One of the UK’s most respected doctors and agony aunts has recommended that parents should allow their toddlers to sleep in their beds as long as they need, instead of trying to get them into a routine too early. Dr Miriam Stoppard, writing in the Daily Mirror, said that a still growing child should not be disturbed when asleep, and there was the likelihood of tantrums, crying and whining if the child is denied sleep. She explained that ‘sleep pressure’ is experienced by toddlers the just as it is by adults and this may be down to the intense growing activity in the child’s mind. She added that this may explain why a child can sleep for up to 12 hours every night despite having had a nap in the morning and afternoon. Parents in Australia have been advised by the government not to sleep in the same beds as their kids for safety reasons. But it may also disturb a child’s sleep.
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