<a href="/CS/photos/mar2007/picture9112.aspx" target="_blank"><img src="/CS/photos/mar2007/images/9112/365x240.aspx" align="right" border="0" height="175" hspace="4"></a>When I was a child, we were only allowed to wake the parents in
cases of extreme weather, suspected haunting by ghosts, or extreme
physical distress.&nbsp; Otherwise, their bedroom was <b><i>off limits</i></b>.&nbsp;
This rule was instituted following my discovery of the "massager" I'd
found in my parent's nightstand.&nbsp; The lock on their door showed up the
next day and foiled further attempts to find even greater discoveries.<br><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-sleep">The Family Bed</a>
is as old as oatmeal but has found greater traction among Gen X than
Boomers before them.&nbsp; And it makes me wonder: what the hell were
we thinking? I truly understand giving kids comfort and love during the
night as well as during the day. And when babies are small and new and
hungry, nursing them in bed is convenient and promotes better sleep for
mom and baby.&nbsp; </p>But at what point does it get out of hand?&nbsp; <a href="http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2007/01/23/the-family-bed-i-m-over-it.aspx">Alisyn reached her limit</a> when her daughter turned three. <i>The New York Times</i> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/garden/01bed.html?_r=2&amp;oref=slogin&amp;oref=slogin">reports that some parents end up sharing beds with their kids out of desperation</a> and describes a new category of parent with whom I totally sympathize, the "reluctant co-sleeper.
