BED BUGS

After years of co-sleeping with her daughters, single mum Charlotte Cripps has grown tired of being whacked in the face at night and she wants her bed independence back

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I remember the day I bought my super king size bed. It was a game-changer. I could co-sleep with my two children, Lola and Liberty, then aged three and one, without falling off the bed. I’d always thought sharing a bed with my kids was such a natural idea; it’s what many animals do in the wild. Of course, some people judged me: “You need headspace from them at night – some ‘me time’”; “It’s important for their independence that they have their own beds and bedrooms”; “It’s just not healthy”; “They’ll get separation anxiety”.

In my mind, though, it wouldn’t be long until my children were off having sleepovers with their friends and leaving the nest – so why not keep them snuggling up to me for as long as possible? I had no partner to consider. I am a single mum. So what was stopping me from sharing my bed for a heavenly connection? But little did I know that, five years down the line, co-sleeping with my children, now aged six and eight, would be a total nightmare. I feel I’ve been mis-sold the joys of co-sleeping and I don’t know what to do.

Numerous celebrities have spoken about the virtues of cosleeping with their children. The Clueless actor Alicia Silverstone revealed in 2022 that she co-slept with her 11-yearold son Bear. “I’ll be in trouble for saying that, but I don’t really care,” Silverstone told the Ellen Fisher podcast. She added that co-sleeping was following “nature”. “I mean, if you were in any kind of wild setting where there are animals – if you put your baby [away from you], your baby is going to get eaten.”

Kourtney Kardashian admitted last month on a podcast that she has always shared a bed with her four kids, including her daughter, Penelope, until she was 11.