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Waking up to where children sleep around the world

My husband and I have been shopping around for a big-boy bed for our son, Tyler. You know, it’s time.I’ve been checking out Costco’s website (because I love Costco), and Overstock.com (because I love bargains). I’ve been mildly fretting over which theme to use in Tyler’s room. He LOVES cars and trucks, right? But can we get away with generic cars and trucks? Should we make sure he never
Li, 10, lives in Beijing, China. She's one of the subjects in James Mollison's \"Where Children Sleep.\"
Li, 10, lives in Beijing, China. She's one of the subjects in James Mollison's \"Where Children Sleep.\"James Mollison / Today

My husband and I have been shopping around for a big-boy bed for our son, Tyler. You know, it’s time.

I’ve been checking out Costco’s website (because I love Costco), and Overstock.com (because I love bargains). I’ve been mildly fretting over which theme to use in Tyler’s room. He LOVES cars and trucks, right? But can we get away with generic cars and trucks? Should we make sure he never understands that it actually would be possible to deck out his entire room to resemble the set of the movie “Cars”?

Right around this same time, what do I stumble upon? The photography book “Where Children Sleep” by James Mollison. This book is, to say the least, a wee bit humbling for a mom raising a child in the Western world and fretting over duvet covers. 

Mollison spent more than three years traveling the world and capturing images of what he characterizes as children’s “personal kingdoms” – their bedrooms. The photos reveal vast contrasts between the lives of kids in America, Asia, Africa, the West Bank and other locations, but similarities as well – and WOW, do they pack a poignant wallop. 

Alex, 9, sleeps on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Alex, 9, sleeps on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.James Mollison / Today

Many of the children photographed for the book are desperately poor, and a significant percentage don’t have bedrooms of their own – or rooms that they share with other siblings. Alex, a homeless 9-year-old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, sleeps outside on an empty bench or discarded sofa if he’s able to find one. Otherwise, his bed is the pavement. 

All the photos in “Where Children Sleep” are accompanied by substantial captions that are written simply enough for a child to understand. The captions contain information about all the kids’ hopes, dreams and goals in life – so you get to know them and understand how they feel. 

I interviewed Mollison and wrote a story about his project here. His photographs affected me so deeply that I've purchased several copies of "Where Children Sleep" for myself and my close mom friends. I'm hoping to use mine, not as an inducement for guilt, but to introduce Tyler to children all over the planet and talk with him about the world in which we live.