co-sleeping - the islamic perspective

Well, I started to think and finally research about that after our neighbour came over today. Our neighbour is an old lady who is actually just few years older than my mommy and she comes to visit my mother in law a lot, daily almost. Since Mesut is with us she comes to see him too and never misses to give some comment:
- ah, when ever I see him sleeping you are holding him, he should sleep alone.
- what he sleeps with you in the same bed? you will kill him because you will roll on top of him while sleeping!
- ...
I don't intend to comment on these statements now and when she is talking I just nod and smile...
Usually I will forget what she said after about 5 minutes, but today she kept me busy for quite some time and even made me google!
She said:
- You should not sleep with your baby in the same bed, it is HARAM (forbidden in Islam)!
This sentence turned all my lights on!
once because I could not imagine that this was true and twice because to say something is actually haram is a big thing and comes with the risk of loading a sin on the one who states something haram that is halal (allowed in islam).
I asked her who said that and she said it was written in the holy Quran..
Well, anyway her statement stayed in my head and made me research:
Alltough in Quran or Sunnah there is no statement about co-sleeping as such, children should sleep seperately once they reach "the age of reason" which is according to the Hadith narrated in Abu Dawud about 10 years.
"Order your children to observe Salat when they reach the age of seven and spank them for not observing it when they reach the age of ten, and arrange their beds (for sleeping) separately." (Abu Dawud)
some define the age of reason as the age once the child knows what is his right and what is his left hand.
So there is totally no restriction about having your baby sleep in the same bed as his parents, in fact it is only beneficial for the baby (decreased risk of sudden infant death, less waking in the night and therefor better sleep without crying), for the mother (more sleep) and for the relation between them. Even for the father-baby relation it is very beneficial that both feel the proximity during the night and be greeted by a smile first thing in the morning.