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
Denmark: 364 searches per 1,000 children born, ranking 8 out of 26
All about DenmarkEach 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 Denmark for 13 of the atlas's 13 topics.
In Denmark, people search Google for co-sleeping and family bed 364 times a year for every 1,000 children born. That puts the country at number 8 out of 26 European countries. The most searched term is “familieseng”. Searches peak in January. Of all searches for co-sleeping and sleep training combined, 44% are about sleep training.
View chapterOn Google in Denmark, interest in »samsovning« (co-sleeping) has roughly the same in 2025 as in 2019 (Google data is only available from 2019 onwards). Search volumes for the term are low in Denmark, so the graph varies from year to year. Google does not provide a long-term graph for the term ‘family bed’ in Denmark.
View chapterDenmark ranks 5 out of the 26 countries by wealth, measured by GDP per capita in 2025. 12.6% of children live in overcrowded homes (2025). There are 364 Google searches for co-sleeping and family bed each year per 1,000 children born, ranking the country 8 out of 26.
View chapterWhen people search for co-sleeping in danish, 30% of Google's suggestions relate to the child's age, such as how long you can co-sleep. In Denmark, Google suggests questions about children as old as 10.
View chapter13 % of 1,012 parents with children aged 0-17 living at home typically sleep in the same bed as at least one of their children (0-17 years; Survey conducted 6-9 December 2019). 23 % of parents of 3-4-year-olds typically sleep in the same bed as their child. The group sizes are not reported (3-4 years; Separate breakdown from the same survey (2019)). This was measured differently from the other countries, so the figures cannot be compared directly.
View chapterThe ideal of sleeping alone dates back to the early 19th century. Before then, beds were shared by at least two people, and often more (Mikkel Venborg Pedersen, Videnskab.dk, 2017). Living space today: 12.6% of children in Denmark live in overcrowded homes, meaning their home has too few rooms for the family under the EU definition. Across the EU, the figure is 25.3%. Families with children in Denmark have an average of 150.7 m² of living space. Across the EU, the average is 112.9 m².
View chapterOf the 121 studies in the research overview, 1 is from Denmark. It is marked with a dark ring in the chapter overview.
The official guidance in Denmark falls into the category “same room, not the same bed”. How long it applies: The first 6 months in particular, preferably the entire first year.
»Sundhedsstyrelsen anbefaler også, at et spædbarn sover i sin egen seng i samme rum som forældrene.«Sundhedsstyrelsen, 28/11-2025 · Source
View chapterWe've read what 2 organisations in Denmark say about bed-sharing: 2 advise against sharing a bed with a baby.
View chapterOf the comments in danish that express a view for or against co-sleeping, 8.6% are against it. This figure is based on 429 comments in danish that express a view for or against co-sleeping. Anyone writing in danish is included, regardless of where they live.
View chapterIn Denmark, 74% of parents believe every child should have a room of their own, yet 27% sleep in the same room or bed as at least one child (YouGov for Bolius, December 2019).
View chapterWe found 17 celebrities from Denmark who have spoken about co-sleeping with their children. 3 of them appear on the quote wall in their own words.
»Vi kysser og krammer børnene, og vi holder dem også tæt, når vi samsover.«
Mikkel Kryger, tv presenter · Source
»Vi har haft et fælles ståsted i forhold til, at vi har villet være sammen med vores børn så meget som muligt«
Mikkel Kryger, tv presenter · Source
View chapterIn Denmark, 44% of dog owners let their dog sleep in their bed, and 55% of cat owners let their cat do the same (Dyson 2022). For comparison: 13% of 1,012 parents with children aged 0-17 living at home typically share a bed with at least one child (YouGov for Bolius, surveyed 6-9 December 2019); 23% of parents of 3- to 4-year-olds (separate data cut cited by Sovende Børn, group sizes not reported).
View chapter