Breastfeeding a six year old: horrifying or loving bond?

[Liberal_in_LA]

Amanda breastfeeds her six-year-old in tandem with her newborn - horrifying or a loving bond?



Another cold winter’s morning in the South ­Yorkshire village of Hemingfield and Amanda Hurst has a hungry son to feed. There’s a chill in the air, even inside the tiny stone-fronted house. So rather than get out of bed, Amanda cradles five-month-old William under one arm, lifts up her pyjama top and breakfast begins.

Then a sleepy-eyed little boy pads on bare feet across the floor and clambers onto the bed, asking in the ­precise tones of a child — not a toddler — whether he can have some ‘lellow’ too.

The little boy is Jonathan and he is six. ‘Lellow’ is a special made up word he uses for breast milk.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1336979/Breastfeeding-year-old-tandem-newborn--horrifying-loving-bond.html#ixzz17eN2ZhXk

[tammywammy]

1. ....

:popcorn:

[tekisui]

2. Is this seat taken?

:popcorn:

[walldude]

11. Let me join you guys..

I'm staying out of this one...

:popcorn:

[NoPasaran]

59. Mind if I smoke?

:popcorn:

[walldude]

134. As long as you share

:)

[JoePhilly]

212. Did you mean ... "Is this teat taken?"

[tekisui]

244. Hahaha

:toast:

[cali]

3. only if it's at Olive Garden

[11 Bravo]

50. And the little boy is circumcised.

[leeroysphitz]

208. She also breast feeds her pit bull while eating cheese sandwiches.

[David Zephyr]

336. and sharing a Happy Meal.

:)

[Hannah Bell]

4. no big deal, i know several moms who do something similar. the kids wean themselves.

by the time they're 6 it's strictly for comfort.

what's the problem for anyone else?

[seabeyond]

16. really? you know several? i dont know one. hm. nt

[Hannah Bell]

33. so?

[seabeyond]

35. yup. nt

[Hannah Bell]

42. yup - what? you don't know any mothers who do it, i do. one is family.

so what?

you think the fact that you don't know anyone who does this means that i'm fibbing?

lol.

i have a family member who's in the new-age mothering demographic & associates with those types.

[seabeyond]

47. yup to your so. nt

[Hannah Bell]

49. and your point?

[seabeyond]

82. lol. my astonishment that you know several who breast feed 6 yr olds when i dont know one woman

that breast feeds a 6 yr old was met with a so. in other words, what does it matter that you know several adn i know none. i was agreeing with your so. you are right. it matters not that you know several woman breast feeding 6 yr olds when i know no woman that ever has, is, feeding a 6 yr old.

[Hannah Bell]

102. what does it matter that you don't know anyone?

[seabeyond]

104. what does it matter you know several, lol? nt

[Hannah Bell]

115. because i actually know something about the topic instead of jerking my knee?

[seabeyond]

116. i am being knee jerkin for saying i know no one? i cant be simply amazed that you know several

and i know no one.

that is fine hannah.

why are you making such a to do that you know several women that breast feed their 6 yr old, and i know no one that breast feeds a 6 yr old.

and those several people? what is the cutoff age. 6? 7/ 10? curious. since you know several you should have the answer.

[Hannah Bell]

123. they tend to self-wean (go off the breast) at 3-5 y/o. thereafter the occasional comfort feed.

it's no big deal.

the article hypes it without providing any light on what actually happens.

maybe you should read this:

In societies where children are allowed to nurse "as long as they want" they usually self-wean, with no arguments or emotional trauma, between 3 and 4 years of age.

1. In a group of 21 species of non-human primates (monkeys and apes) studied by Holly Smith, she found that the offspring were weaned at the same time they were getting their first permanent

2. It has been common for pediatricians to claim that length of gestation is approximately equal to length of nursing in many species, suggesting a weaning age of 9 months for humans.

However, this relationship turns out to be affected by how large the adult animals are -- the larger the adults, the longer the length of breastfeeding relative to gestation.

For chimpanzees and gorillas, the two primates closest in size to humans and also the most closely genetically related, the relationship is 6 to 1.

That is to say, they nurse their offspring for SIX times the length of gestation (actually 6.1 for chimps and 6.4 for gorillas, with humans mid-way in size between these two). In humans, that would be: 4.5 years of nursing (six times the 9 months of gestation).

3. It has been common for pediatricians to claim that most mammals wean their offspring when they have tripled their birth weight, suggesting a weaning age of 1 year in humans. Again though, this is affected by body weight, with larger mammals nursing their offspring until they have quadrupled their birth weight. In humans, quadrupling of birth weight occurs between 2.5 and 3.5 years, usually.

4. One study of primates showed that the offspring were weaned when they had reached about 1/3 their adult weight. This happens in humans at about 5-7 years.

5. A comparison of weaning age and sexual maturity in non-human primates suggests a weaning age of 6-7 for humans (about half-way to reproductive maturity).

6. Studies have shown that a child's immune system doesn't completely mature until about 6 years of age, and it is well established that breast milk helps develop the immune system and augment it with maternal antibodies as long as breast milk is produced (up to two years, no studies have been done on breast milk composition after two years post partum).

And on and on. The minimum predicted age for a natural age of weaning in humans is 2.5 years, with a maximum of 7.0 years.

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

[Crunchy Frog]

128. Among the great apes they generally wean before the next offspring comes along.

It's not usually voluntary in the young either. Weaning tantrums are a feature of life for our nearest relatives.

I was planning and hoping to breastfeed until around age 2 with my guys. My breasts didn't cooperate though and we stopped completely by about 6 1/2 months. They seem to have pretty good immune systems still.

No chance at all that I would do it til 7 though. Unless we were in a concentration camp or something. But to each his/her own. :shrug:

[Hannah Bell]

140. Gorillas don't ovulate until a litter is weaned. Complete weaning = about 3-4 years.

The pattern is the same as in humans; the child comes less & less often to the breast once it is able to move about freely & feed itself.

#


For the first five months of life, infant mountain gorillas remain in constant contact with their mothers and females seek close proximity to their resident silverback for protection (Stewart 2001).

Because of their long period of development and dependence, gorilla mothers can expect to invest years caring for their vulnerable offspring.

During this period, infants are dependent on their mothers for food, suckling at least once per hour, and sleep at night in their mothers' nests (Stewart 1988).

After five months, mother-infant pairs break body contact, but only for a few seconds and by 12 months, infants venture up to, but never more than, five meters (16.4 ft) away from their mothers.

By 18 to 21 months, this distance between the pair is regular and increases (Fletcher 2001).

Concurrent with this decrease in proximity is a decrease in nursing frequency, with infants only nursing once every two hours (Stewart 1988). By the age of 30 months, infants spend only half of their time with their mothers.

...Because of the enormity of the task of rearing infants and the stress of lactation on the mother's body, female gorillas experience lactational amenorrhea until the infant is weaned at three or four years.

After the infant is weaned, the mother begins to ovulate and shortly thereafter becomes pregnant (Stewart 1988; 2001).


http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/gorilla/behav.

#


ps: if those are your kids they're cuties.

[seabeyond]

131. hanah bell. i let my boys run around naked as long as they wanted. caused some problems

hadnt even thought about other people and little kids naked, until a mom told me she would never allow family naked in their home. we showered together when boys were little. skin on skin was so important to oldest. not so much littlest. we listened to our babies, and what they needed. though not verbal, young, they certainly communicated. my MIL had to tell me to point the camera higher. all these little penis's in every shot. i had never even thought about it.

i restricted naked to back yard, until they put on clothes.

i understand all this stuff.

i still contend that the word "several" might have been a bet of exaggeration

what this woman does with her child is all hers to do and i dont give a flying hoot.

[Hannah Bell]

149. as i told you, i have a relative who is very involved in all this stuff.

i attend functions at their home with that group.

i know their children.

it was not an exaggeration.

if you are in such circles, you *will* know "several" people who have such practices.

i also know "several" people who gave birth at home. most people don't.

i know "several" people who don't use storebought diapers, who let their kids run naked, who gave birth in tubs of water, who homeschool, who don't vaccinate, who don't circumcize, who haven't cut their boy-child's hair since it was born, who stayed home with their child the first 3 months of life without visitors -- whatever practice you can think of r/t parenting, i know several people who do it. at least.

my cousin's child is 5 & still "nurses". what that amounts to is a couple of sucks at bedtime & the occasional nip when stressed. perfectly normal & very cute kid.

[nolabear]

188. Re #1. ROTFL!! I know it's a typo but it's a goodie!

[Hannah Bell]

191. lol. i clipped the rest of the sentence accidentally. their first permanent would be a late

weaning.

"permanent molars" about age 6.

[Inchworm]

279. lol

thank you.

I think that other feller/chick was looking for a fight :D

:hi:

[okieinpain]

305. hey do they give out phone numbers. n/t.

[TARAmisu80]

388. "new aged mothers"

I have quite a few friends who have gone to midwives with me for the birth of their children and labored completely naturally with use of hypnobirthing, etc. Many of them also breastfeed. Some of them use cloth diapers (g-diapers, etc). A couple of them have even opted out of getting certain immunizations for their children! Just because I know them, does not mean that I agree or see the logic in it. I personally see more harm to the child than good. Children need to get out of the "comfort" phase and if they cannot, it's the job of the parent. Pediatricians have been telling mothers to change from bottle to a sippy cup at approximately 1 year of age. I know many a parents who have attempted to do it with no initial success. It takes a lot of time, patience, and long nights in order to do so sometimes. Getting children to change a way of doing things or a habit takes work of the parent as well. It's seeming to me that those parents who state they're breastfeeding their children into that late of an age (when there's proven scientific studies that shows that after approximately 1 yr- 1 1/2 yrs old that the children no longer get anything really out of it health wise!) are just being lazy and not wanting to deal with a crying child, so rather they shove a boob in the mouth!!!

[seabeyond]

396. i grew up in calif and have been a part of the new age community for a good decade

and still, i dont know one that has gone beyond 3, 4. actually, i think three is it. and yes, i feel that there may be the not wanting to do battle. easier to just aqueous. being a parent i know that feeling. it generally does not behoove us causing later problems that are tougher to deal with, though.

[TARAmisu80]

405. agree

It's the laziness and lack of wanting to put up with the child that makes the parent not want to deal with it. Unfortunately, the child will later have problems with socializing, etc. I have read articles on it while at my midwife's office (will try to find to post as I know many on here want actual facts even if for nothing more than a conversation). Seems to me that Freud's theories will definitely come into play here. Going off of Freud, I'm going to guess that this child NEVER got out of the oral phase!!! I'm guessing child will constantly have something in their mouth when they get older- whether chewing on pens, erasers, etc... sorry- love freud!

[seabeyond]

406. i dont see it differently than having a pacifer in mouth at 6. we would all say that there are

developmental issues with that. but what bothers me with the laziness part of it is it denies the child an opportunity to learn to face these things at the young age they should be doing it. it is reinforcing at such a young age to get their way rather than doing the hard work. putting forth the effort to emotionally build character and ability. allowing the child to also have the upper hand in his raising instead of the parent. and to allow the child at 6 (my kids age spread much younger. oldest was two and half with second) to resolve the sibling rivalary with baby, so he gets to prevent dealing with the emotional resolution that even though the baby gets, he doesnt cause he is beyond, yet still he is loved equally.

i know it was hard for my oldest to accept new baby, as it is with all kids, i am sure. there was lots of love, and patience. but i remember clearly the time when my youngest was about 4 months, and we are all sittin on oldest bed. talking, playing, whatever. and my oldest said so clearly and in thought.... you CAN love us both.

my heart broke, and was filled with joy at the same time. the kid so quietly felt this possible lack all this time, yet was able to take that step forward realizing that our love was/is/would be there, always. he was able to put it to the side and move on. if i had coddled to reassure, allowing regression so he too could feel the baby... would he have had that opportunity.

[roguevalley]

94. me either. someone is a dipshit and needs a chat with their mother.

it isn't about breastfeeding. its about the child. Hey guys! I still breastfeed on my mommy! Yikes.

[Hannah Bell]

109. about the child? you're afraid the other 6 year olds will target the child

for breast feeding?

no, it's the other parents.

in the interest of the child - of course, oh, of course.

[tigereye]

203. I dunno, some kids might tease - it depends on the setting, I guess

I think it's less culturally acceptable in the US than other places, and brings out more squeamish responses. (why is an interesting question.) As for me, I have more problems with the "non-vaccine" crowd than folks who choose to breastfeed longer.


But that's another thread, entirely! :rofl:

[roguevalley]

274. actually, I taught first grade for eleven years. you can count on

the kids getting on this.

