Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard's kids sleep in their bedroom. Should you do it, too?
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard on the red carpet, 2014.
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell have never been shy about their parenting strategies. The couple caused a stir last year when Bell said she’ll wait up to five or six days before bathing her girls depending on whether they smell or not.
“I'm a big fan of waiting for the stink,” she said jokingly, according to E.T. Online. “Once you catch a whiff, that's biology's way of letting you know you need to clean it up."
Bell also admitted the sex talk she attempted with her daughters fell on deaf ears because it was so boring. Bell and Shepard have two daughters, Lincoln, 8, and Delta, 7.
On Monday's episode of Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, the couple admitted they let their daughters sleep in their room. “You know the girls sleep on the floor of our bedroom,” she said, according to Yahoo.
The admission came before the couple shared a story of a mysterious smell that took over their bedroom. “A few nights ago, I smell a really raunchy smell, and I’m like, ‘Who’s farting?’” she said. “All three of them are like, ‘Sorry, it’s me.’ So, I’m like, OK, my family has gas.
“In the morning, I’m like, wow, nobody’s gas has dissipated. But it also smells like it’s burning,” she continued.
Bell washed the sheets of the bed and opened some windows in the room, but the smell persisted. The next day, Bell finally realized that it was the Ooler mattress pad. Oolers need water to work and Shepard accidentally poured a protein shake inside instead.
As a parent, I gotta say that the idea of sharing my wife and I’s bedroom with two kids every night sounds like a bad idea. First, it's hard enough to get a good night’s sleep with another person and a dog in the bed, but a pair of kids adds another dimension of disruptions.
That’s two more people waking up to go to the bathroom, tossing and turning, and passing gas.
Bell and Shepard’s story raises an important question: Is co-sleeping good for kids?
According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), as many as 24% of parents have their children sleep in their beds for at least part of the night.
"There are two reasons for co-sleeping," NSF spokeswoman Jodi Mindell, author of “Sleeping Through the Night,” says. "One is a family lifestyle decision; it's important to the parents. Reason two is reactive co-sleeping. You don't really want them there, but it's easier than having to solve a problem at 2 a.m. No matter which you do, at some point, you'll want to make a change."
Lynelle Schneeberg, Psy.D., director of the behavioral sleep program at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, told Parents.com that even though there are some benefits to co-sleeping, it’s much more important to raise children who are confident, independent sleepers.
Dr. Schneeberg says that children who go to bed in their parents’ room can develop a sleep crutch that makes it difficult for them to fall asleep when they’re alone.
"They may be misdiagnosed as anxious because, since they have a hard time falling asleep without a parent nearby, they sometimes display anxious behaviors to convince a parent to stay nearby at bedtime," Dr. Schneeberg explained.
It can be tough for the parents' relationship as well.
"I've seen many families in which one parent—most often, the father—ends up sleeping in a different room entirely," she said. "The parent with the children often becomes exhausted by either the restless sleep of the kids or the needs of each kid after an awakening."
Obviously, Bell and Shepard know what’s right for their family so we’re not judging them as parents. But their story is a great excuse to discuss the issue of sleep because it plays such a big role in our physical and mental health.
And as a parent, I know that there’s nothing better for your mental health than having a child who sleeps through the night. In their own room.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."