Article: Time To Abolish Cribs?

[Trillian]

An isolated baby has no protection from secret physical or sexual abuse.

biggest load of crap I have ever heard. Does she truly think that? Does she not realise that if a child is in the sights of an abuser that they do not have to be in a 'crib' for it to happen? And if that abuser happens to be a parent, what better place to have them sleep than in the family bed kwim? I think making assumptions like that with no solid proof is quite scary. Now I am all for co-sleeping if that is what you want and if it works for you (because lets face it, our babies do not read the same attachment parenting books as we do and not all children like to co-sleep) but she is hardly going to win support from anyone with statements like those.

[Bathsheba]

I wonder what studies or situations she has heard of to base her article on? I agree the language is emotive... but sadly awful things like this do happen to children. Co-sleeping isn't the solution to everything... but I still think that on the whole the public does have the perception that cots are safer places than parents' beds... generally speaking, obviously not in all cases.

[boomba]

Very true Trillian..i kinda dismissed that comment....as like you said abuse can happen anywhere and by anyone.

[Trillian]

Defnitely there is general suspicion of co-sleeping and it is considered to be 'alternative' now, but that is one hell of a way to get your point across.

[*Infinity*]

but she is hardly going to win support from anyone with statements like those.

That was my sentiment exactly.

[Bathsheba]

Yes, definitely not going to gather any bees with that kind of honey (the emotive kind).


When I read articles I do tend to cut straight to the facts though... I find most "popular" media too emotive these days so i guess i'm kind of used to paring things back, trimming off the emotion. It's how my brain works... just want to get to the nitty gritty of the issue. Sure lots of writers and journalists inject too much emotion... but if you dismissed everything because it was emotive there wouldn't be much left to read. It's kinda like our discussion on food LOL I don't like salt or things that are too sweet... nearly every time I eat out the food is too salty or too sweet.... but I try to find something about it that's good about the flavour and try to ignore the seasoning!

I think what this woman has dished up is still basically sound... she was just a bit heavy with the salt. Maybe she is trying to appeal to the palate of a desensitised public? Everything has to be extreme or it's ho hum? Just putting it out there

[Trillian]

I don't think anyone is so desensitised that they would appreciate a comment like that. I think the bulk of people would get immediately on the defensive as soon as she starts getting so heavy handed with the supposed outcomes from cot sleeping. Regardless of which one you preferred, as soon as you read something that is more than likely not even based on factual information you turn off and dismiss the point she is trying to make, even if the point was originally a valid one and one worth talking about further.

[Jakabella]

I dont agree with this article at all! I have co-slept with Bella and her cot has not been out of our small room yet and she is 13 months olds now. I can say that her cot is certainly not a lonely prison or a death trap - she is happy in her cot - she has her own space and can move around as she pleases.
If she is unselttled or unwell or just wants to be in bed with us she will - but I do not sleep well when she is in bed with us - I worry about her, but I do love the closness.
She NEVER wakes up and has to start screaming to get me or DH to wake up - we are all in tune with each other.

DD's room is ready to go now and she will be moving to her own room down the hall as it is time.

I am all for cot sleeping and co-sleeping. I dont like the way the auther has tried to get her pint across. Since when did aticles become about making ppl feel bad about things they did or didnt do? Why cant ppl write fair sided stories that point out the GOOD and the BAD - so people can read and make up their own minds and not be left with a bad taste in their mouths?

Kate

[Doing my best]

She NEVER wakes up and has to start screaming to get me or DH to wake up - we are all in tune with each other.

Kate

Neither of my kids have had to scream to get attention, even when not in the same room, and sometimes the other end of the house without a monitor.. When we were away on the weekend, my DH was sleeping in the room with the children, and I ended up on the lounge cause DD was wriggling too much, he was about 50 cm from DS and he didn't even here him, yet I was in the room from the lounge to get him up for a feed cause he was stirring and starting to grizzle, far from screaming!

And when DS does scream (and he does a lot according to my neighbours ) it is when we are getting him a bottle or trying to get him to sleep in our bed, def not when he wakes up alone!

[~*Kat*~]

Ok I understand and respect peoples wishes to co-sleep and the artical, as attacking as it felt, has its points but I am a very restlesss sleeper and I couldn't do it with my DD as I was terrified of squishing her
I did have her in a bassinett/cradle for the first few months then I put her in the cot for day and bassinett for night for a while and then she was perfectly happy in the cot full time
My DD is a very independant and old little soul and up until last year she could not sleep in a room with another person she just wasn't comfortable
I dont know what I will do when the next comes along (when not if it happens, gotta be positive) I think it will depend on the baby and myself as well
I still have a cot and I want a new bassinett but we will wait until it happens to invest in a new 1

[Kailani]

Interesting article, and it reinforces my choice to keep cosleeping. Not because of all the scaremongering safety stuff about cots, but just that DS must really fret when he's in the cot and he would feel so secure and content in the family bed.

I love that DS is bunking with us, however I used to really dislike it. We tried to get him to sleep in the cot for months and months but he hated it and still does. He cries and cries and it breals my heart so I gave up and let him sleep with us and he has bbs on tap. Although I wish I had my own space and could sleep comfortably, I take great comfort in knowing that DS is happy and feels safe and secure. It really is a special feeling watching him sleep with one leg and one arm over me and having a comfort suck every now and then. Sometimes he will roll over and face the other way and I'll be so relieved that I can finally stretch out!

[Jennifer13]

Interesting article, perhaps a little heavy-handed, but I gather she was being heavy-handed on purpose. It's a bit like defending the 'homebirthing is going to mean your baby is more likely to die' study. She's right in that if a baby suffers an accident in its parents' bed you're not likely to see the safety warnings and I guess she's pointing out that if a baby dies in a cot or suffers some other misadventure no one comes out and highlights how dangerous cots are.

I think it'd be more helpful to demonstrate how normal co-sleeping is and how it can be facilitated, ie all the benefits and traditions around it, rather than to try to scare people into it. But I know I never considered the idea until after my DD was born and I felt such a strong urge to sleep with her (and we did have a cradle that we used most of the time).

[Heaven]

My DD sleeps in her cot sometimes and cosleeps sometimes. I would like her to sleep in her cot (in our room) all night bc I would be more comfy but that's not going to happen, lol.

But I didn't get defensive about the article. I didn't feel like she really thought all those bad things would happen if you put your baby in a cot. I thought she was more just trying to say that everyone goes on about how safe cot sleeping is but there are all kinds of things that could happen (however unlikely they may be).