Righteous co-sleeping: Why co-sleeping is recommended in the Bible (as understood in context)

Many parents believe that co-sleeping is the irresponsible choice as a parent. This is a common attitude towards children in this country. Most American parents make their children sleep alone from day one. A common reason not to co-sleep is that the child might develop "sleep dependence" on their mother. However, children are not ready to sleep on their own, at least until puberty. Co-sleeping can actually protect your child from child sexual abuse.

Righteous co-sleeping is part of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission, where mothers and children snuggle in bed at night, in righteous submission to each other. 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 to children. This word refers to a secure attachment between parents and children. Secure attachment came from parent submission, where parents are to submit to their children, from beneath yet from above.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely 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 towards children. 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 your child 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 and punishing children into the church. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child, in his secular writings. Paul may not have gotten along with the women of the church, but he sure loved children, and even took in a few orphaned children in his time. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers did use the scourge of cords to punish their children, but NOT the Christians among the - the Early Christians were hated largely for being "too soft" on their children.

It is a common knowledge that 2-6 year old children more often than not refuse to go to sleep on their own. Many parents punish their children due to them refusing going to bed on their own. The fact of the matter is that children that age are too young to sleep on their own. The reason behind your child's bedtime refusal is that children have a primal fear of being left alone in a room unattended to. Children under age 6 often have a primal fear of being devoured by predators. Today, predation against children usually takes place at bedtime, when the child is isolated in a room away from mothers, in the form of sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse was rare in biblical times, and that is because mothers were there to guard the children from their father. Nothing could happen, because the mother was right there.

"Sleep dependence" is a common modern-day excuse for not co-sleeping with children. The fear of parents is that the child won't learn to self-soothe, meaning most parents expect a baby to know how to self-soothe. Children communicate when they are ready for more freedom. They push away the nipple when breastfeeding. When the child reaches the onset of puberty, they, in most case, shake off their parents, and want their own place to sleep. Sometimes, children take a little later, in which case they have an attachment injury of some sort.

The purpose of co-sleeping in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy was to form a secure attachment with children. Most all co-sleeping in biblical times was skin-on-skin, every night and not just to convict a man of his parent attraction. The more mother and child snuggled in the nude, the more the two bonded. This led to a secondary attachment with fathers, with fathers disciplining his children through praise and encouragement (see Eph. 6:4).

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be forever 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!