also be used to extend the time between feedings when a baby is fussy but
not hungry. However, be careful not to use the pacifier as a “plug”
whenever your baby fusses, nor should it become a sleep prop. Don’t
create habits that will have to be broken later.
Some children will not take a pacifier but find their thumb instead.
That’s fine. Consider how long you will use the pacifier or allow your
child to suck his or her thumb. If thumb-sucking persists past two years,
limit it to the child’s bedroom. That boundary will help you eliminate the
practice later on.
Sleeping with Your Baby (The Family Bed)
It is common for children in third-world countries to sleep in the same
bed with their parents. In most cases this is done for pragmatic reasons:
there is only one bed and often only one room. Poverty forces the
sleeping arrangement, not the pursuit of psychological health for the
child. For modern America, the family bed finds its roots in the birth-
trauma theory. As stated previously, the practice allows for the constant
presence of the mother, as required by the theory’s hypothesis.
The family bed is unsafe. As stated in chapter 3 and earlier in this
chapter, the American Academy of Pediatrics public policy statement
warns that bed sharing might actually increase the risk of SIDS. The
Consumer Protection Safety Commission warns parents against sleeping
with their infants because of the death hazard. They are joined by the vast
majority of health care professionals in America who agree the practice is
dangerous.
Authorities in Madison County, Illinois, are warning parents not to
sleep with their infants. According to coroner Dallas Burke, five roll-over
deaths occurred in the first eight months of 1997.^5 Multiply what is
happening in Madison County across the country and you will begin to
understand why so many medical experts are shouting warnings about the
dangers of attachment parenting with its overemphasis on infant co-
sleeping.
One of the most recent cautions against co-sleeping comes from Dr.