[Hannah Bell]

280. you can? how will they "get it" if nobody tells them?

[roguevalley]

353. actually, I was told about crimes their parents committed, poaching,

sex, fights including beatings, their beatings, their hunger, you name it. six year olds will tell someone they love anything. I loved them, they loved me. I heard it all. this woman is an asshole.

[Hannah Bell]

383. so it's you, the teacher, who will be mocking the kid for nursing? not sure

if i understand you right.

if the kid told you he nursed you'd mock him?

you'd tell the other kids?

just what are you saying here?

[roguevalley]

400. You didn't understand me right and I don't think you intended to.

let me say it in little short words. Kids tell. They tell each other, they tell me. I don't tell unless there is imminent danger because laws make me. For you to even THINK that I would tell shows me all I have to know about you. You really need help. Truly. AND I WOULD MOCK A KID WHO TOLD ME STUPID, ILLEGAL, DUMB SHIT?!?! HOw did you come to that conclusion?!? You really need help.

[Hannah Bell]

402. wow. breast feeding is illegal? i have no clue what you're going on about.

my question was very simple.

[roguevalley]

411. no, you are making a fool of yourself. I am talking about the

STUFF KIDS TELL ME. You accused me of mocking them. You are full of shit. Frankly, I don't give a shit about breastfeeding. You can do it or not and I don't care. I do care when YOU accuse ME of shit I never said. But then you have a problem and now you are blocked. Get some help. Truly.

[alphafemale]

354. Can you imagine the backwash from that sleepover? nt

[cali]

17. the problem is that she's made it very public

and the kid is going to reap what comes from that. Other than that, it's no big deal.

[TalkingDog]

28. Agreed

Our cultural discomfort is exactly that, cultural.

In other countries, mothers routinely breastfeed to 4+ years.

It can be good for the babies, good for the moms, so agreed, what's the issue.

[Ginto]

119. Several?

Nature once again serves as our teacher. Once they have teeth, it's time to wean.

[Hannah Bell]

156. yes, several. there are many lessons nature teaches, teeth are just one of them.

kids wean themselves. no need to make it traumatic.

[Ginto]

162. Actually, the mother weans the kids.

"Weaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk."

[Hannah Bell]

166. actually, the mother introduces other foods. the kid "withdraws" from the breast

on its own. or will, if the mother allows the process to occur.

which most don't, for various reasons.

number one being cultural assumptions a/o the necessity to work.

[Ginto]

167. Nope

http://www.animalhealthcare.com/handouts/dogs/Breeding7.htm

"In the wild, weaning begins naturally as soon as the puppies start to develop their teeth at three to four weeks of age. Suckling then irritates or hurts the mother who will move away and leave her puppies for longer and longer periods. Natural weaning involves the female dog vomiting her food and the puppies consuming the vomitus. Many pets will also do this and cause concern to owners. It is usually a natural maternal function and nothing to be worried about."

Teeth = solid food. But we humans seem to think we're above nature.

[Hannah Bell]

168. you seem to be talking about dogs & wolves. i was talking about children.

and having observed the process on numerous occasions, both personally & professionally, i politely decline your reference on wolves.

There is also the little matter of hundreds of anthropological observations, as well as a variety of scientific data that contradicts your 1-point data item about wolves.


maybe you should read this:

In societies where children are allowed to nurse "as long as they want" they usually self-wean, with no arguments or emotional trauma, between 3 and 4 years of age.

1. In a group of 21 species of non-human primates (monkeys and apes) studied by Holly Smith, she found that the offspring were weaned at the same time they were getting their first permanent molars. In humans, that would be: 5.5-6.0 years.

2. It has been common for pediatricians to claim that length of gestation is approximately equal to length of nursing in many species, suggesting a weaning age of 9 months for humans. However, this relationship turns out to be affected by how large the adult animals are -- the larger the adults, the longer the length of breastfeeding relative to gestation.

For chimpanzees and gorillas, the two primates closest in size to humans and also the most closely genetically related, the relationship is 6 to 1. That is to say, they nurse their offspring for SIX times the length of gestation (actually 6.1 for chimps and 6.4 for gorillas, with humans mid-way in size between these two).

In humans, that would be: 4.5 years of nursing (six times the 9 months of gestation).

3. It has been common for pediatricians to claim that most mammals wean their offspring when they have tripled their birth weight, suggesting a weaning age of 1 year in humans. Again though, this is affected by body weight, with larger mammals nursing their offspring until they have quadrupled their birth weight. In humans, quadrupling of birth weight occurs between 2.5 and 3.5 years, usually.

4. One study of primates showed that the offspring were weaned when they had reached about 1/3 their adult weight. This happens in humans at about 5-7 years.

5. A comparison of weaning age and sexual maturity in non-human primates suggests a weaning age of 6-7 for humans (about half-way to reproductive maturity).

6. Studies have shown that a child's immune system doesn't completely mature until about 6 years of age, and it is well established that breast milk helps develop the immune system and augment it with maternal antibodies as long as breast milk is produced (up to two years, no studies have been done on breast milk composition after two years post partum).


And on and on. The minimum predicted age for a natural age of weaning in humans is 2.5 years, with a maximum of 7.0 years.

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html


In the US up to about the 70s, average age at full weaning was 3 years.

[Ginto]

175. Sorry, I was quoting general mammalian behavior.

Not some professor in Texas. Also the definition of wean involves WITHDRAWING mothers milk. Perhaps early weaning is one of of the reasons that humans evolved beyond apes. Perhaps the fact that infancy mortality in apes is 38% has something to do with it.

We could always be more like the great apes. One silverback male to several women. Sounds great.

[Hannah Bell]

176. no, you were quoting a link about dogs.

[Ginto]

181. And you misquoted the definition of weaning. nt

[Hannah Bell]

184. no, you think your map is the territory.

wean:

To cease giving milk to an offspring;
To cease to depend on the mother for nourishment;
To cease to depend

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wean

[Ginto]

283. Notice which is at the top there.

Here's Meriam Webster for you.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wean

[Hannah Bell]

345. if definitions aren't at "the top" that means they don't exist?

you demonstrate a very casual acquaintance with the english language.

and, like a lot of folk whose linguistic acquaintanceship is tentative, a religious obsession with dictionaries.

[Magsinok]

227. Dogs & cats also abandon the weak ones, and leave their offspring alone for hours at a time.n/t

[tigereye]

204. some kids simply lose interest at different ages- mine did just before age 1

no harm, no foul.

[Ilsa]

374. Wrong. No need to wean over teeth. That shows how little you know.

Children do best having mother's milk during the first few years of life. Teeth can come as early as 4 months, even sooner. It is easy for babies to learn to nurse without biting mommy.

[SoCalDemGrrl]

275. Aaah -no they don't wean themselves-I breastfed both kids and there comes a

time when enough is enough and it is just not acceptable behavior for a school

aged child to continue breastfeeding.

[Hannah Bell]

281. not acceptable -- to *you,* obviously. it's quite acceptable to some of the people i know.

and they *do* wean themselves, as i've seen it.

[HuckleB]

343. Why?

:shrug:

[jbnow]

351. Sure they wean themselves! They can just lose interest.

My breast was replaced by a sippy cup before my son was a year old. First he just wanted to nurse only at night and then not at all.

But all kids are different and as far as that goes maybe not all kids naturally stop.
I sort of feel like once a kid can really talk about it they are old enough to not be nursing.
It may be simply cultural that we think 6 is too old, but we do live in this culture. Merciless teasing from other kids even if it is just "You are a baby!"

[HuckleB]

342. +1

[hlthe2b]

5. Unnecessary (at a minimum)

[defendandprotect]

84. How do you know? Something's gone very wrong with the human race....

We need to return to breastfeeding --

and The Collustrum Revolution -- !!

Quite a huge difference in children who have been breast feed vs

those given artificial foods -- processed -- canned -- without

the human contact of a breast.

[WinkyDink]

90. In the middle of first grade yet?

[defendandprotect]

121. One of the things about that photo you should note is that .....

there's a new child breastfeeding -

and this mother is reassuring that older boy that he is just

as much loved as ever -- despite the new competitition for her attention.


:)

[hlthe2b]

112. Stop it. I never said breast-feeding is unnecessary. Nice strawman

but you totally, decisively and most disingenuously FAIL.


The irony behind your totally misplaced sanctimony is that I have actually worked on public health interventions to improve adoption of breast feeding among women in the third world--after years of our exploiting them for profits vis-a-vis the formula industry.

That we have clean drinking water, vaccines, generally good access to healthy foods that are fully digestible for a six year old child is why it is "unnecessary." Could there be medical exceptions where breast milk might have a value in older children or even adults? Absolutley, but that is not being claimed here. Thus, my comment that it is "unncessary" for this six year old child to nurse for sustenance.

[blueamy66]

332. the human contact?

So adoptive mothers are doing some kind of harm to their child cause they can't breastfeed?

Bullshit.

[TwilightGardener]

6. Uhh...er...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. He's a bit old for this...

The real questions are is he emotionally healthy? He's six. Is he learning well in school? Is he playing appropriately with his peers?

How is he psychologically?

It doesn't sound like his mom is trying to keep him a baby.

It certainly won't hurt him...Breast milk is an excellent way to get the immunities that are present.

:shrug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. I wonder about that as well. I wanted to nurse mine until he was 3 but couldn't. But I don't think

I could have gone on longer than that, personally.

[kentauros]

29. A little old, you say?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8orUaCJ0GY

:P

[htuttle]

30. Bitty!

Love that show.

:rofl:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

68. Yup. A BIT OLD, I SAY!

:rofl: :rofl:

[ZombieHorde]

8. I don't have a problem with it. Human milk is healthier for humans than cow milk. nt

[Toucano]

9. Amanda confesses repeatedly to being lazy.

I think that's about all we need in the way of explanation.

[Hannah Bell]

57. lazy? how so? i guarantee you, that kid is eating solid foods & not dependent

on breast milk.

[defendandprotect]

86. It's not that he has no other source ... the issue is what is he getting in breast milk...

along with the human contact of the breast --

they're trying to make two male mice into a procreating unit --

but they don't exactly know what's in breast milk!!

Yet, the hormones and chemicals in breast milk are used even into your 80's....!!!

[Dappleganger]

65. Yes, that was my first thought too.

I breastfed and had multiple children and know how it can be. She just doesn't want to make him drink or she hasn't taught the 6 yr. old to get his own drink. At that age he's quite capable of doing so and at least attempting to clean up his mess if he spills. Kids don't learn unless you give them the opportunity.

[seabeyond]

83. actually it could be laziness as in, more a battle to get him off. just guessin. nt

[Dappleganger]

89. That probably makes more sense...

info from the article definitely supports that.

[Hannah Bell]

124. actually, it's more likely that the kid doesn't nurse regularly at all.

[seabeyond]

137. she says she is too lazy, hence him breast feeding. just throwing out a guess. being a mom

i totally get it.

you may be right too

who the fuck knows.

[CTyankee]

164. I didn't read that she didn't teach him how to get his own drink...she said she's a bit lazy.

She breast feeds the baby in the morning, the six year old comes in for a nip and a bit of cuddling, then they all get up and go about their day. So?

[tigereye]

207. well, they both enjoy the emotional comfort of it, obviously.

[Renew Deal]

10. This woman is a hero!

:popcorn:

[ejpoeta]

12. i don't know. i breastfed my kids. my first i did a bad job of it and got six weeks out of it.

ashley was 14 months and abby i just weened at the same age. once they start biting i'm out!! i was in a breastfeeding peer counseling class where i met a woman who did it to 3.... at 6 it seems much to me. they are in school. but i will not judge another.

[CTyankee]

13. What business is it of ours?

I really don't know why anyone would care...

[seabeyond]

20. why is there always people asking, what business? it is none of our business and we wont

influence what she is doing with her child. she wont even hear from us. it is people on a discussion board, discussing breastfeeding a 6 yr old.

[madmom]

52. I agree...so why did she make it public? It sounds like a personal thing IMO

[CTyankee]

78. Well, it IS a personal thing. But so what?

She and her little boy might like it. He just might be a little less jealous of his baby brother. She is showing him that her love and affection for him has not abated with the arrival of the new baby. I can't see that any harm is being done to anybody...

[madmom]

130. Exactly..it IS a personal thing so why make it public? If that is what she wants to do fine BUT

why take it to the media, who cares???? Seems she just wants the attention she must have known she would get.:eyes:

[CTyankee]

138. Maybe she gets money for it. She says their "skint" which I guess means not well off.

But we don't know. Maybe she just loves the kid, wants to comfort him when he has a baby brother in his midst...what's wrong with that?

