- Ice-T revealed that he and his wife Coco Austin still share a bed with their 7-year-old daughter.
- The couple have also received backlash in the past for some of their other parenting choices.
Ice-T and Coco Austin are no strangers to controversy when it comes to raising their 7-year-old daughter, Chanel. The couple previously drew the internet's ire for breastfeeding Chanel when she was three, bathing her in a sink when she was six, and Coco sleeping topless in the same bed as Chanel when she was a toddler.
Despite the backlash, the couple hasn't stopped sharing a bed with their child. In fact, on a recent podcast episode of "That Moment with Daymond John," Ice-T told the host that Chanel "still sleeps" in the same bed as her parents.
It's not the first time a celebrity admitted to co-sleeping with an older child — last year, Alicia Silverstone was criticized for sharing a bed with her 11-year-old son.
Experts said that co-sleeping can have some benefits
Dr. Rebecca Fisk, a pediatrician at Lenox Hill Hospital at Northwell Health in New York, previously told Insider that "sharing a bed with your child is a personal decision, not a medical decision," so long as the child is over a year of age to reduce the chances of SIDS and suffocation.
Elizabeth Matheis, a licensed clinical psychologist at Psychological and Educational Consulting, LLC, also previously told Insider that different backgrounds and cultures will dictate "what works for you and your family," and that co-sleeping can even help children feel comforted during transitional life events like divorce.
Ice-T said that his bond with daughter Chanel is very close. "I am so much more connected to her than my other kids," he said about Letesha, 47, and Tracy, 31, from his previous relationships.
Poor sleep quality and adolescence should be signs it's time to stop co-sleeping
Parents should be on the lookout for natural signs that it's time to stop co-sleeping. Fisk said that co-sleeping can cause disruptions in sleep for the child and the parent, so at some point other workarounds — like putting a mattress in the same room — might be needed to offer the child a similar sense of security without compromising on sleep.
But the biggest factor in deciding when to stop is prepuberty or adolescence, when children start to develop sex characteristics like body hair and breasts. Both experts said that this should be when you stop sharing a bed with your child.
Puberty can start at vastly different times for children. For girls, the age range averages about 8-13, though ages 8-10 would be considered a lower-than-average start point.