We've noticed that parents nowadays sleep with their young kids. Was this always the case?

I didn't think parents slept with their young children. Say - age 4 and under. But apparently lots of people we know - friends, co-workers, etc - sleep with their young kids.

I mentioned this to a slightly older co-worker and she said that about 50% of her contemporaries slept with their kids. She heard on the news the other day that 75% cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome occur when parents sleep with their children.

Of the people we know, A LOT of the kids who sleep with their parents have sleeping problems. They can't sleep on their own. One couple we know has a 6 month old in a sleep study. The kid can't sleep more than an hour a day.

Others can't sleep in their own bed, and can't stay asleep the whole night.

Jake has a bad habit of waking up early. 4am. He calls, "Mom?" a few times then goes back to sleep when we ignore him. Until 5:30am. At that point, he's up. We bring him in our bed and let him play for awhile before we get up.

When did parents start sleeping with their kids? I don't recall sleeping with my parents. Mom - did you sleep with kids? Did your contemporaries sleep with kids? I would think not.

I remember one time when Cindy was pregnant I saw a book in my mid-wife's office. It was called, "Why you should sleep with your kids" or something. It was written by some hippie-nazi, and looked to be published in the 80s or early 90s.