[madmom]

157. The problem I have is she made it public. If she wants to do it fine, but it IS a personal thing, ..

keep it personal. The world doesn't want or need to know she is breast feeding a 6 year old. It is her PERSONAL choice, that is the problem I have with it. IT IS NOT NEWS!!!

[CTyankee]

171. OK, ok, sorry...don't get upset...

[madmom]

255. I'm not upset...the whole thing is idiotic.

[defendandprotect]

88. Presumably to encourage other women to think for themselves....???

[CTyankee]

143. Now, THERE'S a thought!

How 'bout that?!!!

[WinkyDink]

92. She's the one in the newspaper, not us.

[donco6]

14. Hey, if he isn't being beaten, I'm happy.

Around here, that's about all I can ask for.

[B Calm]

15. I think it's kinda sick. . .

[applegrove]

241. Yup.

[qb]

18. This is horrifying...

Breastfeeding a six-year-old is merely unusual.

[hlthe2b]

32. Ahh, sweet little kitty

I'm betting he eats when and what he eats without comment or complaint. ;)

I'm also betting this is what breastfeeding most six year olds would feel like!

[Nye Bevan]

21. Not horrifying, but not age-appropriate.

Kind of like a 6-year old still using a pacifier. Or preferring diapers to using the toilet. The child is just a pawn in his mother's militant breastfeeding mission. It'll be pretty mortifying in 10 years when he Googles his name and this picture pops up.

[vanlassie]

250. I nursed one child until age 5 and the next until age 5.5.

They are well adjusted and brilliant. The firstborn is 31 and the BEST father to my 20 month old breastfeeding grandson you could ever, ever want to see. The 27 year old is married (three years ago) and no kids, yet, but both are in healthy stable marriages. What, exactly is your apparently certain negative judgment,again? I will be happy to respond.

[Nye Bevan]

262. I'm sure your kids would have turned out just as brilliant if they had not been breastfed to age 5.

My nephew was pooping in diapers at age 5 but is now a brilliant college senior. That doesn't prove that pooping in diapers at age 5 is a good thing.

[vanlassie]

266. The response was to alphafemale stating thatit would most certainly be psychologically damaging

to remember nursing at age six. I have evidence that this is not true,in the form of two psychologically healthy adult children.

[babydollhead]

22. I nursed for 7 1/2 years straight

all from only one breast. three kids, through pregnancies, salmonella, etc. I had to stop during pregnancy number 3, because I wasn't gaining enough weight, the 2 and 3 year old nursers took it well, since they were happy for the new baby to grow and come out and play. Then That baby nursed for 4 1/2 years and we had a weaning party. I told my sister, "Now I have my body back to myself. I can drink. I can do drugs, I can leave one day and never come back." That was just crazy talk.

[KamaAina]

23. Wasn't that a scene in The Grapes of Wrath?

:wtf:

[Hannah Bell]

36. no, that was an old man in gow. not a six year old.

[ixion]

39. Yeah, the closing scene, I believe...

[Hannah Bell]

58. nursed an old man. not a six year old.

[ixion]

71. yeah...

perhaps even more poignant, in that regard.

[Hannah Bell]

73. not sure what the relevance of saving a fictional old man from starvation is to this case -- at all.

[ixion]

161. It's a fictional account of something very real

and you can be quite sure it's happened to someone at some point in time. You're trying to pick a fight with me, and I'm not really sure why. All I did was answer a question.

[Hannah Bell]

172. not trying to pick a fight with you. just don't see any relevance between

children breastfeeding & gow.

one can express an opinion without it meaning one is picking a fight. i don't believe i made any personal comments to you or the other poster on this topic.

i simply reiterated that GOW is about a woman breastfeeding an old man who's dying of starvation during the Depression. It's fiction.

It has nothing to do with children breastfeeding normally in real life, to age 6 or any other age.

[defendandprotect]

96. Was that cut from the movie ....? Or in the movie was it just referred to?

Don't recall it --

[babydollhead]

146. it was in the book

cut from the movie

[defendandprotect]

179. Thank you --

which reminds me of how much was cut and changed from Peyton Place!

and, ironically, during the anniversary celebration of Grace Metalious

my library -- which had never had a copy of Peyton Place before -- did

get a copy of it .... an abridged copy!

[alphafemale]

410. The scene was in a stage version i attended a couple years back.

The actress exposed her breast and was leaning down to the man and the theater lights went dark.

And when (okay possible SPOILER ALERT even though this story is like 70 fuckN years old)

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
When Rose of Sharon loses her baby this production had every cast member come back and line up on stage and down toward the front row of the audience. They passed the "baby" wrapped in a blanket from one cast member to the other and also through the front row of the audience. Giving the message that we are all interconnected and responsible to each other.

Dirty filthy SOCIALISTS! :sarcasm:

[Avalux]

24. There is no biological reason to breast feed a six year old.

Sorry, I think it's wrong.

[thereismore]

37. You don't know that. It's just your opinion. It's just unusual these days, that's all. nt

[Avalux]

53. Umm...human biology is not an opinion.

The immunological benefit of breast milk ends at 6 weeks. A 6 year old child has teeth and can get his nutritional needs from food as he should be doing - hell, he's old enough to cook for himself.

[Dappleganger]

66. Quite true.

And biologically speaking, a child of that age would be out helping Mum gather and prepare meals (using tools by imitation) long ago.

He's using his mother as a pacifier instead of self-soothing, which he should be able to do to some degree by 6.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

76. The immunity goes on as long as the child nurses.

[thereismore]

97. Human brain keeps developing until adolescence. Are you prepared to say that

you have evidence that breast milk contains no beneficial chemicals?
You are not, and if you are, you are just arrogant.
Granted, the importance of breastfeeding diminishes with age of the child, but to say that it is useless is just a (somewhat) educated guess on your part.

[defendandprotect]

99. But you're suggesting that "food" has same nutritional value as breast milk....

that's not necessarily so --

And certainly the human need doesn't end at 6 weeks!!

Children are regularly breast fed now for 6 months -- and there is

encouragment to b/f to a year -- and even longer.

Nothing wrong with 4 years --

[Cairycat]

105. Now that is complete and utter bullshit

"The immunological benefit of breast milk ends at 6 weeks."

Why then would the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend a year of breastfeeding as the best option? Why would the World Health Organization recommend two?

Cite your source.

[thereismore]

301. Thank you. This guy is a know-it-all with no facts. nt

[Hannah Bell]

269. false. immunological benefits continue long after 6 weeks.

a six year old is capable of both helping his mother & nursing -- especially comfort nursing, which is what most six year olds who still nurse are doing.

they're not mutually exclusive.

[Hannah Bell]

63. "wrong" - why?

fyi, i guarantee you the child is eating solid food & his "nursing" consists of a daily comfort nip when he's tired or cranky.

[FLPanhandle]

25. I have to wonder about the mom's emotional health.

Disturbing.

[defendandprotect]

101. We might also wonder ....

about the emotional health of those who are reacting

in such a disturbed way --

[seabeyond]

108. oh, fuck.... because someone may think there may be issues here.....

geeez.

[Hannah Bell]

268. oh, fuck...why not, since the poster questions the woman's emotional health ENTIRELY

because of her nursing practice, which the poster happens to find abnormal or disgusting.

Labeling something as a reflection of "emotional/psychological problems" is the typical response of some to things they don't like.

It's a really disgusting habit, imo.

That you find something strange doesn't mean the person doing it has a mental problem.

It could just mean you've led a sheltered life. It could mean you're a rigid person. It could mean you're a bigot.

I remember a college teacher I worked with decided one of her Korean students had a psychological problem.

The reason was -- she was used to being "loved" by her students because she was sickly sweet.

He didn't appreciate sickly sweetness & was rude to her & wouldn't work for her.

He had no such problems with any of his other teachers, mostly because they treated him like an adult instead of an infant.

He was a foreign student, & she was going to recommend he be "evaluated" which could have caused him some serious visa problems.

Luckily, the rest of his profs shouted her down.

Such is the evil "nice, normal" people can do with their nice normalness.

She just didn't like the way her treated her & wanted to label it pathology.

In my experience, insular, self-satisfied "normal" people can be some of the most dangerous people you'll ever meet.

[ileus]

26. OMFG....old enough to stand too old to brest feed.

That was our rule, when the kid was old enough to root like a cow or pig to the tit that was it.

[antigone382]

276. Most experts say two years on the breast is ideal---most kids walk before one.

So that may be the rule for many people, and may not be a terrible thing, but it isn't the rule advocated by public health experts. In fact, some have admitted that two years may be too conservative, and that there may be important benefits for continuing to age three or beyond.

In other cultures breastfeeding continues for a long time, as long as six or seven in some. The theory is that it's an adaptive strategy where there isn't enough protein that would be easily digestible for a child. If this family is poor, as some of the responses have indicated, it may be that the child gets nutrients he would otherwise be deprived of if he did not have access to breast milk.

[eShirl]

27. Hey, it's easier than opening a can of Spaghettios.

And no dishes to wash afterward.

[RC]

31. We are mammals.

Studies of nonhuman primates offer a number of different means of estimating the natural time for human weaning. First, large-bodied primates wean their offspring some months after the young have quadrupled their birth weight. In modern humans, this weight milestone is passed at about two and a half to three years of age. Second, like many other mammals, primate offspring tend to be weaned when they have attained about one third of their adult weight; humans reach this level between four and seven years of age. Third, in all species studied so far, primates also wean their offspring at the time the first permanent molars erupt; this occurs at five and a half to six years in modern humans. Fourth, in chimpanzees and gorillas, breast-feeding usually lasts about six times the duration of gestation. On this basis, a human breast-feeding would be projected to continue for four and a half years.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_n9_v106/ai_20135603/

[Liquorice]

75. And gorillas eat their own poop. That doesn't mean it's normal for humans. nt

[Hannah Bell]

126. no, what's "normal" for humans is whatever they decide to do.

it could be "normal" for humans to feed their children en masse via enormous tubes from a central milking machine.

"normal" is irrelevant.

the fact is, many cultures have allowed their children to nurse at will & self-wean, with no apparent ill effects.

The average age of weaning in the US was 3 years as recently as the 70s.

[Liquorice]

202. I don't buy into that. We all know what normal is, and what deviates substantially from normal is

abnormal, regardless of your argument for total cultural relativism. It is abnormal to breastfeed a six year old.

[Hannah Bell]

217. you're making a statistical argument about human culture? lol.

i don't need to remind you that a large number of things we now consider odd or pernicious were once "the norm".

and things that are statistically "normal" here are profoundly "abnormal" elsewhere.

the fact is that human weaning behavior historically has a large range, and all are "normal".

In Childhood and Society, Erik Erikson (1963, 134-35) tells of a Sioux mother who came to school at recess to nurse her eight-year-old boy because he had a he had a cold. This wasn'ta very remarkable occurrence in her culture; the average nursing period among the Sioux, traditionally, was three to five years.

http://books.google.com/books?id=pY84fe50crwC&pg=PA46&dq=recess+to+nurse+her+eight-year-old+boy+because+he+had+a+...&hl=en&ei=RIkBTeXLNpD0tgPE7fSzCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&resnum=2&ved=0CCwQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=recess%20to%20nurse%20her%20eight-year-old%20boy%20because%20he%20had%20a%20...&f=false

[Liquorice]

228. It's not normal for humans to eat their own poop. It's very abnormal. Not everything is relative. nt

[Hannah Bell]

232. There's no culture historical or existing where parents routinely ate their children or their poop.

Those things have always been the practices of people in extremis ONLY, i.e. under the threat of starvation or of single "crazy" individuals.

There are many cultures where late weaning is or has been A NORMAL CULTURAL PRACTICE OF MOST PEOPLE.

So your argument is specious.

In the larger sweep of history, it's early weaning that's abnormal.

[Liquorice]

240. There's no physical reason for this woman to be breastfeeding a six year old. It's abnormal, and it

isn't very complicated. There are no cultures in which the women breastfeed their 6+ year old children. Absolutely none. "Early" weaning is not weaning before six years old either. Your argument is full of holes.

[Hannah Bell]

245. The average age of full weaning is about 3 years. In the US 83% of children are weaned

completely at less than a year, and about 50% at 6 months. (CDC data)

http://www.kellymom.com/writings/bf-numbers.html#usaextended

That's statistically abnormal, and very early.

"Early" weaning = earlier than the cultural average of about 3 years (which also happens to be the age when children will "naturally" tend to stop by themselves), as I thought was clear from the context.

"While breastfeeding beyond 1 year of age is considered extended breastfeeding in the United States <96>, experts say that the average age of weaning worldwide is 4 to years <95> (should be 3 to 4).

In Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, the average length of breastfeeding is 22.6 months <97> and in India, mothers commonly breastfeed their children until 3 to 4 years of age. Stein says that “In India, women often wean their 3 or 4-year-old by putting the juice of a bitter gourd or melon on their nipples.”

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in 1997 that “It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter as mutually desired”, the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least 2 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breastfeeding.



There are indeed cultures where children are allowed to nurse at will & thus some 6-year-olds continue to "comfort nurse" without being considered "abnormal". I linked Erik Ericson's description of the Sioux mother, circa 40s, who came to school to breastfeed her sick 8-year-old.

I've made no argument that there are culture where ALL or MOST 6-year-olds are nursing regularly & taking the majority of calories by breast. Neither is the child in the article nursing regularly or taking the majority of his calories by the breast. This is because the majority of active children allowed to nurse at will will stop by themselves around age 3 if they get enough food. The difference is there are cultures where it's "normal" to withhold the breast at a prescribed (or parent-determined) age, & cultures where it's not, or that age is late.


"One often hears that the worldwide average age of weaning is 4.2 years, but this figure is neither accurate nor meaningful.

A survey of 64 "traditional" studies done prior to the 1940s showed a median duration of breastfeeding of about 2.8 years, but with some societies breastfeeding for much shorter, and some for much longer.

It is meaningless, statistically, to speak of an average age of weaning worldwide, as so many children never nurse at all, or their mothers give up in the first few days, or at six weeks when they go back to work.

It is true that there are still many societies in the world where children are routinely breastfed until the age of four or five years or older, and even in the United States, some children are nursed for this long and longer.

In societies where children are allowed to nurse "as long as they want" they usually self-wean, with no arguments or emotional trauma, between 3 and 4 years of age."

http://thelactivist.blogspot.com/2008/01/myth-busting-average-age-of-weaning-45.html


http://books.google.com/books?id=MR5EmrPHx48C&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=traditional+weaning+age+japan&source=bl&ots=KQx2_I_4Av&sig=7ah9luMKE7e5w7zbDAhuj8cZ2QY&hl=en&ei=I5wBTai0CZCosAO7uoTFCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&sqi=2&ved=0CEwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=traditional%20weaning%20age%20japan&f=false

[antigone382]

277. Not everything is relative. Breastfeeding, however, is.

There are more than a few cultures that breastfeed past the age of three, some even to age six. There's no evidence to indicate that this is in any way damaging to the physical or psychological well-being of their children.

[jbnow]

352. I nursed in the 70's. Son nursed at will & self-weaned

and was all done and on to a sippy cup before he was a year old.

But maybe he had ingested enough of the PBB in the Michigan food chain then. (Not that we knew it yet)

With what we know now about environmental toxins in breast milk I'd be tempted to get my milk tested. Studies indicate that some toxins are much higher in American breast milk than European, but also that the benefits of breastfeeding still outweigh that
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct04p164.html
Plus it can't be much worse than the 287 toxins found in the newborn from in utero exposure
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php

I didn't mean to get into that part as it is off topic. But what a shame.

[Crunchy Frog]

147. Have any human societies actually been found

where it was normal to breastfeed for 6 years? If there is an actual human biological norm I would expect it to be found in some society somewhere.

Among the great apes I believe nursing doesn't extend past the next pregnancy. Certainly not past the birth of the next offspring.

If we're going by 4 times birth weight, my babies reached that point by around 4-5 months. If an average baby weighs around 7 lbs at birth, then they would generally quadruple that between around 18 - 24 months.

[Hannah Bell]

183. As I linked already, gorillas don't ovulate until they cease breastfeeding.

So the story about the new baby being the impetus for the weaning of the first is false.

Anthropologically, average age of human weaning is about 3-4 years, with A few months to about 7 years being the range.

"A few months" would be modern societies with a high incidence of bottle-feeding.

If you can't see that the link presents a variety of biological data which suggests a variety of "natural" ages for weaning -- too bad. It's a range, not a point.

In humans, quadrupling of birth weight occurs between 2.5 and 3.5 years, usually.

That's "in humans," not in "humans in modern societies". In the US, birthweight usually quadruples at or around two years. One of the reasons is early reliance on solid foods (& processed foods).

Not so in less "developed" societies or in societies with different cultural practices.

[Crunchy Frog]

222. I'm not certain how it works in gorillas

but in many primates the weaning is initiated by the mother and is accompanied by violent tantrums in the offspring. It may be that in most cases this is necessary to bring on ovulation, but not always. At least among chimpanzees, babies are sometimes born while an older child is still nursing.

If you've ever read Jane Goodall, she describes the case of Flo and her son Flint. She was old when she had him and ended up being too weak to resist his weaning tantrums. She did go on to have a subsequent offspring but Flint continued to insist on nursing and the baby died. Flo herself finally died of exhaustion, not having succeeded in weaning Flint, and then Flint died. Not a happy story.

An interesting article on why an offspring might have an interest in nursing for a longer time and a mother for a shorter time. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~phyl/anthro/conflict.html

These are very complex issues in the primate world.

[Hannah Bell]

226. gorillas = not a great ape? In all the great apes, nursing suppresses ovulation.

I don't consider the story of one (old = statistically abnormal lol) mother chimpanzee to be any kind of scientific evidence for the idea that "normal" weaning in great apes = another baby is born & the previous one is banished from the breast.

There's a range of individual cases, but the statistical norm is that apes tend to be infertile/not in heat until the first litter is weaned or near-weaned.

[Crunchy Frog]

239. Actually, it's the near continuous nursing of a young infant that suppresses ovulation.

There are other chimps who have had babies while they were still nursing, so it's not an isolated case. Humans and the other great apes are somewhat different from each other in this respect. The less frequent nursing of an older child is often sufficient to trigger ovulation. In other apes the milk supply probably dries up more as the female enters estrus, but the trigger for going into estrus may simply be the natural decrease in nursing as the offspring gets older. One of the reasons for rejecting a baby from the breast is the discomfort of nursing when the body is trying to get in shape to make a new baby. In humans of course it works rather differently. The suppression of ovulation is far less reliable and predictable and many many women become pregnant while still nursing young infants. And then of course humans don't have estrus cycles the way other apes do, and they are pretty much sexually receptive all the time regardless of ovulation status.

Primates in general do not do tandem nursing though. Among our closest relatives, older offspring do not nurse once there is a new baby.

Oh, and apes don't have litters. Except for a small number of the human kind when they go overboard with fertility treatments.

[Hannah Bell]

248. "Essentials of Physical Anthropology," 7th ed, 2009: "4 or 5 years of nursing is the norm for the

great apes and for women in foraging societies"

http://books.google.com/books?id=TSaSPza9LMYC&pg=PA308&lpg=PA308&dq=nursing+suppresses+ovulation+chimpanzees&source=bl&ots=VctqzMNQXf&sig=b0uanl-MLmYuHQxnavtdbFp4X9U&hl=en&ei=EKQBTb-_CIassAOAlbCtCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22four%20or%20five%20years%20of%20nursing%20is%20the%20norm%22&f=false


"When the body is trying to get in shape for a new baby" = meaningless. The body isn't "trying to get in shape for a new baby" until a woman becomes pregnant.

And nursing suppresses ovulation and menstruation. Not perfectly, no, but statistically predictably.


Re apes having "litters":

The mentalities of gorillas and orangutans: comparative perspectives - Page 29

In these fossil great apes, other aspects of life history related to development and brain size, such as gestation period, litter size, lifespan, age at sexual maturity, age at first reproduction, are also likely to have been most like ...

http://books.google.com/books?id=SXJHUX-DKacC&pg=PA29&dq=apes+litter+size&hl=en&ei=u6gBTbjtN4iisQPS38D5CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=apes%20litter%20size&f=false


Litter size of mammals Bourliere (1964) gives the litter size of many mammals from which .representative species are listed... Among the primates....the litter size is one (not counting the twins which appear occasionally in the chimpanzee and man).

http://books.google.com/books?id=eOU8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA22&dq=chimpanzees+litter+size&hl=en&ei=H6kBTcfwGYGasAPM0aXLCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

[TalkingDog]

34. US vs the World

From Wikipedia, but go to the citations for the actual stats if interested.

While breastfeeding beyond 1 year of age is considered extended breastfeeding in the United States <96>, experts say that the average age of weaning worldwide is 4 to years <95>. In Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, the average length of breastfeeding is 22.6 months <97> and in India, mothers commonly breastfeed their children until 3 to 4 years of age. Stein says that “In India, women often wean their 3 or 4-year-old by putting the juice of a bitter gourd or melon on their nipples.” Although the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in 1997 that “It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter as mutually desired."

[AspenRose]

51. Yeah I think it depends on the culture

I breastfed my oldest until he was 2 and my youngest until he was 3 months shy of turning 3. In this country that's considered way too long.

(But they hardly ever get sick.)

[blueamy66]

219. "But they hardly ever get sick."

That really bugs me.

I was adopted. I couldn't be breast fed.

I WAS NEVER SICK.

Sorry, but I HATE when people state that.

[seabeyond]

230. three of us not breast fed. none of us get sick. i hear ya.... now

i know breast feeding is good. but, well, i dont see this noticable difference with kids. i breast fed one. not the other. i dont see any difference. period. none.

[AspenRose]

303. My mother did not breastfeed me; she breastfed my brother.

I had a lot more ear infections growing up than he did.

Our experience is our experience; yours is yours.

I'm leaving this thread now.

[blueamy66]

328. Thank you.

I just get mad when I hear "you must breastfeed"..."it's the only way"....

I have to listen to my co-worker state that it's the best way for a mother to bond with her child....blah, blah, blah....

I bonded just fine with my mother....I loved her to death....And I was fed formula.

I can still remember my niece yelling at the breastfeeding Nazis in the hospital after she gave birth to her first....to "stay away from me.....my Dad and Aunt were adopted and not breastfed and they are healthy as all get out...as a matter of fact - get out"! She breastfed for a while and then switched to formula.

Hey, if you CAN breastfeed....have at it...but I don't want to hear....either blatantly or not so blatantly...that my Mom didn't do the right thing for me. She had no choice.

[AspenRose]

Nowhere did I say that that's going to be the case for everyone

But it was/is the case for us. Sorry if it bugs you that I speak from my own personal experience. :shrug:

It also sounds like you're reading a lot into what I said. Just because I support breastfeeding doesn't mean I don't realize that not everyone can do it. Everyone has the choice to do what they feel is best for their own child. No breastfeeding nazi here.

[seabeyond]

302. my issue is because you have healthy kids, you attribute to breastfeeding

all us that werent breast fed and are equally healthy, attribute it to genes.

i breast fed one, not the other and they are both as healthy as hubby and i have always been

that is all

[AspenRose]

304. I do attribute it to it in OUR CASE.

That doesn't mean kids can't be healthy if they aren't breastfed.

Bye.

[seabeyond]

306. i know you do. but cant you see the logic in that. you attribute to breastfeeding

while kids all over are healthy without breastfeeding and kids breastfed are sickly.

a meh, to me

i see the good. did it with first. i LOVED breastfeeding and the body connection, ect....

but couldnt be done with second. and it was all there with second, too.

saying

breastfeeding is the coolest

but reality

all loving nurturing caring is too

i dont need to have winners and losers in this discussion

[blueamy66]

330. So why did you throw in the

"but they hardly get sick"?

I was never sick....formula fed...what's your point?

[Luciferous]

38. Creepy.

I breastfed my son for 18 months, and I think that was long enough. A child who is old enough to be in kindergarten should NOT be breastfed!

[Zanzobar]

43. +1 Creepy

[flvegan]

40. I think I could start a vegans v. vegans WAR with this one.

Woo hoo, thanks!

[MellowDem]

45. He is eating an animal product...

well drinking really...

[flvegan]

48. True

but it's long been held that breastfeeding an infant didn't count (any more so than a calf nursing from momma cow, etc). But at age 6...

Oh yeah, this could be a gunfight!

[MellowDem]

55. And what about the breastmilk fetishists out there?

They do exist. Maybe they'll make an exception for consensual sexual fantasies.

And that just made me think about... hmm.

Do vegans advocate spitting?

[seabeyond]

91. they could go to the restaurant in NY the specializes in dishes with breast milk

thinking i read it on du a couple months ago

[tigereye]

209. now that's truly creepy- mom breast-feeding a 6 year old is much less

creepy than people paying to eat foods with breast milk. That seems to turn it into some kind of decadent foodie thing. :(

[defendandprotect]

106. The product is of his own species ... while Americans have been convinced by

those who profit from it, that babies need something artificially produced --

and/or milk from another species!!

How dumb were we all?

COLOSTRUM REVOLUTION .... coming to a town near you!!

