Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Alabama Parents Spark Debate Over 'Co-Sleeping' With Their 6 And 12-Year-Old Daughters

Brandon Deal and McKenzi Deal
@deal_family / TikTok

TikTokers the Deal family revealed their unusual 'co-sleeping' arrangement with their two daughters, chalking it up to 'Southern parenting.'

Many people are changing the way they do parenting nowadays, as experts urge a gentler approach than what many Gen X'ers, Millennials and Gen Z'ers received.

But family influencers the Deal Family have sparked quite a bit of controversy for their unorthodox approach to the "co-sleeping" trend that has come to the forefront in recent years, in which parents and kids share either a bed, a bedroom, or both.


But as the family patriarch Brandon Deal revealed in a recent TikTok, the Deals take co-sleeping to a whole new level: co-sleeping as an entire family, including their 12-year-old daughter McKenzi.

@deal_family

Anyone else co-sleep?? #cosleeping #familygoals #parentsoftiktok

As he revealed, Brandon, his wife Meagan, their six-year-old daughter Sarah Grace and 12-year-old daughter McKenzi all sleep together, Sarah Grace in the bed with her parents and McKenzi in a twin bed that sits at the foot of the Deals' king-size bed.

Asked why she still prefers to co-sleep, McKenzi, who is deaf, said it "feels a little safer" to her.

Their video instantly went viral, in part because many people find it a very strange practice to continue co-sleeping so late in life. But Brandon told Insider that it's a common practice in the South, where they live.

Deal told the website:

"I think Southern parenting is just completely different than Northern parenting."

Meagan agreed, telling Insider:

"I always thought that kids just did that because all of my friends slept with their parents off and on."

Co-sleeping is thought to have both emotional and physical health effects. For instance, it is thought that babies sharing a room with their parents helps them to regulate their breathing and may reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.

Most pediatricians say babies should never share a bed before a child's first birthday due to safety concerns, and that co-sleeping should end by prepuberty.

Both the Deal's children have their own bedrooms, but Brandon told Insider that they both end up coming back to their parents' bedroom any time they try to sleep in their own rooms.

The Deal Family's take on co-sleeping has definitely gotten a lot of people talking.

@michelle_jaylee/TikTok

@claytonofatl/TikTok

@h.white87/TikTok

@baj5739/TikTok

@suzannebrandtvandeweghe/TikTok

@lauren_lu1/TikTok

@pjgraham71/TikTok

@elizabethann_222/TikTok

@soapboxmusings/TikTok

@sashita_bonita/TikTok

Despite all the uproar it generated, the Deals insist that co-sleeping is the norm in Alabama where they live.

As Meagan put it to Insider:

"It's just so normal around here that I'm shocked that so many people have not heard about it."

As many have pointed out on TikTok, families sleeping together was the norm for most of human history until recently. Maybe the Deals really are onto something?

More from Trending

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic
Disney/Marvel Studios

Pedro Pascal Adjusts Accent

Pedro Pascal was advised to tone down the Mid-Atlantic accent for his upcoming role as the stretchy Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards in Fantastic Four: First Steps.

In a video interview with Vanity Fair, he reflected on his past and current work and talked about working with a dialect coach for the Marvel movie, which is set to premiere on July 25th.

Keep ReadingShow less
Country Singer Gavin Adcock went on a drunken rant over Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" success.
Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Country singer rants over Beyoncé album

Country singer Gavin Adcock became the title of his next album, “Own Worst Enemy,” after going on an unhinged rant about the legitimacy of Beyoncé's Grammy-winning and record-breaking Cowboy Carter in the country music genre.

Adcock, whose upcoming album is set for release next month, was filmed during a live performance last weekend, complaining that Beyoncé and her album are not “country music.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Dionne Warwick; Tiny Chef
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images; @ToonHive/X

Dionne Warwick Is Ready To Go To War With Nickelodeon Over 'Tiny Chef' Cancellation

You know your campaign against a show's cancellation is achieving widespread attention when you get people like venerated singer Dionne Warwick advocating for you.

Nickelodeon's The Tiny Chef Show was recently cancelled, much to the dismay of its viewers and creators. It was also a genuinely surprising decision, since the show has won an Emmy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman relaxing in sunhat and sunglasses
Photo by Jordan Bauer on Unsplash

People Explain Which 'Small Luxuries' They Can't Live Without

Many of us have committed to being fairly financially frugal and not overspending on silly, unnecessary things.

That is to say, sometimes, it's fun to splurge on something one time to see what it's like to experience that small luxury.

Keep ReadingShow less
two women in emotional distress seated on couch
Ben White on Unsplash

People Who've Experienced Grief Share The Most Tone-Deaf Things They've Heard

Grief, loss, trauma are all part of life. But for most people, the emotions and reactions that go with them are difficult to witness.

So they rely on platitudes to fill any holes in conversation. That's rarely a good idea.

Keep ReadingShow less