Righteous co-sleeping: Why children need nighttime closeness with mothers

Many parents think that co-sleeping is the irresponsible choice as a parent. The most common excuse for not co-sleeping is that co-sleeping might make the child "sleep dependent". The big fear about co-sleeping is that children will become dependent on the closeness of mothers to fall asleep. The fact of the matter is that co-sleeping usually ends come puberty, and until then, co-sleeping is a way to prevent child sexual abuse from fathers.

Co-sleeping is the deepest expression of the doctrine of mutual submission, where children surrender to the loving arms of mothers. See Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and submission of parents. Parents are the enemy of children, just as mankind is the enemy of God, and are to submit as such. Child surrender to parents usually came with strings attached on the part of parents, with children issuing righteous demands to parents, usually when parents weren't pulling their weight.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely to the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including, but not limited to, any punishments, reprimands, or other controlling demeanor. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating children as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christian parents who brought their pagan custom of spanking or punishing children into the church. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child in his writings. Maybe Paul didn't get along with the women in the church, but he sure loved children, and took in a few orphaned children. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers used the scourge of cords to punish their children, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were hated largely for being "too soft" on their children.

It is common knowledge that children aged 2-6 often refuse to go to bed at their set bedtime. This is a common reason for punishing the child and/or making them "cry it out". Most parents do not realize that children under age 6 are too young to sleep on their own. Most children, up until age 6, have a primal fear of being devoured by predators. In biblical times, venomous snakes and scorpions could have preyed on the children. Today, there are also predators, usually a father in the home, and usually, he strikes when the child is isolated in a bed or crib. That is where co-sleeping comes in. The mother is right there, and so the children are safe. Most co-sleeping in biblical times was skin-on-skin in terms of application, and that was intended largely to convict the man of the house of his parent attraction towards the children.

Children co-slept next to their mothers in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy. Contrary to popular belief, children did not continue co-sleeping into the teen years. In most cases, children co-slept next to mothers until the onset of puberty, which was when children wanted their own place to sleep. Until then, children snuggled next to mothers in nighttime closeness.

A secure attachment is necessary to foster cooperation and respect for children. The core of this mother-child bonding is co-sleeping. Children slept next to mothers every single night until the child reached the onset of puberty. This co-sleeping was always done in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy, with the man of the house being convicted of his parent attraction to his child. This co-sleeping is what forged a close bond between mother and child. 

Children who co-slept next to mothers were often milk-dependent, meaning mothers breastfed their restless child to sleep every night. Most children were weaned by age 3, when they pushed away the nipple. However, sometimes, children waited until age 6 or older to push away the nipple. Most breastfeeding was done with the child resting on the bosom of the mother, with the mother resting on her back half-awake, and continued to meet the breastfeeding needs of their child until the child pushed away the nipple, whenever that was. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them forever be cast into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!