[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Well exactly, it's not "normal" and its not just because he's used to it and won't stop, things change as children approach adolescence and it would be normal for them to naturally start to want privacy.

The fact that he hasn't, and especially the wetting + aggression, suggests there's a much deeper issue with this boy than the simple fact that he has been bedsharing. It sounds like he has a serious fear of sleeping alone - and a fear like that isn't borne from "never having slept alone", its much more likely that he HAS slept alone and whilst doing so something has happened that's been traumatic and triggered this fear.

Like any fear really. Most people who are scared of flying for example, it's not because they've never flown. It's because one of the first times they did fly, something happened that terrified them (bad turbulence, scary crosswinds on landing etc).

Like I said, if a young child is scared alone and you just force them to sleep alone anyway, that's not going to solve anything, it's going to make it into a bigger and longer lasting issue.

...hmmm, I'm not sure whether there would have definitely been an 'incident' involved, obviously it's a possibility but it's also perfectly 'normal' for children to have fears of the dark/night time etc...'imaginary monsters'...?...but as they sleep in their beds, over time they start to realise that they're safe and those 'monsters' in their heads gradually disappear...if they never have had to sleep alone, then they haven't experienced that security of knowing they're safe other than the feeling that it's their parent/mum's presence that is keeping them safe..?..and as they get older and into adolescence, which is a very confusing time anyway, those fears could just increase so it's hard to dispel the 'monster', and that I think could well lead to real anxiety issues in their lives....