{"id":805413,"date":"2025-11-06T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T21:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cafemom.com\/?p=805413"},"modified":"2025-11-06T15:35:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T20:35:51","slug":"mom-has-been-letting-her-son-sleep-in-a-cardboard-box-for-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafemom.com\/parenting\/mom-has-been-letting-her-son-sleep-in-a-cardboard-box-for-years","title":{"rendered":"Mom Has Been Letting Her Son Sleep in a Cardboard Box for Years & She Doesn’t Feel Even a Little Bad About It"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a 4-year-old asked his mom if he could sleep in a cardboard box, she couldn’t think of a reason to say “no” to him<\/a>. Although it might seem like an unconventional choice, it served as a reminder about the importance of giving a child autonomy and taking their ideas seriously<\/a>.<\/p>

In early 2021, Susie Allison (@BusyToddler on Instagram) explained that when her son asked her if he could sleep in a dryer box, she paused before answering. After thinking about it, she concluded that the request was definitely “unusual,” but “it wasn’t a dangerous request, it didn’t topple family systems, it wasn’t complex or expensive or time consuming.”<\/p>

With all that in mind, she didn’t have a good reason to say “no” to her child — so she said “yes.” In that post, the mom explained<\/a>, “The thing is: I had no reason to say no…so instead of inventing one through the ‘what if’ game of parenting (what if he sleeps bad, what if the other kids want one, what if it’s a problem…), I said yes. A simple, easy, (I knew I could say no the next night if it was a bust) yes.”<\/p>

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A post shared by Susie Allison, M. Ed | Busy Toddler (@busytoddler)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>