A dad has written a touching post telling other parents why he doesn’t judge his wife for co-sleeping with their two kids at night.
David Brinkley, from the US, overheard a conversation his partner had with her friends about co-sleeping. He heard one of the friends mention the fact he must “hate” that his wife wants the kids in the bed with her.
“This blew my mind and has bothered me for days,” Brinkley shared on the Love What Matters Facebook page on 3 April.
“So I just decided to come out as a man and set a few things straight. I do not hate any part of what makes my wife the mother that she is.
“I would NEVER degrade or disregard anything that she feels like doing for my children.”
Brinkley continued: “Do I have to squeeze into a small corner of the bed sometimes? Yeah. But my God how beautiful does she look holding my children making them feel loved and safe?
“The thing is, our wives only experience these little seasons in motherhood for a short time. They carry our babies, they birth them, they nurture them and maybe while they are little they let them crawl into our beds and snuggle.
“But eventually our babies get bigger they grow up they get ‘too cool’ for snuggles so why would we as men want to steal a single second of this time from them?
“Being mothers is part of their identity and what’s a year or three out of decades of life spent together?”
The dad added that he was “proud” of the decisions his wife makes as a mum and he supports every single one of them.
“I would never want to rob her of this time she has or these seasons that are in reality, too short to not enjoy,” he added. “Please respect your wives as mothers.”
In less than 24 hours, the post had 22,000 shares and more than 110,000 likes.
“To have a man who cares so deeply about his partner and children is the most beautiful thing on earth I think,” one person wrote.
Another commented: Beautiful picture... people really are to quick to judge anyone who lets their child in their bed. Life is way too short so enjoy the snuggles.”
A dad also commented: “As a dad of five, we always have at least one in our bed and we embrace it with open arms and pillows.
“It is such a great feeling to know that my kids still like to have mummy and daddy time.”