In many countries around the world, parents are paying attention to the Indian tradition of co-sleeping with children. For many residents of India, childhood was not spent alone; they slept in the family bed, listened to bedtime stories, or instinctively held a parent's hand in the middle of the night.
While many Western cultures consider independent sleep an important stage of growing up, India maintains a different philosophy where co-sleeping is viewed as a way of expressing care and love. This ancient practice is once again attracting the attention of researchers, anthropologists, and parents.
Studies show that co-sleeping is not unusual. In fact, data indicates that nearly two-thirds of the world's population practices some form of co-sleeping, making solitary sleep normal only in certain regions, rather than a universal parenting practice.
Co-sleeping, in a broad sense, implies that parents and children sleep in close proximity. This can be sharing one sleeping surface or staying in the same room where the child sleeps in a separate crib or bassinet. In most regions of India, this has never been a trend, but rather a natural state.
Reasons for this include practical aspects, such as shared living spaces, facilitating nighttime breastfeeding, and the cultural value placed on family closeness. Generations grew up with the belief that infants should be near caregivers even while sleeping.
According to research estimates, between 60% and 90% of families in several Asian countries, including India, Japan, and China, practice co-sleeping in some form. Unlike many Western societies that encourage early childhood independence, Indian upbringing traditionally viewed nighttime closeness as an extension of care, not a habit to be overcome.
This practice reflects a broader Indian concept of family life, where interdependence is often valued more highly than early autonomy. Sleep, like food and festivals, becomes another shared experience for the family.
For decades, parenting advice in North America and Europe promoted separate children's bedrooms and independent sleep routines. However, this discourse is becoming more multifaceted. Anthropologists argue that people have rarely slept alone throughout history. Researchers suggest that our species has spent over 95% of its evolutionary history sleeping near family members or communities, where shared sleep provided warmth, protection, and opportunities for care.
From this perspective, separate nurseries for infants are a relatively recent cultural invention. This shift in thinking prompts scientists to study co-sleeping not just from a convenience standpoint. Its role in attachment formation, emotional security, responsive parenting, and breastfeeding is now being discussed. Social media has also amplified discussions around attachment parenting, causing parents in Europe and North America to question the necessity of early independence.
Parents who practice co-sleeping often describe it as instinctive behavior. Being nearby allows caregivers to respond quickly to hunger cues, soothe a crying child within moments, and maintain close physical contact at night.
Experts also note that sharing a room can simplify breastfeeding. Since the World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, having the child nearby often helps mothers feed more responsively without fully waking up or moving between rooms.
However, specialists emphasize that cultural acceptance must never overshadow safety. Medical professionals warn that sharing a bed with newborns can increase the risk of suffocation and other sleep-related infant deaths if safe sleep guidelines are not followed. Risks significantly increase if parents smoke, consume alcohol, take sedatives, sleep on sofas or very soft mattresses, or if the baby is premature or low birth weight.
Therefore, many pediatricians advise room-sharing but not bed-sharing during the baby's first months of life. Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants sleep in the parental room on a separate, firm sleep surface for at least the first six months, and ideally for the first year, as room-sharing can reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) by 50%.
Perhaps the growing interest in co-sleeping lies not so much in the location of the child's sleep, but in the recognition that there is no single universal parenting plan. For Indian families, co-sleeping has long been part of daily life, not a conscious choice. What seemed like ordinary household routine is now entering a broader global conversation about attachment, responsive care, and emotional well-being.
As parenting philosophies evolve, the age-old Indian approach to sleep reminds the world that closeness and independence are not necessarily opposites. Sometimes the strongest feeling of security begins with the simple knowledge that someone is right next to you. Regardless of whether families choose co-sleeping or not, one fact remains constant: children thrive when they feel safe, loved, and supported.
Tom Homan, who is responsible for border enforcement in the United States on behalf of the White House, stated in an interview with CNN that the review of procedures is taking place after discovering that the ICE agent who shot a Colombian migrant in Maine on July 13 had a history of violence, as alleged by his ex-wives, raising questions about the hiring process of the federal agency.
Homan informed that ICE has approximately 30,000 employees, all subject to a background check process, classifying the case in question as unusual. However, he emphasized that the issue is under review and that the training of agents is also being revised.
Despite the deaths recorded this month—including Lorenzo Salgado Aurajo, Mexican, who died on July 7 in Texas; Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, Colombian, who died on July 13 in Maine; and Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, Mexican, who died on July 14 in Florida after being hit by a truck during an ICE operation—the official denied that ICE committed any 'errors.' He stated that everything is being evaluated and that the outcome of the investigations will be observed.
Similar to what happened in January following incidents in Minnesota, the three recent deaths have intensified demands from the Democratic Party and civil groups for immigration agents to mandatorily use body cameras. Homan also expressed his support for the use of these cameras.
Prior to these statements, the so-called 'border czar' had maintained that migrants who died at the hands of immigration authorities would still be alive if they had obeyed the agents' orders to stop. These events occur amid a scenario of increasing immigrant arrests in the United States, with over 43,000 records in June, made by both ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The June number represents the highest peak since the beginning of Donald Trump's second term in January 2025.
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