[seabeyond]

85. lol. nt

[ZombieHorde]

199. I would have tried human breast milk when I was a vegan.

I was a vegan for health and animal rights reasons, human breast milk is not against either of those things.

I hate to admit it, but I quit being a vegan mostly due to social/family pressure. I was weak, and I feel some shame for it. The fucked up thing is, nobody would have said much I claimed to eschew veggies. Meat eating is a major sacred cow in the US. Just telling someone you're vegan can deeply offend them, but I guess you know all about that. I don't know how Florida is, but meat eating seems to be sacred here in Montana. I have been considering becoming a secret vegetarian. I hate how we "house" and slaughter animals.

[flvegan]

243. Ooooh, Montana.

Yeah, I could see that being tough. Nobody ever gives me grief about being vegan. Because of my size (I'm a bodybuilder) what I normally get when someone hears I'm vegan is absolute shock. "How are you possibly vegan?" type stuff. Everything goes out the window in regards to criticism.

Florida though, I think is probably far, far, far more "forgiving" on the sacred cow part of eating meat than Montana.

[MellowDem]

41. I'm guessing they did it back in the tribal days...

doesn't seem all that crazy from that perspective, but in our society now, with easy suspicions of sexual abuse towards children, it is considred taboo. Hell, back in the day mom and dad probably did it while little Tommy was laying nearby.

I don't see the harm, except if that kid's classmates find out. Could be some serious schoolyard bullying about that.

[NoodleyAppendage]

44. Victorian nursemaids were a horrifying concept. This not so much. n/t

J

[CTyankee]

54. Wet nurses were common in the old days before medical science improved

and women stopped dying in childbirth...

[Crunchy Frog]

200. They became very common in Europe, and not associated with death in childbirth.

It just became "the thing to do" among a certain social class. It actually dramatically increased the frequency of births in the women who did it because they didn't have the suppression of ovulation provided by lactation.

There's some interesting history of the phenomenon in this book http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Nature-Maternal-Instincts-Species/dp/0345408934.

[defendandprotect]

110. Why .. ? We've regularly heard stories of nursing mothers breast feeding

the children of other mothers when the mother was ill --

or for whatever cause --

[CTyankee]

46. I really don't understand some of the emotional objections here.

I think California Peggy had it right. As long as the child is doing well in his life why should this be an issue? I haven't seen anyone here offer a real reason, other than their own reaction, to object to what she is doing. I haven't seen links to studies done, research, scholarly journal monographs, statistics...nada...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

77. Thanks!

[seabeyond]

100. there can be a lot of issues here but we simply cannot talk about it cause we dont know

one clear one brought up is putting it on the net so when he is older, it will still be there. she really has taken away his right to keep a potential embarassment private. another issue brought up is she has gotten him off the tit cause she is too lazy. that can be a parental issue in raising a child. we dont know about the family, or the child, so it limits discussion, but there is potential for issues.

[CTyankee]

129. I don't know about the bullying of kids in the UK vs. US.

I'm not sure that that is the reason people on this board are objecting to what this mother is doing...I suspect not (even tho they "say" it is)...

[seabeyond]

141. mmm, my first thought was parenting issues for the child and repercussions

my first thought tended to not establishing boundaries. but as you will see in all my posts, i dont mention it because i have absolutely no fuckin clue. i dont know others reactions. i dont know what you could be implying or what you suspect is others issues. really.

i hadnt thought about the net thing, but that is a huge issue for me, concerning our children, and as parents we might not think it thru. so i think that is a valid argument that i appreciate cause i didnt consider.

[CTyankee]

153. well, I said "suspect" for a reason. I don't "know." And neither do any of us here.

Yes, I do think, but I do not know of course, that there are emotional reasons that people say "Ewww" at the sight of a 6 year old breast feeding. I looked at the context and saw a baby brother being breast fed. I "got" it that way.

But I don't know if the "Ewww" response was a psychological one or not. I suspect. I do not know, how could I? I have not done a scientific study of DUers on this subject. But guess what, neither have you or anyone else on this board. So we both don't know. Right?

As for the Internet. I have a 6 yr. old grandson. He knows very little of the Internet. He is in a very different school from most American schools...he's being immersed in a foreign language 90% of his school day and has been since kindergarten (he's now in first grade). He's already in a minority. So what? He's gonna get teased because he can now speak in two languages instead of just English?

I can't see these photos following this kid on the Internet or if they do having that much of an effect. The Net to me has a short attention span. A six year old doesn't cut it for that much lasting interest...so I think this is a faux "concern" really, IMO. And yes, it is IMO only, but I still ponder the reason without knowing why...

[seabeyond]

159. firstly... i am really trying to think of what that suspect is with the eeew factor.

genuinely curious, cause i cant come up with something. unless it is what i talked about below where breast is just for male entertainment and no longer allow for feeding.

secondly, i dont know much about google. but i do pay attention to stories i share on net, that i may be comfortable with, but i dont put out. my kids have googled my screen name and real name. didnt even think about it, being computer illiterate and not thinking thru. but i tend to post what i would say face to face, so keeps me safe.

i know that my nieces mother posted stuff about her. she is just turnin 18. colleges and work can type in her name and now see it. so yes, i have a HUGE issue with parents being responsible with the net, in their kids name.

[CTyankee]

169. well, for one thing, this kid is in the UK not here. I don't know what the Internet culture is there

How many of us here do?

Anyway, I can't see this story making its way into a problem for the kid getting into a college. REally, I don't unless it turns out that something else (bad) happens as a result. I predict that that won't happen. IF the kid is smart enought to get into the University in Britain, he will.

I just think we're more hung up on this than people across the pond...

[seabeyond]

180. we are more hung up? there is a reason it made it as a "story", lol. nt

[CTyankee]

197. well, it's unusual...so that makes news, right? So maybe some Brits are as hungup as we are.

So what?

[seabeyond]

201. because some may not see breastfeeding a 6 yr old as a good or positive thing does not make them

hungup on shit CT. this is just a way to insult people that dont agree.

[CTyankee]

210. I didn't say that. I just wondered why it was such an emotional issue for folks here.

With no factual backup to the claim that breastfeeding a 6 yr. old is a not a good or positive thing (as opposed to what?) I can't understand the argument. I'm not insulting people when I ask for their data or some link or something to back up their assertion. My only assertion has been "I don't know and until we know what is the harm?" I ask a question. I don't issue a statement that I claim as fact.

[uppityperson]

117. Exactly. Different people have different ways, there is no one "right" way to be

different cultures (yes, even within the usa). Best wishes to the mom and the kids.

[toddwv]

56. Somebody's going to grow up LOVING titties.

Personally I'm an ass and legs man myself.

[seabeyond]

103. or totally fucked up and not. i dont know. do you know? nt

[defendandprotect]

113. Actually, I think it is a lack of breast feeding which has made males so obsessed ....

with "titties."

[Hannah Bell]

187. i think there's something to that -- as cultures fetishize different parts of the female anatomy.

[HuckleB]

344. And another BS fantasy hits the board.

Do you ever stop and think?

[yawnmaster]

60. I see no problem with it. eom

[Dappleganger]

61. I breastfed our children.

The boys for nearly 2 years and the girls weaned themselves (literally, they were off and running) around 9-10 months.

6 is too old and IMO the mother is showing poor parenting skills by allowing him to linger in this stage of cognitive development. My guess is that she's a bit lazy wrt to the older one.

[DefenseLawyer]

62. None of my business. n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

64. Ummmmm.....

I'm totally speechless.

[CTyankee]

132. As well you should be...and ME too...but...

[CTyankee]

133. As well you should be...and ME too...but...

[Horse with no Name]

67. Very possibly a cultural issue

but it isn't child abuse.

[Stevenmarc]

69. Little Britain skit in the making

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZobUR4u6v0

[Lucky 13]

70. Perfectly fine.... as long as she promises to pay for the poor lad's therapy.

Not my problem.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

81. And warns the women he ends up dating some day. (n/t)

[Rebubula]

72. My SIL was breast fed until almost 7

She is a bit weird in general and still breast feeds her kid at 3.

Also, she gives her breast milk to her MOM so that she can drink it.

I doubt that they are a standard for this abnormal little movement - theirs is a strange, almost incestuous, family

Either way - I personally find it very strange and a little creepy to be breast feeding 6 year olds.

[Liquorice]

74. That's too old. She is infantilizing the child. nt

[TexasObserver]

79. She needs mental health care, and the kid probably does, too.

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WinkyDink]

87. Middle name "Oedipus."

[defendandprotect]

118. Remember that Freud actually . . .

reversed the truth and reality of the stories the women he was

treating had related to him of being sexually abused by relatives --

fathers, uncles -- etal.

The reality behind the complex was the male's desire for sexual

interaction with the child --

and NOT the other way around --


This was Freud's sell out of women --

And it is still even today hetereosexual males who are the sexual abusers

of children --

Hetereosexual males are 100X more likely to sexually abuse children than homosexual males.



.

[WinkyDink]

194. I do believe the story of Oedipus pre-dates Freud.

[Coventina]

287. Yeah, by at least a couple thousand years.

But, I do agree that Freud mis-used the story.

[Odin2005]

93. In many societies women breastfeed kids until 4 or 5 because...

...breastfeeding suppresses ovulation.

[alphafemale]

318. Didn't work this time.

:hide:

[apocalypsehow]

95. This will not end well.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[undeterred]

98. People in the LaLeche League support this.

I wouldn't want to but I don't have a problem with it. When I lived in Central Africa all the children nursed from women of reproductive age who were able to nurse them. I don't remember what age they stopped but it was in the neighborood of 4-5 years old. It didn't seem strange when I was there- everyone did it except me.

[seabeyond]

107. damn, this is a fun thread. i havent had a fun thread like this in a long time... lol. sigh

thanks

[WolverineDG]

111. I'm all for parent/child bonding

but I do think 6 is too old for breastfeeding.

dg

[Cairycat]

114. Informative article from the authority in the field

Katherine Dettwyler, professor of anthropology

www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

[Hannah Bell]

122. very interesting, thanks. & jibes with my personal experience.

kids allowed to breast feed "at will" tend to wean themselves 3-5 & thereafter it's "comfort" feeds only.

most of the posters here are reacting as if this kid has three feeds a day & gets all his nourishment from the breast.

highly doubtful. kids are very interested in what others do & imitate. by age 6 the parents would have to be actively discouraging & disallowing solid food for that to be the case. or locking him in a closet.

tempest in a teapot.

[Ginto]

120. Disgusting due to being unnatural.

Once they have teeth, it's time to wean. This kid will have an interesting time dating.

[antigone382]

278. It's actually not at all unnatural.

There are cultures where it isn't uncommon to breastfeed until the age of seven. In many foraging societies, the norm is four to five years old. Public health professionals in the U.S. say that at least two years is optimal (and many believe there are benefits up to the age of three and beyond), and that is long after teeth have come in. If this family is impoverished and breast milk is the best way for the child to get easily digestible protein, this is a perfectly logical option, the culturally imposed "ick-factor" notwithstanding. If the child has issues, it will be because of the culture's issues, not his mother's.

[Ginto]

285. Teeth = time to wean.

There is a reason they develop them. I do know a woman who breastfed until about 3. Her daughter would walk up to her and try to manually pry her breast out during get-to-togethers to get a snack. It was definitely interesting.

[antigone382]

297. That isn't what most public health professionals say.

They recommend breastfeeding until at least the age of one (after teeth come in), and say that there are benefits at least until the age of two, and quite possibly until the age of three as well. Many cultures don't wean until much older, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Have you ever questioned why you had the reaction that you did to your friend's choice? Could you really see a way that the mother or child were demonstrably being harmed? Is trying to get at the breast really qualitatively different from trying to grab anything else that a three year old impulsively wants without regard to what others think?

[Ginto]

300. And some physicians rail against vaccines.

I'm just going by what most of nature tells us.

You've convinced me, I think breastfeeding up until 18 shouldn't be frowned upon :).

Oh and to answer your question, the breastfeeding didn't bother me as much as the reason for it. She said because it made her feel close to the child. I guess she couldn't feel close if they ate solid foods.

[antigone382]

307. *MOST* public health professionals advocate breastfeeding until at least age one.

Not a few fringe crazies. There is a huge difference.

And if you can find a culture that allows breastfeeding until age eighteen, then we'll talk about that. There's also a huge difference between a three-year-old and an eighteen-year-old.

So what if it did make her feel close to the child? I repeat, can you point out a concrete way it was psychologically harming a small child to still be breastfeeding, when it's exactly what many small children in the world do?

Anthropology should be a required course.

[Ginto]

309. Once again, teeth = time to start weaning.

Sorry if we humans are above nature.

