Righteous co-sleeping: Why the Bible supports co-sleeping

Many parents think that co-sleeping is an irresponsible choice for a parent to make. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents isolate their children in their own rooms from day one, with the baby's only lifeline being a baby monitor. However, not only does co-sleeping help parents form a secure attachment with their children, but it also helps prevent child sexual abuse.

Co-sleeping is the core of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission. 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. This word ultimately refers to a secure attachment between parent and child in the family home. This secure attachment comes from parent submission, where parents are to submit to children as they would to God, from beneath yet from above, expecting absolutely nothing in return. 

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 as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating them as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christians 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 during his time as a deacon. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers got out the scourge of cords in order to punish their children, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were largely persecuted for being "too soft" on their children.

It is common knowledge that children under age 6 refuse to go to bed on their own. In many homes, children are punished when they refuse to go to bed. The fact of the matter is that children under age 6 are too young to sleep on their own. Children up until age 6 have a primal fear of being devoured by predators. Most parents believe that this fear is dated and applies only to ancient times, but predators can exist in any home. Most child sexual abuse occurs often as a bedtime ritual. That's why co-sleeping works - in the case of co-sleeping, the mother is right there, guarding her child from the sexual wrath of fathers, perhaps acting as a human shield for her children if the man of the house seeks sexual relations with a child. 

A common excuse for not co-sleeping is that children need to learn to "self-soothe", and thus become "sleep dependent" on the nighttime presence of mothers. This assertion is false. When children co-slept next to mothers in biblical times, they co-slept next to mothers until the child reached the onset of puberty, which was when children, in most cases, wanted their own place to sleep. Children always shook off the closeness of mothers at some point. 

Co-sleeping was the key to secure attachment in biblical times, and was done in skin-on-skin fashion. This skin-on-skin setup lasted until the last day of co-sleeping, meaning not just a single event to convict a man of his parent attraction. Children were naked wherever they went, and mothers were naked in the family home, with mothers only wearing clothing outside of the home. This setup ensured many cozy nights with mom.

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