The topic of co-sleeping has never failed to spark a debate among parents, and one mom's recent TikTok seems to have done just that. Amanda Scott, who goes by @littlesouthernwife on TikTok, shared a video last week showing off the giant bed her husband built with his own two hands. The bed, which is basically super-sized, looks really comfy and luxurious. But once people realized just how many people sleep in it each night, Scott started to get pelted with questions. According the mom of five, it's actually what's known as a "family bed,"and her husband built it to accommodate co-sleeping with their large brood.
Scott says people always ask her about the "family bed."
That's exactly why she chose to talk about the bed in a recent post on TikTok. She just never expected the overwhelming response it would bring — a fact that recently caused her to make her account private.
The Scotts' family bed is about double the size of the one most people might have at home. And if you've ever wished for more space between you and your spouse who runs hot at night, this certainly looks like it would provide ample space.
Well, unless you have as many people in it each night as Scott does.
That's because the Scotts sleep with three of their kids each night.
Yep — three kids, two adults, one bed.
They're a co-sleeping family, and as she explained in a follow-up video, their philosophy has always been to let their kids move on to their own rooms once they feel ready. (So far, her older two have done this, but the younger three remain.)
The bed itself is a king and queen mattress pushed together.
They're held in place by a wooden bed frame that her husband made, and they each get their own fitted sheet and comforter. (They skip the top sheet, she says.)
The Scotts have been sleeping this way for the past eight years, and so far, Amanda says it works just fine for them.
But man, oh man, do people have opinions ...
And just like clockwork, they did.
"Co-sleeping is a big NO!" commented one person.
"I was like OMG what a good idea, until I saw co-sleeping," added another.
"You can still have a bond without putting their lives at risk," someone else wrote. "Good luck when they're older and can't self-soothe or sleep alone."
Yikes.
Others just had one deep burning question.
How exactly does she and her husband … ahem … get busy?
"Only curiosity is does it affect intimacy between mom and dad?" one person asked. "Otherwise, you do you."
In fact, enough people asked about this that Scott addressed it in a separate follow-up video, which is also now private. And long story short: No, it doesn't.
According to Scott, she and her husband have a perfectly "healthy" sex life. And when they want to be intimate with one another, they do! They just explore other spaces in their home to do so.
"That's what other people always ask us," one person wrote. "It's like dude, there are other rooms in a house."
"Yes! Co-sleeping is so natural," added another. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
In fact, plenty of people rushed to defend Scott after seeing negative comments.
"Love this! So sad you have to explain yourselves," one person wrote.
"I just love how you're so awesomely normalizing the beauty of a family bed," another person commented. "Rock on, you fabulous mama."
"I'm so in love with this style of parenting," someone else wrote. "I wish my parents were that selfless!"
Others weren't curious about the sex stuff at all — they just wondered how she made that dang bed!
"Okay, but making that looks like a workout," one person joked.
(Man, it sure does …)
Other people just simply reassured Scott that her kiddos will probably be better off for it in the long run.
"I bet your children are secure and independent little humans that feel valued and loved," read one comment.
To be fair, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend bed-sharing with babies.
Instead, room-sharing is encouraged for the first six months to a year of a baby's life, to ensure that mom and/or dad is close by in the night. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, babies should only be brought into a bed when they're being fed or comforted, and they should be returned to their own sleep space when it's time for a parent to get some shut-eye.
The worry, of course, is related to sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, of which 3,500 babies die each year in the US. When it comes to older children, however, co-sleeping becomes a matter of preference, parenting style, and quite often convenience.
In the comments, many parents expressed that they have a similar setup at home.
They confirm that their kids (and their spouses) are doing just fine with it.
"We are a co-sleeping family and love it," one person wrote.
"It's not that hard to get your kids used to sleeping on their own after co-sleeping," added another person. "Idk why people say it is."
For Scott, though, it all boils down to one thing: Do what works for your family, and if it doesn't — don't do it!
In fact, that was pretty much her blunt response to one commenter, who wrote: "In my opinion, co-sleeping is okay for a baby SOMETIMES, but after that they should get their own bed/room."
"That's your opinion," Scott replied. "Didn't work for our fam. Kids kept coming into our bed at the time a queen size in the middle of the night."
End. Of. Story.
