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Mum who ignored ongoing advice and allowed her two children to sleep in her bed has had them taken away by a family court judge.

The boys, who are both under four, have been placed for adoption following the court proceedings, which began when authorities spotted bruises on them, reports The Telegraph.

Judge Peter Greene said the youngsters’ mother had failed to act on professionals’ advice against “co-sleeping” and continued to reject advice about feeding.

Professionals became concerned about the younger boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after social workers had been told to supervise and support the family. Checks revealed bruises and a broken wrist when he was months old.

Social workers also said the children’s mother was “continually ignoring their advice against having him in bed with her” and rejecting advice about feeding.

In his conclusion, Judge Greene said litigation had begun after the older boy’s leg was bruised when he was a few months old.

He said that one child was unintentionally injured by his father’s use of “excessive force” and the other probably hurt as a result of the “rough, abrupt manner” in which he was handled by his mother.

He also concluded that the boys’ mother “was ignoring advice against co-sleeping”.

Judge Greene said evidence showed that the couple loved their children and would not deliberately hurt them. But he said evidence also showed the children’s mother “always thinks that she knows best”.

The judge said she was “brusque and physically forceful” with her children and dismissive of professionals.

He said he was concerned for the children’s safety and that adoption was the only realistic option.

SIDS and Kids recommend how to Sleep your Baby Safely:

1. Sleep baby on the back from birth, not on the tummy or side

2. Sleep baby with head and face uncovered

3. Keep baby smoke free before birth and after

4. Provide a safe sleeping environment night and day

5. Sleep baby in their own safe sleeping place in the same room as an adult caregiver for the first six to twelve months

How can I make co-sleeping safe? via Babycenter
Make sure your mattress is firm
Keep the bedding light and minimal
Never sleep on a sofa with your baby
Keep your baby warm, not hot, and dress him lightly for sleep
Don’t let your baby and toddler sleep next to each other in bed.

When is co-sleeping not safe?
Because of the increased risk of cot death, you shouldn’t co-sleep if:

•You or your partner smoke.
•Your baby was premature or had a low birth weight.
•You or your partner have been drinking alcohol, or have taken medication or drugs. This may affect your memory and you could forget that your baby is in your bed and roll over onto him. You may also sleep so soundly that you are unaware that you’ve rolled on to him.
•You are extremely tired, or have a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnoea. You may be in such a deep sleep that you don’t wake up if you roll onto your baby.

Share your comments below.

Related story: Mother charged with criminal homicide in the death of her two-month-old son.

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  • well obviously there was more to the story. The parents had a lot to answer for and just the co-sleeping issue wasn’t the main reason.

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  • Never co-sleep with your children – it will be a huge rod to bear later.

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  • Talk about click-bait, shame on you mouths of mums, I expect better.
    Reading the article it becomes clear that the children have been physically abused and that the parents were ignoring ALL advice from professionals.

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  • Hmmmmm……. removed for co-sleeping or abuse by parents, I wonder. Think the headline needs to be reviewed a little

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  • I’d be interested to know more details about this story and why the particular emphasis on the co-sleeping. I for one am wholeheartedly against co-sleeping because it can interfere with routines and independence and can also be dangerous to babies. My brother’s daughter is 11 years old and still sleeps in her parents bed because the mother always encouraged co-sleeping when she was younger and now they are stuck with a bigger problem and find it too hard to stop her from sleeping in the bed. It is much better for the child to have their own bed and ultimately better for the parent as well.

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  • What qualification do these so called experts have? Do they have children? Do they practice what they preach? Many of these experts just have a degree & think they can tell those on the frontline how to bring up their children. There is no manual on bringing up children. Co-sleeping has been done for hundreds of years. Now apparently it is the wrong thing to do according to the experts who aren’t in the daily situation of bringing up particular children. Children get bruises from normal every day activities of playing & even get broken bones from falls. It isn’t necessarily the parents who inflict the injuries but he children themselves. How does a judge know that putting them up for adoption is going to solve the problem which could be even worse. At least the parents have been proven to be loving but who knows about an adopting parent/s. To do this to the children & the parents must mean there is more than what has been reported. There aren’t enough facts to support the judge or social workers at this time based on what has been reported.

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  • I don’t believe co-sleeping is a problem either, but the bruises etc is a concern.

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  • By the sounds of it there was more going on for these boys to have been hurt like this. I’m glad that they have been removed but I’m not sure they should be adopted out, they should be fostered out first.

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  • I wouldn’t imagine co-sleeping to be such a problem. Not something I did, but her choice. It seems with the bruising and injuries that there is more going on here than just a co-sleeping situation.

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  • I don’t think co-sleeping was the issue here. Clearly there is way more to the story-child abuse, that is what the issue is here. There is nothing wrong with co-sleeping.

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  • This article somewhat confuses me as there are many other issues in the article – child well being, Co sleeping, SIDS and also adoption. I tend to agree that more information is required or separate articles? This is clearly overseas and I would guess theUK?

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  • Sorry but again I have not been given all the details on this story to supply a comment.,I am confused what co sleeping has to do with bruises etc ..this story is a bit mashed up for me.

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  • Without all the facts supplied to the courts I find it very disturbing that anyone can comment with judgements, although having a proactive opinion on the subject is great.

    On the other hand, what I find disturbing atm, is the false headlining used in the email to get our attention to read more, hence possible seeing more advertising on the website. hence so you can make money.

    It was never stated as fact that the main reason being (as per your headline), was the co-sleeping for the children to removed for adoption. This was only as small part of the reasons for this decision, and on balance compared to the rest of the reasons, quite minor.

    Can we please have respectable writers for your headlines and stories writing realistic and factual headlines.

    Very annoyed……fortunately I do not pay for this rubbish journalism.
    Facts will always going to gain you more readers and respect.

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  • Co sleeping is a personal choice but there is more to this story than just that. I allowed my kids in bed with me as babies just so we could all get a good nights sleep due to them being unsettled. I also allowed them in my bed when I kicked their abusive father out because we all felt afraid & it allowed my children to feel safe until I could move to get away from him. There is nothing wrong with that & no one can tell you otherwise. This article is misleading by having that as the headline & is poorly written, perhaps if they researched it better they would have the correct details. The kids were being abused & neglected which is why they were taken away.

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  • We often read stories about children that have died as a result of their parents’ neglect or abuse. Hopefully this decision was made in the children’s best interests.

    Reply

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