[Hannah Bell]

348. too bad your contention is supported by -- oh, nothing.

neither human history nor women's actual present-day practice.

kids get their first baby tooth at about 4-8 months.

they're called "baby teeth" or "milk teeth," you know.

[antigone382]

308. Dupe. n/t

[Crunchy Frog]

125. I have no problem with extended breastfeeding.

But 6 is going a little overboard on that. I don't think it's going to be a good thing for that kids mental health down the road.

[Upton]

127. That's some sick stuff..

the woman obviously has issues..If she wants someone to be sucking on her breasts, why doesn't she get hubby to do it?

[uppityperson]

148. hahahahaha. Sexualizing breasts is best? "hubby" should nurse, not kids?

Seriously? Breasts are for "hubby" to suck on and kids doing it is "sick"? Seriously? A grown man nursing is what breasts are "for"?

[tigereye]

211. ya know, I think that some of what builds the cultural ick factor is the

what is a function of a breast? issue. How is it seen? Is it seen as the property of babes and kids first, and then of men? (and perhaps not of the woman herself?)

Interesting questions...

[AmandaMae]

135. I wouldn't say it's "horrifying" but she should stop before he gets any older.

[Poll_Blind]

136. Fine by me. This is not entirely unheard of either, especially with an older sibling.

If you take away the automatic puritanical sexualization of doing anything other than breastfeeding an infant, what possible problem could there be with it?

PB

[Bunny]

139. Disgusting. That woman has issues.

[vanlassie]

261. And you know this how?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

142. before we judge...

let's see how the kid is doing as he enters relationships with other women (assuming he isn't gay).

sP

[HopeHoops]

144. Nothing wrong with that. It is common in many cultures and in no way a "sexual perversion".

[Poll_Blind]

145. It's the boobs thing. Many can't get past the automatic sexualization of breasts.

I can't entirely blame them but they should know better. First and foremost, breasts are meant to produce milk to feed children.

:shrug:

PB

[HopeHoops]

150. I'm a guy. I like tits. Facts be facts here. But YES! They are for FEEDING CHILDREN!

Guys just happen to like them too. That doesn't in any way change the fact that they are there for the purpose of feeding children and many studies have shown the immune system benefits passed on to the kids. In some countries, if the mothers didn't breast feed into the sixth year or so the children would starve. A vast number of Americans are too hung up on the sexual aspect and have lost all concept of what breasts are primarily intended to provide - nourishment.

[NoodleyAppendage]

170. They also serve a sexual/biologically-driven purpose.

Pleasure centers in the female brain light up like a Christmas tree when the nipples are stimulated. Presumably, this serves two purposes; 1.) decreases sensitivity to breast feeding pain, 2.) provides erotic stimulus to prompt the female to copulate and procreate. You can't tease the sexual from the functional with those suckers.

J

[uppityperson]

174. Since this happens for men also, what is that purpose? nt

[NoodleyAppendage]

185. Atavistic trait and undifferentiated tissue from early fetal development.

See here:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_men_have_nipples

[uppityperson]

189. I meant being them good feelings, not just having nipples

Pleasure centers in the male brain light up like a Christmas tree when the nipples are stimulated. Presumably, this serves...what purposes?

[seabeyond]

196. play? nt

[NoodleyAppendage]

246. Same PNS nerve tracts in males and females from early fetal development.

It also likely has something to do with how the somatosensory cortex of the brain is organized. Bodily regions closest to those on the somatosensory humonculus that code for genital regions sensation are likely to elicit arousal (e.g., foot region on somatosensory cortex is very close to genital region, etc.).

J

[seabeyond]

154. the difference from today and yesterday. growing up in the 60's, mothers often breast fed regularly

whereever they were. i remember often having a mother around breast feeding. was such a norm. no one bothered with it. i would run up on a mom to say something, for her to be breastfeeding, move the blanket away to coo at the baby, without thought to a boob, and then ask what i wanted, go off on my way.

i was talking to my father about it and that is how he remembered it in his time, back in the forties.

the issue today, is we want the breast to only be about sex for male entertainment, and no longer associated with feeding of baby. as we yell from top of our lungs what a puritan nation we are.

i ponder

about how much this supposed "puritan" behavior today is vs the past when breastfeeding was NO issue at all.

[Poll_Blind]

158. Where I live, it's very common to see women whipping out boobs to quiet hungry children.

It's very common here. What isn't common is people freaking out about it, though I'm sure it happens on occasion.

PB

[seabeyond]

165. see, the problem. i was raised in AZ, moved to calif until in 20's. living in texas and have been

for two decades. i thought from what i have heard on news, and outraged stories on breastfeeding that seems to be nation wide, that it isnt just here. but texas, they breast feed, but not in public, that is for sure

[tigereye]

214. well, it's weird, sea, since on some level there's a divide between the gener-

ation of women who felt that they had to cover up while feeding baby (I had lots of shirts, etc. when I breastfed) and women now who are much more comfortable with having it all out there, so to speak, more natural. It's probably also depends on the individual woman and her comfort level, or her support system's comfort level.


It shouldn't matter, but it does. What angers me is when people insist breast-feeding moms leave restaurants or other public places and go to bathrooms (yuk) etc.


:hi: This thread had that old DU discussion feel - nice!

[seabeyond]

234. This thread had that old DU discussion feel - nice! ... i hear ya. i thought so too

it has been a different flavor of late. this is much more comfortable. if a person differs, with just discussion, people can mellow out and actually discuss. and humor in the mix.

:toast:

[tigereye]

282. so the question is, is this a result of the new rules, or a new paradigm?

Interesting. :thumbsup:

[JitterbugPerfume]

151. people should not be so open minded that their brain falls out

this is disgusting and harmful to that child

[muchacho caliente]

152. Six is too old, and

17 is too young.

:-)

[fadedrose]

155. This should be a private affair

How in the world can this woman pose for this picture - the poor six-year old will never live down the teasing...

Right or wrong, it's nobody's business but theirs and I feel she's an idiot who is starved for attention....

[CTyankee]

206. NAw, the 6 yr. old is getting the same attention as his baby brother.

So all mama is doing is giving him the same privileges the baby has, so he won't feel left out.

I don't understand why you guys don't GET this? It's OBVIOUS.

And, oh, of course he won't have the teasing...this will be forgotten in a day or so...nobody cares (except maybe you)...pleez...

[ProdigalJunkMail]

160. i think the most telling line in the article is

"his ­interest was only reignited when his little brother came along."

says a lot about the boy's and the mother's motivation...

sP

[cherish44]

286. I think it has more to do with this boy wants some attention from his mom than nutrition

and some moms do try to extend their kids' "babyhood" more than others. It's more for their OWN comfort than the needs of the child at a certain point. I know someone who still spoon feeds her nine year old daughter sometimes. I personally find that bizarre but it's her choice. I imagine this little girl will eventually say Mom, that's enough, I can handle it myself. But for now the 9 year has no problem with mom feeding her.

[TroglodyteScholar]

163. If the kid is old enough to say "I want a tit"...

...it's probably time to teach him how to pour a bowl of cereal instead ffs.

[Hannah Bell]

177. You seem to believe the two are mutually exclusive.

[TroglodyteScholar]

193. I seem to believe they *should* be. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

205. if they were, few babies would survive infancy.

[TroglodyteScholar]

215. If you say so. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

220. yes, i say so. plenty of one & two year olds can say "i wanna tit". so according to

you, those children should be on a diet of "real" food -- even, for example, if they lived in the artic north, where, traditionally, the average age of weaning was 3-4 years.

do you really think a winter diet of mostly pre-masticated meat & broth is ideal for a 1-2 year old?

people who make pronouncements about what "should be" in human culture typically haven't thought it through.

The main reason that we enlightened beings wean early, comparatively speaking, is the profoundly unnatural requirement that a large percent of mothers work outside the home in a setting where children aren't welcome.

The only reason most people here are horrified by a child nursing (though I doubt it's more than comfort nursing) at age 6 is because of their own cultural assumptions.

[Ginto]

316. It's like people who are horrified by female circumcision.

It's completely natural in some cultures.

[vanlassie]

393. Cute, Ginto.

[frogmarch]

173. Disgusting.

The mother is deranged.

[Taverner]

178. I dunno - its not going to KILL the kid

And it won't screw him up sexually - we have the ad industry to do that...

[underpants]

182. We have 5 year old.

the answer is horrifying

[Blue_In_AK]

186. No older than two, in my opinion.

The longest I breastfed any of my kids was 18 months, and that was just in the morning when I was too lazy to get up. I could get her to snooze for another half hour or so if I brought her into bed with me and nursed her a bit.

I think six years old is kind of bizarre.

[moriah]

190. My thought -- doesn't breast milk contain higher mercury and other contaminants?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/380948.stm

Since environmental contaminants bio-accumulate as you go further up the food chain and samples of breast milk are often used to determine the level of environmental pollution in a community? Obviously for infants the potential chemical exposure is outweighed by the benefits of breastmilk on neural development, nutrition, immunity, etc. But at what point do the health benefits decrease? At what point is breast milk more contaminated than standard food that the child could eat?

http://www.nrdc.org/breastmilk/pcb.asp

One quote from this:

"At least one recent study has found slightly worse neurological performance (slower response times and worse performance on a standardized test of higher-level problem solving) in nine-year-old Dutch children whose mothers had higher PCB levels in their breast milk and who breast fed for a longer time, as compared to children whose mothers had lower levels of PCBs and who breastfed for a somewhat shorter time. On the other hand, prolonged breastfeeding in this study was associated with better spatial organizational skills in these children."

I don't have time to do the math, but that would be my only health concern with it. Would a kid that was probably just comfort sucking really be drinking enough of it to matter?

[nolabear]

192. Something not being addressed here is the cultural norm where they are.

I have some reason to believe that nursing at age six within a culture where it's not the norm will have consequences that might not be in the child's best interest. It could well be different if many kids in your country/village/religious sect/whatever are treated that way, but in the UK it's likely that he's either going to have to defend his breastfeeding or keep it a secret as if it IS a shameful thing that he and his mother share.

A six year old is also getting to a developmental milestone, "The age of industry," when mental and emotional processes are ripe for blossoming outward and taking great, even exaggerated pride in maturity and independence. The parent's job is to protect while allowing the little one to become a little grandiose in his opinion of himself and his mastery of the world. Keeping this little boy aomewhat apart from his peers in this area (and I admit I don;t know what else they do parentally) runs the risk of losing out on a fine time to declare his "maturity" and capability, trading it for pseudo-infancy.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

195. +1

[hamsterjill]

298. +2

I would worry that he would be teased if any of his little friends found out that he was still nursing. If, as you indicate, it was the cultural norm, it would be no big deal. But a six year old still nursing in this situation is not the cultural norm, or else there would be no story to tell.

Much like the Gosselin kids who, I fear, will be teased when their potty training videos are you-tube fodder for their contemporaries (whether now or in another few years when they reach adolescence), how is this child now going to be treated by other children since his activity has been made so public?

[tigereye]

198. I dunno, 6 seems a little old - most moms I know who breastfeed toddlers-

plus say that when the kid gets tired of it, or realizes he/she is too old, that's the end.

[JoePhilly]

213. By that age, we are into issues of control (for mom) and dependency (for the kid).

[Hannah Bell]

271. kids gradually abandon the breast, most by age three. entirely on their own.

those who continue nurse less & less & 100% abandon nursing entirely by age 7.

very difficult to *force* a kid to continue nursing if he doesn't want to.

issues of control & dependency can be expressed very easily in lots of ways.

there's no shortage of control & dependency issues in our culture, where breast feeding typically ends completely (& typically before the child *wants* to give up the breast, so somewhat traumatically) before 1 y/o.

these are just straw men folks throw up because they're uncomfortable with the idea of extended breast feeding. to some, it feels "icky" & they search for explanations for their feeling.

but it's just their feeling.

[JoePhilly]

324. Not a straw-man.

Most women find breast-feeding to be a positive experience for them personally (although not all do). It reinforces a closeness that is not achieved in any other way. This is not universal, but it is more common than not.

Your point about the first year makes sense. Somewhere in that time, the mother and child determine when to "end it". And sure, maybe they decide to go longer. There is no hard a fast date on it. But 1 year is a common. And somewhat longer is normal too.

But when you get to 4, 5, 6, 7 ... nope ... this is no longer a joint decision.

The mother, who enjoys breast feeding (it is a reinforcing activity) past 3 does not need to "force" it. All she has to do is offer in the right way. It is easy for her to "suggest" it to a child who would otherwise "abandon it". These suggestions are not "force" in a physical sense, but they do create a tension for the child. How does a child say NO when mom offers the breast. And even if they say NO ... Mom can repeat the offer. The pressure is applied.

