A mum has revealed she sleeps in bed alongside her son – just like I'm A Celebrity star Josie Gibson.
Natalie Rushton, 38, who is mum to, Dylan, nine, has shared a bed with him since he was born. She says he's the 'only man in her life'
Despite encouraging her son to go into his own room at age four, Dylan has continued to opt to share with his mum. This comes off the back of This Morning presenter Josie's recent revelation that her five-year-old son, Reggie, still sleeps in her bed and "will be until he is 18".
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Whilst single-mum Natalie backs Josie normalising co-sleeping, she "fully accepts" Dylan might not want to do the same. Natalie, a receptionist from Lytham St Annes, Blackpool, said: "Dylan has always shared a bed with me because it's always just been us two. He sleeps better when with me which means I get more hours, it's a win-win really.
"Dylan is the only man in my life and I love it. Obviously, every parent is different but if this style works for you, you shouldn't be judged. Some of my family say it's weird, but I don't care.
"Dylan has always had his own room with his own bed, but he prefers to sleep in with me. I'll let him sleep with me until he likes but I know that it probably won't be until he's 18 like Josie's Reggie. I'm just cashing in all the cuddles I can now because one day he will turn into a grumpy teenager!"
Natalie, who has full custody of her son, knows her parenting choice isn't for everyone but says she ''doesn't care because he's not their son". When she had Dylan back in June 2014, she was living with her parents in Lytham St Annes, before they moved into their current home in the same area, when Dlyan turned one.
Natalie, a mum-of-one, says she encouraged her son to sleep in his own bed when starting school in 2018, however he chose not to. "Since we've had our little home, Dylan has always had his own room," she said. "When he started school, I was worried that he might get picked on by the other children for sharing a bed with his mum, but he hasn't.
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"I think children don't really care about these things as much as the adults in my life who seem to have an opinion. Natalie said the other mums at school have been nothing but supportive, but that she 'wouldn't really care if they weren't'.
The mum says Dylan will 'occasionally' start off in his room, but then he'll jump in with her in the middle of the night. "Being a single mum is hard; you're trying to do the job of both parents, so I feel grateful for how close we are," she said. "What kind of parent wouldn't want to be close with their child?
"He's the only child I'll ever have, and I want to make the very most of these years because kids grow up so fast. I'm not actively looking for a partner, but if I were to have a man in my life, I'd be totally open with the co-sleeping situation. I'm not afraid of what they'd think and they'd have to be okay with it because Dylan is my life.
TV presenter Josie, 38, told OK Magazine back in September that son Reggie, five, sleeps in bed with her every nigh. Josie separated from Reggie's dad just three month's after she gave birth in 2018. As a solo parent, Josie says her and her son share a close-knit bond.
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