Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Development During Infancy and Childhood379CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIORWhere Does the Baby Sleep?In most U.S. families, infants sleep in their own beds in a separateroom (Willinger & others, 2003). It may surprise you todiscover that the United States is very unusual in this respect.In one survey of 100 societies, the United States was the onlyone in which babies slept in separate rooms. Another survey of136 societies found that in two-thirds of the societies, infantsslept in the same beds as their mothers. In the remainder, infantsgenerally slept in the same room as their mothers (Morelli& others, 1992).Gilda Morelli and her colleagues (1992) compared the sleepingarrangements of several middle-class U.S. families with thoseof Mayan families in a small town in Guatemala. They found thatinfants in the Mayan families slept with their mothers until theywere 2 or 3, usually until another baby was about to be born. Atthat point, toddlers moved to the bed of another family member,usually the father or an older sibling. Children continued tosleep with other family members throughout childhood.Mayan mothers were shocked when the American researcherstold them that infants in the United States slept alone and oftenin a different room from their parents. They believed that thepractice was cruel and unnatural and would have negativeeffects on the infant’s development.When infants and toddlers sleep alone, bedtime marks aseparation from their families. To ease the child’s transition tosleeping, “putting the baby to bed” often involves lengthybedtime rituals, including rocking, singing lullabies, or readingstories (Morrell & Steele, 2003). Small children take comfortingitems, such as a favorite blanket or teddy bear, to bed withthem to ease the stressful transition to falling asleep alone.The child may also use his “security blanket” or “cuddly” tocomfort himself when he wakes up in the night, as most smallchildren do.In contrast, the Mayan babies did not take cuddly items to bed,and no special routines marked the transition between wakefulnessand sleep. Mayan parents were puzzled by the very idea.Instead, the Mayan babies simply went to bed when their parentsdid or fell asleep in the middle of the family’s social activities.Morelli and her colleagues (1992) found that the differentsleeping customs of the American and Mayan families reflect differentcultural values. Some of the American babies slept in thesame room as their parents when they were first born, which theparents felt helped foster feelings of closeness and emotionalsecurity in the newborns. Nonetheless, most of the Americanparents moved their babies to a separate room when they feltthat the babies were ready to sleep alone, usually by the timethey were 3 to 6 months of age. These parents explained theirdecision by saying that it was time for the baby to learn to be“independent” and “self-reliant.”In contrast, the Mayan parents felt that it was important todevelop and encourage the infant’s feelings of interdependencewith other members of the family. Thus, in both Mayan and U.S.families, sleeping arrangements reflect cultural goals for childrearing and cultural values for relations among family members.Culture and Co-Sleeping Throughout the world, cultural andethnic differences influence family decisions about sleepingarrangements for infants and young children (Li & others, 2008;Worthman & Brown, 2007). Among the indigenous Nenetspeople of Siberia, shown above, co-sleeping or shared sleepingis common, at least partly for the pragmatic reason of stayingwarm. Even in the United States, sleeping arrangements varyby racial and ethnic groups. Stephanie Milan and hercolleagues (2007) found that Latino and African-Americanpreschoolers were more likely to sleep with a sibling or parentthan white preschoolers.important to note that most fathers are also directly involved with the basic care oftheir infants and children. In homes where both parents are present, children whoare attached to one parent are also usually attached to the other (Furman & Simon,2004). Infants are also capable of forming attachments to other consistent caregiversin their lives, such as relatives or workers at a day-care center. Thus, an infantcan form multiple attachments (Field, 1996).Generally, when parents are consistently warm, responsive, and sensitive totheir infant’s needs, the infant develops a secure attachment to her parents (Goldsmith& Harman, 1994; Koren-Karie & others, 2002). The infant’s expectationthat her needs will be met by her caregivers is the most essential ingredient toattachmentThe emotional bond that forms betweenan infant and caregiver(s), especially his orher parents.