My PhD is in Experimental Psych, and so I have some familiarity with this space ... although it is not my area of specialization.

To provide an example ... I know a family in which extended breast feeding is their model. They also have a "family bed".

During one get together, I noticed the mother repeatedly suggesting to their 5 year old that they should go be alone. The 5 year old did not want to go, she wanted to play with the other kids. The 5 year-old did not want to go breast feed.

The father is my old friend. So I asked him what was up. He said, his daughter still liked to breast feed. And his wife allowed it. But from what I saw ... mom wanted the 5 year old to breast feed, not the reverse.

I can understand some extended breast feeding ... but by 5, no. As you note kids abandoned it before year 3 ... after that, you have to suspect that the parent is the one driving it.

[seabeyond]

356. i think most moms understand their power and ability in manipulation and responsibility as a parent

to NEVER do it in harm. self gratification and martydom isnt condusive to good parenting. and i think that many of us ont he thread recognizes the possibility of just what you suggest.

[JoePhilly]

369. Thank you ...

I was a bit nervous posting that post ...

As a man, posting in threads like this, I try to be careful in my efforts to describe what women "feel". Clearly I can't feel the same things that a woman feels. And, I also want to be sensitive to the fact that men are often (too often) telling women how they "should feel" or how they should "not feel" in various situations.

And so complicating my dilemma (should I post not post), I have some relevant background in this space. So I feel like I can add a perspective, but I don't want to be "that stupid guy who thinks he knows how women should feel about breast feeding, as if he's ever done it!"

And so I really appreciate your response. Thanks again.

btw ... I liked your "never do harm" statement. Kids are very resilient. Far more so than we give them credit for. In a sense, they are designed to adapt to "bad parenting" ... which is good, because parenting is hard, and we as parents make lots and lots of mistakes.

My wife and I developed a model many years ago in which, any time something "goes wrong", say one of the kids freaks out, one of us starts screaming, whatever it is (harm, in your terms)... she and would I later, try to assess what happened. And not only do we discuss what the child did wrong, but also what WE did wrong.

This started with our first child (now 17). At about 2-3 years old, at night he would fight going to bed. He had no issue prior. And at some point one of us would go in to his room to try and settle him down and get him to go to sleep. We used those baby monitors, and so the one of us that was OUTSIDE the room listened to the interaction INSIDE the room.

And what we learned was that he used different strategies to get to stay up, depending on which of us came to his room. He had figured out our individual "weaknesses" already. So he would complain that he was sick if my wife went in, or he'd complain that he was scared of something if I came in.

We also found that he would call for one or the other of us on different nights. He already had a plan for what his "problem" would be and he'd call for the parent who responded to that problem. So, we started to switch up ... if he called for mommy, I would go, if he called for Daddy, my wife would go. And this would disrupt his plan. The interactions that followed were very interesting, as he tried to adapt his plan for the unexpected parent.

My point (other than telling what I think is a funny story) is that even at 2 or 3 kids start to intentionally insert themselves in the decision making process. They are not passive. And that's part of my point on an agreement on when to end Breastfeeding. Generally, mom knows its over, and so does the child. They generally reach that decision jointly.

[seabeyond]

370. i LOVE your story. and you are right on. my niece has a little one.

i tell her, that kid is much more capable than what she is thinkin. the kid is clearly the one with the power and not going ot behoove either by the time she is a teenager. but i love how you guys got the clue in listening to the different approaches with your little one. i bet yawl giggled. those are really the fun moments in parenting. love it.

[JoePhilly]

375. We did giggle ... and outright LAUGH at each other ...

What would happen is that, the one who went to my son's room would return, successful or not, and the other, would be LAUGHING.

Sometimes it was laughing at how the one in the room had won a victory, found a tactic that worked, and how funny it was to hear.

More often, and these were the funniest, were when our son "won" some concession from the one in the room. Because one of us could explain to the other the exact point at which they LOST the debate. Which weakness had destroyed them. The point at which they had been "played".

And those were good because we'd then have a discussion about ... "Ok, where did I screw it up" ... "How did a three year old TRICK me!!??

You should tell niece that it helps to have some one else "listening" ... some one not caught in the moment who is not trying to fix the issue, but trying to analyze it.

My wife and I still do this ... even outside the babay monitor world. If my wife and my son argue and get mad at each other, she and I do this same review. I've also started to review it with him. What does he think Mom did wrong ... and then also get him to admit to what he did wrong. Once they both have taken an objective look, they both start apologizing to each other.

Or they Blame me!!!

[vanlassie]

395. And youe extended schooling as taught you to learn anecdotally?

Using one UNCLEAR example- as in- you didn't really have a clue how that 5 year old normally behaved, versus how her mother who DID know her very, very well, did, correct? Did your schooling tell you it was OK for YOU to draw "nasty" conclusions with barely a scintilla of evidence?? Or are you going to end up as one of those virtually useless "psychologists" who act like they have a clue, by virtue of their degree, regardless of their personal experience? Just asking.

[inna]

216. unimportant and inconsequential

[blueamy66]

218. Horrifying.

way too old....he has teeth for a reason...

[vanlassie]

253. Ha Ha Ha very funny- don't you know that women nurse kids who have teeth??? Everywhere? Always hav

[blueamy66]

331. Is there something more

that you wanted to add?

IMHO...it's horrifying.

[vanlassie]

333. ALWAYS HAVE NURSED KIDS WITH TEETH.

[bigwillq]

221. Not a choice I have to make.

I'll leave that up to the mother and father. Their kid, their choice.

[Blecht]

223. how about a third choice?

Why not mind our own fucking business?

[seabeyond]

237. it is a news story. this is a discussion board. a subject is being discussed

that is the silliest answer on du, ....

[leftstreet]

224. ibtl

[Magsinok]

225. I bf'd until just over 4yo. Six seems a little old to me....

....but since it isn't me, what do I care? Breastmilk never stops being healthy. I would only worry about "breastmilk confusion." Breastmilk customizes itself to the infant/child being fed by adding antibodies to the milk for what the infant has come in contact with. Areola's are smarter than most people think. ;) A six year old is going to be coming in contact with much different things than an infant. None of this is really relative to the topic at hand...........

[vanlassie]

252. But, that younger sibling is exposed to older sib's germs! Tandem nursing is the BEST defense.

[Jamastiene]

229. That depends.

Is it in an Olive Garden and do they have a pet pit bull? :evilgrin:

[lonestarnot]

231. ackety.

[southernyankeebelle]

233. Europeans handle things so different then in america. Six yrs old is

alittle old but am willing to bet this child never gets ill. Breast milk really is good for a child.

[seabeyond]

238. how do they "handle" it differently? it is a news story there. sounding like they

handle it about the same, lol

[Shining Jack]

235. This post is useless without...

any mention of PETA and circumcision. :P

[Throd]

236. Just plain weird

[Gin]

242. this isn't for the kids...the mother gets a thrill...sicko!

[Hannah Bell]

247. That's a bunch of crap. The only sicko is the observer who sexualizes it.

"Essentials of Physical Anthropology," 7th ed, 2009:

"4 or 5 years of nursing is the norm for the great apes and for women in foraging societies"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9736436&mesg_id=9740392

What's profoundly perverse & abnormal is our practice of weaning most children at 6 to 12 months so women can go out & make profits for Capital.

[alphafemale]

249. It can't psychologically healthy for someone to remember breastfeeding

And to post a picture of your six year old so that no one else will ever forget it either is even more disturbing.

[vanlassie]

251. And you know this...how?

[alphafemale]

256. And you know it won't be psychologically disturbing...how?

I fall on the side of not experimenting with and possibly causing a psychological tripping point because of a parental ego.

[vanlassie]

260. Because I nursed a child until age 5.5 and they are healthy and well adjusted at age 27 now.

What is your PERSONAL experience?

[alphafemale]

320. Glad it worked out for you.

I breastfed. But certainly didn't show up at their school to do so.

And if someone is well adjusted and a nurturing parent but was never breastfed....how would you explain that?

[vanlassie]

339. No one. And I mean NO ONE is saying this is the only choice.

We ARE however, saying that all this hystrionic "false concern" is silly, given the fact that MANY children nurse to age six. YOU don't have to choose it- it's not the ONLY way- but it also is not:

For the mother's personal gratification
Because the child is spoiled
Of no nutritional value
Horrifying
A sign of "bad" parenting
Psychologically harmful to the child
Psychologically harmful to the mother
Psychologically or nutritionally harmful to the new baby
AND ANYTHING ELSE USED AS AN EXCUSE BY OTHERS.

No one's judgment is of any value here-you are not the mother or the father,or the child.

And believe me, just because you are not "comfortable" with it does not make you an expert on the subject unless YOU HAVE DONE IT.

[Hannah Bell]

265. it's not an experiment. it was the typical practice during most of human history.

it's our own practice that's atypical & experimental.

[vanlassie]

267. Most of human history flies in the face of your "guessing" about this. Do some research.

[Hannah Bell]

254. "4 to 5 years of nursing is the norm for the great apes and for women

in foraging societies"

http://books.google.com/books?id=TSaSPza9LMYC&pg=PA308&lpg=PA308&dq=nursing+suppresses+ovulation+chimpanzees&source=bl&ots=VctqzMNQXf&sig=b0uanl-MLmYuHQxnavtdbFp4X9U&hl=en&ei=EKQBTb-_CIassAOAlbCtCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=four%20to%20five%20years%20of%20nursing%20is%20the%20norm&f=false

so, that must be why *our* civilization is so "normal" & non-modern societies were so screwed up.

The psychological trauma induced by remembering the nursing experience.

lol.

[alphafemale]

258. We aren't apes nor a primitive society.

And cave mom Sally didn't post pics of her six-year-olds breastfeeding on the internet for all the world to see.

[Hannah Bell]

259. i fail to see why nursing at age 6 suddenly becomes a source of psychological

trauma upon transition from a foraging society to a "modern" one.

i think the fact that most mothers/family have to leave their children most of the day at an early age is a more important source of trauma.

[Hannah Bell]

272. ps: foraging societies aren't "cave people"

[alphafemale]

321. Foraging/Primative societies don't have the priviledge of worrying about psychological trauma

If you are worried about day to day survival or being eaten by a lion or dying before you're 25? That whole wounded "inner child" thing is probably never going to cross your radar.

[vanlassie]

263. Only "certain" people seem bothered, though.... hmmmm....

I wonder why this is?

[alphafemale]

319. hmmmm A few people really tag teaming on this thread. I wonder why that is? hmmmm

Face it. You are way at the far side of the Bell Curve on this one. It may have worked for you and that's fine but you are at the opposite end of the spectrum of women who even refuse to consider breastfeeding. Who are also in a small minority.

Both sides are extremes, that's all.

[vanlassie]

334. And you know this HOW?

[vanlassie]

264. And YOU, alphafemale, are bothered by this. Hmmm. why is that, exactly?

I think the large majority of humans could not care less about this. They assign NO special meaning to it. But YOU do. Why?

[alphafemale]

317. I'm more bothered by the posting of it on the internet than anything nt

i can just imagine. Hey, little johnny. come here a minute? Isn't this that little kid who gets on the bus at your stop?

[vanlassie]

337. Mmmm.... and how would "little Johnny's "little friend" know this?

[alphafemale]

350. Because his attention seeking mommy posted it to the intertubes???

Gee...maybe.

It's all aflame here for sure.

Just like attention mommy wanted

[saras]

257. Almost trollish...

It's well within the established human realm of normal, and generally no big deal. Kids do an AMAZINGLY good job of deciding when to quit, and they don't follow the calendar, they follow their own development.

If it bothers you, you need to get outside the mainstream of the gutter more often. Read some anthropology or something.

[Mimosa]

270. None of my business and i don't care.

It may be 'different' but it's not abuse.

[struggle4progress]

[guitar man]

273. Wow, 6

My wife nursed my daughter until she was almost 2 and then my daughter just decided she didn't want it anymore one day.

I'm 47 and she still hasn't weaned me though :evilgrin:

[Le Taz Hot]

284. Neither.

It's none of my business.

[cherish44]

288. When this kid gets to high school all the other boys are going to want to trade lunches with him...

Seriously though, breast milk is a wonderfully nutritious food that I'm sure would benefit people of all ages but common sense and mother nature (in the form of teeth) indicates that it is for feeding infants. Anyway to argue this is pointless. I'm not going to change your mind, you're not going to change mine. Stalemate is called.

[howard112211]

289. And my "verdict" is

:thumbsup: Their right to decide.

