting away the baby for the night.

TerriBull Fri 02-Dec-22 20:20:21

of off

JaneJudge Fri 02-Dec-22 20:19:26

Glorianny

I think putting children into their own beds and rooms at an early age is a very recent thing. I shared a bed with my brother until I was 6 and always slept in my grandmother's bed when I stayed with her. My mother shared with several aunts when she stayed with her grandmother . If your GS has his own bed and room he will eventually decide to sleep in it.

I always slept with my Grandmother if I stayed at her house too smile

TerriBull Fri 02-Dec-22 20:19:08

I don't think it's unusual at all, my grandson, opts to sleep with his father in our guest bedroom when they all come here, in spite of setting up a bedroom each for both grandchildren they bed hop between the three bedrooms we allocate for them. Only we in the 4th bedroom remain undisturbed!

My husband established "own rooms" with ours from the outset, unless they were ill or there was thunder and lightning, I let him get on with it, he'd been down the parenthood road with his first family, I knew nothing! It worked for us they went of like lights, sometimes when we were out late with them at friends or relations, we got them into their pyjamas before we got in the car and somehow got them up to bed when we got home without them waking up!

JaneJudge Fri 02-Dec-22 20:17:34

I also let two of my children very close in age share a bed together when they were little as it meant they settled and slept. I just thought they felt secure with each other. It was only for a couple of years

JaneJudge Fri 02-Dec-22 20:16:19

we used to let ours get in bed with us during the night so we could get some bloody sleep

Farzanah Fri 02-Dec-22 20:09:39

Years ago when houses were small and kids were many, bed sharing was a necessity not a choice. I can remember a friend’s mum saying as a child sharing with parents over Christmas waking to see her sugar mouse, received in a stocking, was stuck to her dad’s bum!
Not sure what age she was but quite young.

paddyann54 Fri 02-Dec-22 18:01:16

Mine were both poor sleepers but they weren't allowed in our bed.Like a previous poster they had a drink beside their bed and a book or toy to keep them amused until their clock went from the moon to the sun.From around age 2 they would knock our bedroom door before coming in.
I took a lot of stick on here when I said it before,It just made sense to us that they learned boundaries young and although their bedroom doors were slightly open I knocked their doors too before I went in .
I was very glad I had when my daughter was 12 I sent the 2 year old to get her up,he knocked ,she answered ,he went in stood on her bed and peed on her.
It certainly got her up.He has never lived it down.
My SIL was still going into her parents bed when she was 14,and when I started staying at their house she would climb in with me and ask me to talk to her as she couldn't sleep.
I think thats why I was anti bed sharing

kittylester Fri 02-Dec-22 17:53:26

I'm sure that I have recounted this before - middle daughter worked as an overnight shelf stacker in her university Christmas holidays and would regularly come and get into our bed when she got home and share a brew with us.

I think she would still get into bed with us if her daughters didn't beat her to it.

How can it possibly be wrong?

Glorianny Fri 02-Dec-22 17:50:57

I think putting children into their own beds and rooms at an early age is a very recent thing. I shared a bed with my brother until I was 6 and always slept in my grandmother's bed when I stayed with her. My mother shared with several aunts when she stayed with her grandmother . If your GS has his own bed and room he will eventually decide to sleep in it.