Some parents eagerly await the day their child sleeps alone, but others embrace co-sleeping well beyond the baby years, saying it offers security, closeness and better rest, even as it raises questions about privacy and sexNirit Zuk|If you are new parents, or even veteran ones, you have probably already encountered this annoying phenomenon: advice. Endless advice and opinions on how you are supposed to raise your child. You may be the ones who brought the child into the world, but somehow, everyone else seems to know better than you what is right for them.The advice, unsurprisingly, often differs dramatically and usually contradicts itself. Alongside those who tell you to avoid giving a pacifier, others will warmly recommend offering one every time the baby cries or shows signs of discomfort. Against those who say, “The baby needs touch, hold him,” others will swear that the worst thing you can do is “get the baby used to being held.” Against “Do not let a child watch screens before age 2,” some parents will say “nothing will happen” if the child watches 10 minutes of age-appropriate content while you tidy the house or take a moment for yourself.One of the most heated issues, and one that fuels an exhausting and endless debate among parents, experts and doctors, is sleep. Is it recommended to sleep with a child in the same bed? And if so, until what age?5 View gallery Co-sleeping: Recommended or not? (Photo: Shutterstock)I remember wrestling with that question for a long time after my daughter was born. The initial instructions we received when we left the hospital were that the newborn should sleep in a bassinet in the parents’ room, but not in the parents’ bed. Around me, there were all kinds of warnings from doctors, nurses and various grandmothers, all cautioning us not to be tempted to bring the baby into our bed, because it was dangerous.At some point, after about three months, social pressure began to build to move her into her own room. And so we found ourselves, new parents, running back and forth at night to the baby’s room. On the one hand, it was exhausting and frustrating, and it felt illogical. On the other hand, all the experts and doctors told us this was the best way to raise an independent child, one who would gradually learn to fall asleep on her own. In the end, I simply put a mattress next to her bed in her room and, from sheer exhaustion, occasionally collapsed and slept there.Not everyone is like me. Some parents believe wholeheartedly in co-sleeping. They sleep together with their children in their bed and feel it is the natural way to give a child a sense of belonging and security. Until what age? Good question.Roni Mali and her partner, who live in Moshav Habonim in northern Israel, have shared their bed with their two daughters, ages 8 and 5, since they were born.“For me, it did not require effort or some major decision,” she says. “From the moment my older daughter was born, it was clear to me that she would sleep with me so she could feel my warmth and my body beside her. When the younger one was born, we moved to a new house, and I tried to encourage the older one to move into her own room. We built her a beautiful bed and tried to ease her into the move. But she saw us sleeping with the little one and wanted to as well. The truth is, I really enjoy sleeping with them and cuddling them at night. It makes me happy.”I try to understand how a room, or a bed, can be arranged to fit four people. Mali explains that their bedroom has two futons, effectively turning the whole room into one large bed. “It’s a bit like living in a cave,” she says with a laugh. “There’s one room where we sleep and another where we live.”5 View gallery Roni Mali’s bedroom (Photo: Family album)Weren’t you afraid to sleep with them when they were babies?