[NorthCarolina]

290. She should probably stop when breastfeeding puts a tent in his pants. nt

[Donnachaidh]

314. ROFLMAO!!!!!

I really shouldn't laugh :rofl:

[alphafemale]

323. So. i'm not the only one that noticed. nt

[Hannah Bell]

384. dirty minds see dirty things.

[alphafemale]

391. An erection on a little boy is "dirty" REALLY!?

Wow. OK. That tells me a little more about your mindset.

lol

[Hannah Bell]

401. the fact that you see an erection tell me a little more about yours.

and your friends'.

[Barack_America]

291. "Lellow"

He uses a made up word to describe it when he is fully capable of saying, "Mother, may I please have some breastmilk too?". That tells me there is a component of regression and infantilization going on here and puts me in the "horrifying" camp.

[vanlassie]

294. Mothers deliberately teach or encourage a made up- not identifiable word for nursing

for the EXACT reason that this discussion illuminates- SOME people don't understand the normal course of nursing. What it "tells you" is off-base, actually.

[cherish44]

292. Don't judge her? Guess what? I didn't breast feed my kids at all

I'll bet a few people that are telling us not to judge her are currently judging me for my choice

[seabeyond]

296. good point. and i bet you are right on. i have seen posts talking about the amazing difference

in the children of breast fed, and not. i had one i breastfed. my youngest didnt work out so well with breastfeeding. NO difference in their health or anything else that had to do with early developmental feeding.

[mainer]

293. Does he yank her breast out at inappropriate times?

That was the objection I had with a relative who breastfed her kid until he was age five. The kid treated mom like a milk cow, and no matter where they were -- in public or dining with friends -- when the kid was hungry, he'd just reach in mom's blouse and whip out her breast, whether she wanted to expose herself or not. And if she didn't let him take out her breast for him, he'd throw a tantrum.

That showed no respect for mom's privacy, and no respect for mom as a separate human being who might not want to do it at that particular moment.

[vanlassie]

295. And it was a problem for whom? Her or you?

[mainer]

310. definitely for her. She was angry at him

and the kid was fussing at her.

[vanlassie]

335. Yeah, kids never fuss.

[mainer]

357. How many fussing kids rip at your blouse and assault you?

Honestly, that's how it looked to all us other moms. The kid's mother seemed really embarrassed to have to be fighting off a pawing by her four-year-old son.

At that point, I'm sure she wished she'd weaned him earlier.

[vanlassie]

358. No, we don't like it, and yes, we often wish it was otherwise,

but so what? It's obviously an ongoing conscious choice, people. Embarrassed in front of a camera? No shit. Upset kid in front of a camera with all that stress? That's not a normal day in the life. Get real. Get over it. Call it assault? Ttalk about fanning a flame. Is that your intent?

[mainer]

360. Kids need to respect their mothers. That is all.

I'm not fanning any flames. Just describing what it looked like to me -- a kid who did not respect the physical integrity of a mom's blouse, or her protests that this was not a good time to be tugging her breast out for everyone to see.

[vanlassie]

361. I respect mothers. And that they know their own children best.

And therefore, in the absence of something illegal or immoral or unsafe, it is not mine to judge her- how about you?

[mainer]

364. Anyone can breastfeed till the kid's 50 for all I care

but the mother in question looked unhappy and put-upon and victimized by a child who was clearly in control of her life.

Sometimes, choices we mothers make backfire on us. And breastfeeding until the kid's old enough and strong enough to rip your blouse when he wants it may not be the best choice for a mom's happiness.

[vanlassie]

368. Possible. But you know less than I do about her situation, I feel quite sure, since I nursed to age

5 for one and 5.5 for the other- something I consider gives me a lot of credibility to talk about such matters. You and I are in no position to judge this mother for one second of her nursing timeframes.

[okieinpain]

299. now you want to know whats really dumb and stupid. I've looked

at this post like a million times and I keep wondering why people are commenting on it, and it finally hit me "A SIX YEAR" oh my freaking god that is so freakin gross..... she has to be a sarah palin fan....


ewwwwww!!!!!!

[HuckleB]

327. What does Sarah Palin have to do with it?

:shrug:

[Donnachaidh]

311. Little Britain had a comment on this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxgoGyG6Hg8

[Stevenmarc]

312. LOL I posted it earlier in this thread, pretty much says it all

[Hepburn]

313. Looks like the Mom is getting off on something...

...maybe the attention, but I think the picture says a lot about where she is coming from: Not about what is good for the children, but all about her.

IMO, when a child is old enough to get the tit for him/her self, breast feeding days are over.

[ddeclue]

315. Um cut the apron strings already mom... this is horrifying.

[Liberal_in_LA]

322. What is she going to do if she has a 3rd baby? Hopefully the oldest will

have moved onto a sippy cup by then

[Lucian]

325. That's not right at all and it's very disturbing.

Good god.

[vanlassie]

359. Disturbing to YOU, right? What ELSE disturbs you?

And where, pray tell, on your "list of disturbing things" does a Mother Nursing Her Children" fall??

[Lucian]

363. I have no problems with a mother nursing...

as long as the kid is of nursing age.

But at six years old, that kid doesn't need to be nursed anymore. Thanks to mother's over attachment of the child, that kid is going to grow up fucked up.

But thanks for your fauxrage.

[vanlassie]

367. Perhaps you didn't hear thatI nursed one until age 5 and the otheruntil 5.5

One is a health, married father of a breastfeeding (so far) 21 month old, and the other is a successful, married, delightfully funny and well balanced adult as well. What are your creds?

[Lucian]

376. That's messed up.

I'm betting the kindergartners made fun of your kids.

I don't have breasts, so I can't breastfeed. I do know when a baby should be weaned, and it's not at five years old. So why did you breastfeed until they were 5, 5.5? Was it because you didn't get the attention you wanted from your parents when you were growing up? Or are you not all there upstairs? How far off am I?

[vanlassie]

380. Well, only one of us calling names, kiddo.

[Lucian]

381. You're deflecting.

[vanlassie]

385. You are saying that my kids were made fun of? Nope- they were leaders, both of them.

You are saying I wanted attention? Hmmm....how can I answer that? I know? Take a look at how long I've been here and how many times breastfeeding has been a raging, days long topic, and then check how many times I have bothered to get into the fray. I rarely suffer fools. I'm just making an exception this one time.

[HuckleB]

326. Neither. (Looks like a slow day, even for the Daily Fail.)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

329. i honestly think this is a "not our business" issue

its not child abuse, its not horrifying, its not great, its just a type of unusual parenting

[Dorian Gray]

379. I agree

the only problem I have is the mother going to the news with the story, trying to get....????? what exactly????? out of it. Attention? Justification? Acceptance? I don't know.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

404. even then, i still think its not our business. till something falls into the category of abuse

i think parents have a right to raise their kids 'differently'

[Withywindle]

338. Well, if I ever thought there was a chance that my "maternal instinct" might show up late in life

that picture just killed the possibility dead.



Makes me wish I could still rec.

[seabeyond]

341. oh withy

i spit on myself laughing at your conclusion. oh, you.

[Withywindle]

346. Hey, it's what I think.

This is NOT an image that's going to convince any woman who's ambivalent to motherhood to change her mind.

I wouldn't even do that for paid vacation and health insurance.

:scared:


:rofl:

[seabeyond]

347. lol lol

and the nifty.... none of us HAS to. lol

[Withywindle]

349. On a serious note.

I think it's good for children to grow up. Isn't that the way it's supposed to go? I don't think the process should be RUSHED, as all too often happens in our society, but I don't think it should be held back either.

I think a lot of parents idealize childhood and want to keep their kids there as long as possible. I also think this butts up against the natural desire of children to grow, test limits, learn how to live at each stage of life.

It's a creative tension. And of course it's different from culture to culture and time period to time period and individual kids and individual parents. And power struggles between parent and child about what is and what is not appropriate are part of this process, perfectly normal.

Breastfeeding at 6? Yeah, that's creepy to me. When I was 6, I was in school and my mom had a job. I had zero memory of, or interest in, her boobs. We had quality time, we cuddled, we played, we talked, she read to me...I didn't need bodily fluids to feel close to her.

[seabeyond]

355. i think you about got it

i see it like you do. there are lots of way to make that child feel good and well loved after bringing a baby into the house that does not involve regressing. as a matter of fact, i can see some wonderful opportunities being missed in allowing the child a confidence and security

[Cerridwen]

340. From which country and from what time am I passing judgement?

Poverty stricken exploited country during the Middle Ages?

Or, the "Greatest Country on Earth: USA! USA!" from which I can pass judgement based on my Victorian Era, WASPy values?

In the first case we're talking survival. In the second case we're talking "mind your own damned business."

Oh, wait, it's in the UK from which we received our Victorian, WASPy values; in that case, isn't there some CCTV to oogle for nightly titillation?

The daily mail and the national enquirer: peas in a pod. Blech.

[taught_me_patience]

362. Horrifying

Why not pump so he can drink from a cup?

[Cairycat]

365. Not one reply calling it horrifying has given

one shred of research or any sources to affirm their opinion. Those who think it's acceptable have.

[Nye Bevan]

366. Americans are *so* weird about breasts.

Anyone who is "horrified" by this has their own issues that they should work on. As I posted above, to me breastfeeding a 6-year old is similar to letting a 6-year old suck on a pacifier. Not developmentally appropriate, but far from being "horrifying".

[seabeyond]

371. did you say that. didnt see.

that is about how i would feel. but i bet many would say how "horrible" if they saw a 6 yr old sucking a pacifer. though once broken down, it would equate to, not developmentally appropriate.

[Arkana]

390. These are not even remotely the same thing.

A pacifier is a plastic toy. Breastfeeding when the kid is old enough to stand, walk around, talk, and feed himself is fucking bizarre and you're never going to convince 95% of the country otherwise.

[Nye Bevan]

397. Thanks for proving my point (nt)

[Ilsa]

372. Why can't people let them be? I bet they have a healthy relationship.

Why does everyone seem to think itis their business to tell a woman how to mother her children. Leave them the fuck alone.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

373. agreed

[seabeyond]

378. hm... mama put it out there? why are you blaming us. we didnt pull it out of her

private life. she made her private life public, picture and all.

[K8-EEE]

377. I breastfed my kids WHEN THEY WERE INFANTS

Hello this woman is a F-R-E-A-K! Once they get TEETH and can EAT FOOD they don't have to be on breast milk, Jesus Christ people are so crazy.

[Faygo Kid]

382. Pretty weird thread. And yes, that's ridiculous.

She's a control freak, if you ask me. And check out those kids in 15 years; hopefully, they will be done breastfeeding by then. Hopefully.

[TARAmisu80]

386. A bit too much...

That boy is 6 years old and should by now clearly understand the differences between a male and female. By the time a child can begin to ask questions about body parts- you should not be getting undressed in any means in front of them (my opinion!) I have two children and I'd be darned if I was going to stick my boob in a 6 yr old's mouth! That child should be in school- does that not sound like a problem?? He should be more concerned with toys and playing and watching tv and boy kid stuff rather than "lellow"- a big boob in the mouth! That woman has some really bad issues going on in her brain if she feels she needs to shove her boob in her 6 yr old's mouth in order to make herself feel needed!!! Honestly, I think she should get into some kind of trouble legally!!! A man can't go around exposing his genitals to a young child- why should she get away with showing her 6 yr old her boobs and then shoving them into his mouth??? It's almost the same thing as molestation in my book!!! Heck, I'm wondering if the woman gets "excited" on the sensation of breastfeeding!!! Talking about a "titty-baby" and a wack job!!! Watch out for what those kids become!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

387. Can we get together & do some kind of a DENIAL OF SERVICE on her?

:*

[RegieRocker]

394. are you suggesting that you and many others

line up to breastfeed so that her six year old can't latch on?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

403. If that is what I inadvertently suggested, I now advertently unsuggest it.

Also, speaking of mouths, I just threw up in mine a little
at the thought of, at the least, the unsanitariness of the image
you proffered.

[Arkana]

389. Horrifying.

I don't care what "alternate" school of parenting you subscribe to, at some point breastfeeding graduates to the "creepy" stage.

[vanlassie]

407. And YOUR point which must not be crossed is...? DO enlighten us.

[Desertrose]

392. Not really anybody elses business....

if you don't want to see...don't look.


Don't we have bigger things to concern ourselves with?

[Ozymanithrax]

398. Neither... n/t

[bomberman]

399. That's creepy and wrong (n/t)

[vanlassie]

409. And you are an expert? Welcome to DU. Were HOPING for a breastfeeding expert.

[TK421]

408. I don't see a cigarette in her hand, so I guess this is okay

the only thing missing is the neverending salad and all-you-can eat breadsticks

When you're here, you're family!