Sleep, Marketing, & My Thoughts

This is a conversation I had with my daughter recently:  

She sat up in the middle of the night, looking confused.

So I said in a sleepy, slow, calm-but-a-little-concerned voice:


"Are you OK?"





And she said, in the most precious voice:


"Yes.... I'm OK."


And we both went back to sleep.






Sweet, sweet, girl. :-)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I've been thinking a lot lately about when & why it became "mandatory" for a child to have their own room. Children in other countries don't always have their own room (& there is no "social pressure" for it to be any other way).  Children in previous generations didn't always have their own room. When did it go from being a privilege, to being "required"?  And why?  What is wrong with sharing a sleeping room with your family?


Without doing any research, I've "concluded" that marketing & media have molded social norms & have therefore dictated a large portion of these "rules".  Can you imaging what a fortune companies are making off of our desires?!  You "need" a crib & matching accessories to decorate your child's nursery. Then you "need" a toddler bed & coordinating decor. Oh & then there's the "tween" bed sets & the "teen" bedroom ensemble.   Oh & then you'll "need" something completely new to decorate your college dorm, your first apartment, your newlywed apartment, your first home, your first child's room.... Etc. etc, etc.  And that's just focusing on one thing- a damn bedroom. Seriously?!?!?  Who "needs" any of that?!?!  We "want" it, surely. But we don't ever "need" it. 

My daughter is 2 and three quarters and has never had her own room.  She never had crib bedding (other than a fitted sheet). She doesn't have a toddler bed frame.  She sleeps on a crib mattress on the floor right beside our bed.  So what?  What has she missed out on?  Nothing.  Usually she falls asleep in our bed (and then we transition her to her mattress for the night) & when she wakes up in the morning she climbs back into our bed for morning cuddles.  If she wakes up in the middle of the night, we are right there.  I love being able to peak over the side of my bed & see her sleeping.  And that smile first thing when she wakes up is priceless.  I can't imagine her sleeping anywhere else, & why should I?




Am I saying "my" way is the "right" way?  No.  Am I saying "your" way is the "wrong" way.  Absolutely not.  My point is this: don't let "society" pressure you into thinking you or your child "need" anything that money can buy.  Make your decisions based on YOUR heart, YOUR thoughts, YOUR instincts.  Money does not buy happiness.  Period.  XO.




"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, 

but be transformed 

by the renewing of your mind. 

Then you will be able to test 

and approve what God’s will is —

his good, pleasing and perfect will."



(Romans 12:2)