Health Canada recommends parents sleep in the same room as baby until at least 6 months of age. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work on sleep coaching before you’re ready for baby to sleep in their own nursery! It’s entirely possible to help baby learn independent sleep habits while sleeping in their own crib in the same room as a parent.
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Do keep in mind that room sharing and bed sharing are different. Room sharing refers to sleeping in the same bedroom as baby, in a separate sleep space (i.e. parent in their bed, and baby in a crib). Meanwhile, bed sharing refers to baby and parent sleeping in the same bed.
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When sleep coaching, our goal is to help baby learn to sleep independently, in their own sleep space, which does mean sleeping in their own crib, but can absolutely be accomplished while in the same room as Mom and/or Dad!
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Parents are often surprised when they learn sleep coaching doesn’t have to mean moving their child to their own bedroom – was this surprising to you?!
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(Please note, Health Canada does not recommend bed sharing. This post is not meant to be a debate about bed sharing, nor to place any blame or shame on any individual parental choices around sleep. This is a judgement-free space. This post is solely meant to debunk the myth that parents cannot sleep coach until a baby is moved to their own bedroom).