Co-sleeping is when children and parents sleep together, typically in the same bed. A family bed is an extra-large bed where the whole family can sleep. Here, we have brought together what researchers, health authorities, Google searches and 10,790 comments on FamBed's own social media posts tell us. Every figure has a source.
Published by FamBed, which makes family beds. About the atlas and its methodology
Europe on one map
For each country, the figure shows how many times people searched Google for co-sleeping and family bed in their own language over one year, per 1,000 births. Using births as the basis means countries of different sizes can be compared. The figure is not a percentage. The lighter the colour, the greater the interest. Tap a country to see its name and figures.
Source: Google search figures, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, calculated by FamBed
United Kingdom: 317 searches per 1,000 children born, ranking 9 out of 26
All about United KingdomEach card highlights the key finding from one chapter. Select a card to open the full chapter, with charts, explanations and sources.
The label on each card shows where the figures come from:
Annual Google searches in Germany for every 1,000 children born. That is 5.8 times as many as in the other 25 countries combined.
as much worldwide interest in co-sleeping on Google in 2025 as in 2010. The topic has also become more prominent in books and research since the 1990s.
Each dot represents a country. The further to the right, the wealthier the country. The higher up, the more people search Google for co-sleeping and family beds.
Percentage of children aged 0-3 who slept in their parents' bed: Vietnam had the highest proportion and the UK the lowest of the 17 countries. The same questionnaire was used in every country, 2006-2008.
Take a guess: In how many of 105 traditional societies around the world did children sleep alone?Researchers have described 105 pre-industrial societies from around the world. Drag the slider, then reveal the answer.
Examples of what Google suggests:
languages where the child's age is the most common theme in Google's suggested searches about co-sleeping, such as “until what age?”
is when the idea that children should sleep alone emerged, according to historians. Before then, families often shared the same bed.
Each dot represents one study: does the result support or oppose co-sleeping?
British children in the largest longitudinal study: sleeping in their parents' bed at 9 months old was not associated with anxiety or restlessness between the ages of 3 and 11.
British children in a new study (2026): those who first began sleeping in their parents' bed between the ages of 1½ and 3½ were more likely to experience anxiety at age 8.
of the official guidance from 18 countries warns against co-sleeping with children over the age of 1
Health services42 out of 75 advise against it
Breastfeeding and parenting organisations21 of 31 call it a choice
106 organisations in 32 countries on sharing a bed with a baby. Dark blue: call it the parents' choice. Sand: say a separate bed is safest, but offer advice. Red: advise against it.
of the 3,538 comments on FamBed's posts that express a view for or against, support the idea of sleeping together as a family
of 3.146 parents who sleep with their children had not planned to do so. 88% later came to prefer it.
»Our bed is actually 240 cm wide, but in practice my husband and I share 100-120 cm« From an Austrian parenting forum.
Our whole family sleeps together in a family bed.
Jacky Nobels, influencer and photographer, The Netherlands
196 celebrities in 32 countries have spoken about sleeping with their children. Every statement has been checked against its source.
of British adult couples living together slept separately in 2020, compared with 7% in 2009. Among couples with two children, the figure was 8% (2020).
Every figure links to its source. We keep research, searches and comments separate, so you can always see what each figure is based on.
Choose a country to see everything we’ve found about it, all in one place. The figures come from the chapters above, and for most countries, figures are only available in some of them.
We have data on United Kingdom for 13 of the atlas's 13 topics.
In United Kingdom, people search Google for co-sleeping and family bed 317 times a year for every 1,000 children born. That puts the country at number 9 out of 26 European countries. The most searched term is “how to co sleep safely”. Searches peak in January. Of all searches for co-sleeping and sleep training combined, 73% are about sleep training.
View chapterOn Google in United Kingdom, interest in »co sleeping« (co-sleeping) has 2.2 times as high in 2025 as in 2012.
View chapterUnited Kingdom ranks 11 out of the 26 countries by wealth, measured by GDP per capita in 2025. 8.7% of children live in overcrowded homes (2018). There are 317 Google searches for co-sleeping and family bed each year per 1,000 children born, ranking the country 9 out of 26.
View chapterWhen people search for co-sleeping in english, 20% of Google's suggestions relate to the child's age, such as how long you can co-sleep. In United Kingdom, Google suggests questions about children as old as 10.
View chapterIn United Kingdom, 5.0% of children aged 0 to 3 slept in their parents’ bed in a large survey conducted between 2006 and 2008. The country ranks 17 out of the 17 countries in the study, with the country where the most children slept in their parents’ bed ranked first.
View chapterIn 1805, the writer Dorothy Wordsworth wrote that her two-year-old nephew slept with her, and a historian concludes that children apparently often shared beds at the time. Sharing a bed as a family was the norm in the UK and the US until less than 200 years ago (Helen Ball's sleep centre at Durham University, Basis, 2025).
View chapterOf the 121 studies in the research overview, 7 are from United Kingdom. They are marked with a dark ring in the chapter overview.
The official guidance in United Kingdom falls into the category “guidance on safer co-sleeping”. How long it applies: No fixed age limit from NICE (the UK health institute); same room for 6 months according to the NHS (the UK health service).
»Discuss with parents safer practices for bed sharing«Discuss safer bed-sharing with parents.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 20/4-2021, opdateret 9/6-2026 · Source
View chapterWe've read what 6 organisations in United Kingdom say about bed-sharing: 3 say a separate bed is safest but offer advice to those who share a bed, 1 call it a choice and offer advice on making it safer and 2 takes no position.
View chapterOf the comments in english that express a view for or against co-sleeping, 25.8% are against it. This figure is based on 1,567 comments in english that express a view for or against co-sleeping. Anyone writing in english is included, regardless of where they live.
View chapterThe chapter quotes parents from United Kingdom discussing school-age children in the bed on open parenting forums.
View chapterWe found 11 celebrities from United Kingdom who have spoken about co-sleeping with their children. 5 of them appear on the quote wall in their own words.
»[Daughter] often sleeps in my bed.«
Kerry Katona, singer and tv personality · Source
»I love it! One day they won't want to sleep next to me or even be anywhere near me, so I'm enjoying it.«
Frankie Bridge, singer · Source
View chapterUnited Kingdom: 15% of couples who live together sleep apart (YouGov for the National Bed Federation 2020). 78% af hundeejerne deler seng med hunden (Rover 2024, 1,000 owners). 47% af hundeejerne sover hver nat i samme seng som hunden (Petplan, year not stated). 37% af katteejerne sover hver nat i samme seng som katten (Petplan, year not stated). 44% af hunde- og katteejerne deler seng med dyret (YouGov 2025).
View chapter