Having your precious children nearby in case of fire, burglar, natural disaster, etc is crucial in my world & family dynamic. I bed-shared with #1 since birth until baby #2 was born and #1 was almost 6 years old. She now sleeps on a bed at the foot of our queen bed and baby #2 (2 months) has been sleeping in our bed since we brought him home.
There was an article which brought up facts from a study done saying that things American parents are doing to their children are having lasting problems with their children's emotional well being. Americas are least likely to breastfed, least likely to cater to biological designs of infants needing to be close to their Mothers until they can walk, more likely to use daycares (mainly due to financial need, sadly, not from choice), etc...
If you enjoy knowing your breastfeeding child is nearby and your oldest child is also nearby - there is nothing wrong with that... I'd be more likely to think there was something wrong with you if you forced your children to be on another floor or a far away bedroom. CO-sleeping and bed-sharing was the norm for most of humanity's history for a reason, not because they didn't own 3-4 bedroom homes! Just because you have extra rooms, doesn't mean your young vulnerable, scared children have to fill them.
here's the link:
http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/127254/mainstream_parenti...