An Alabama couple have defended their unusual parenting choices after revealing they still sleep with their two children despite one of them being on the brink of her teenage years.
Brandon Deal and his wife Meagan still co-sleep with their two daughters, McKenzi, 12, and Sarah Grace, six, but insist there is nothing strange about it.
“I’ll show you how it’s done,” the patriarch said in one recent TikTok videobefore giving viewers an overview of how their sleeping arrangement works.
Brandon scoffed at those who thought the family of four was “piling on one bed” – saying, “that’s not the case.”
Brandon Deal (pictured) defended his parenting choices after revealing he and wife Meagan still sleep with their two children – despite the fact she’s almost a teenager
Brandon mocked those who thought the family of four were ‘piling on one bed’ – saying ‘that’s not the case’, and shared that McKenzi has her own bed
“I’ll show you how it’s done,” he said in the clip, which has been viewed more than 5.2 million times.
Brandon then showed viewers their king-sized bed, saying he sleeps on the left, his wife in the middle and their six-year-old daughter Sarah on the right.
At the foot of their bed they have a double bed for their daughter McKenzi, with Brandon insisting she likes to sleep there.
McKenzi, who became deaf when she was about three and uses a hearing aid, said she likes to sleep in the same room as her parents because it makes her feel “safer.”
Brandon said they haven’t figured out yet where Sarah Grace will sleep when she gets older, but they are open to ideas.
“We’ll find out when we get there,” he said.
In a Youtube video, Brandon and Meagan explained that they have always co-slept with their children, ever since McKenzi was a baby, as she was high risk and Brandon was in the military at the time, so the mother-daughter duo shared a bed. .
“McKenzi doesn’t feel 100 percent comfortable sleeping in her own room,” Brandon explained.
Brandon then showed viewers their king-sized bed, saying he sleeps on the left, his wife in the middle and their six-year-old daughter Sarah on the right.
Brandon said they haven’t figured out yet where Sarah Grace will sleep when she gets older, but they are open to exploring ideas.
At the foot of their bed they have a single bed for their daughter McKenzi, who became deaf at the age of three – with Brandon insisting she likes to sleep there
Commenters were divided on whether this was a normal practice or an odd parenting decision
At age 10, McKenzi transitioned to sleeping alone in a bed, but still in the same room as her parents.
The girls both have their own room, but prefer to share a room with the rest of their family.
Their unusual sleeping arrangement has baffled many people, who flooded their TikToks with comments about the family.
“I can barely handle sleeping with my husband,” one woman joked.
“When you said co-sleeping I thought it was with little ones but that’s a full on teenager,” one incredulous TikTok user wrote.
“No limits,” declared another. “Mom and dad’s bedroom is for sleep and fun, and the kids have their own room for a reason.”
Others didn’t see the problem, some said they did the same with their own children, or grew up in a family that co-slept.
“We co-slept until my kids decided they wanted their own bed,” one mother noted. “They are now healthy, mature adults with no co-dependency issues.”
Yeah, we sleep together too,” said another. “I just don’t like the idea of my kids being in another room all night because what if something happens.”