Awhile ago I posted about a study that labeled parents "emotionally unavailable" if they let their child cry for more than one minute at bed time or in the night.
Yesterday I read a Twitter post that says not enough sleep at night increases a child's chance of being obese.
Forgive me for my simple thinking on this but doesn't everything I do or my child do during the day determine whether or not we are emotionally, mentally and physically healthy?
For almost a year I tried to get my son to fall asleep without me being in the bed with him. I used various methods trying to prevent him from crying it out. But finally I decided enough was enough. The sleep deprivation had taken an excessive toll on my health and was affecting my ability to work. Surly the love and attention B receives throughout the day would make up for the three nights it took him to learn that he was going to sleep in his own bed without Mommie.
And as for his increased chance of obesity - well, B has always been on the lower end of the scale for number of hours a baby/toddler should sleep according to doctors. However this boy will literally run circles around me whenever possible. He eats well, is highly active and oh, is at the lower end of the weight chart. Yup, my kid needs to GAIN weight.
Bottom line for me, I'll take these studies declaring one thing evil with a grain of salt because I believe in a holistic approach of raising my son. I encourage more parents to also take a holistic approach not just to child rearing but also to their own life. Sometimes there isn't one thing causing the problem but a group of things.
