super extended breastfeeding

[Anci]

I thought it would be interesting to see what other people say. Is 5, 6, 7, 8 to old to be breastfeeding? watch the video first

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxv6R9fUO74&feature=related

[Kali]

Yep, too old!
When the kid asks in complete sentences for the breast, they are too old!

[Tiffany]

I think that's too old. I don't have a problem with up to 5 years breastfeeding. But school-aged children? I don't know... that's just odd to me. But on the flip side, I really don't care how long other people breastfeed. I don't find it nasty or abusive in any way, so whatever floats their boat.

[Janelle]

I am all for extended breastfeeding, but I agree that this is way too long. I also think that when kids are old enough to be eating mostly solid foods (say 1 1/2 to 2) that that is what they should be eating in public. There was a big discussion on another board about a 4 1/2 year old who ran up to mom on the playground and wanted to nurse in front of all the other kids. Like Kali, I'm very much of the live and let live mindset, but I think social norms do play a role in it. Here is another video on the topic, and the mother in this one is a lot more typical of an extended nurser, I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNBzFOPrbD0

[Anci]

Breastfeeding is wonderul - up to a certain age.. Most seven year olds do not draw pictures of their mothers' breasts, name them, and comment on their different sizes.
I think 8 years old is way too long. I was uncomfortable with the girls' fixations on breasts. They were drawing them and giving them names! I mean, I know that kids aren't supposed to grow up to be ashamed of their bodies, but naming boobs is just too far to me. If my daughter was fixated on "my" boobs I'd feel just really weird.
Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY but neither of those children are toddlers at all.
Nutritionally they are getting most of their vitamins and nutrients from regular table food.
I don't think that the mother is doing it for her children's sake, but for her own feelings of comfort and bonding that she is unable to let go.

[Kali]

I thought that for sure when I clicked on this link it would be that other one you sent me! :) I think it was SNL....?

[Tamara]

Wow, not really sure I would really want my 8 year old hanging off of my breast. Giving them the best start with breast feeding makes sense, but after 2-3 years I would not be interested.

[Janelle]

hahaha...no, it wasn't SNL, the clip is from Little Britain. Here's a funny for everyone on this topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8orUaCJ0GY

[Miri]

It disturbs me on a personal level. I do not see the benefit in it to the child or quite frankly the mother. It is sending a message to these children that even as old as they are-they do not have to acknowledge a hands off policy for other people's bodies....It is a terrible and disturbing message in my opinion.

[Mike]

I used to work with a woman who breast fed her kids until 4+ (I stopped working with her and lost touch). We had a conversation one time about circumcision also. She didn't have her boys circumcised (which is fine if that's your choice) but her reasoning was completely messed up. Her logic was that when they were born, they couldn't make the decision to be circumcised and she didn't want to inflict her will upon her kids. "They can decide to do it when they're old enough," she told me. Yea, like a 16 year old boy who thinks he looks different is going to ask for THAT! I responded by asking her if she would inflict her will upon them if they were about to step out in front of a bus.

[Paula]

I have the same reasoning for why I chose not to circumcise my son. God designed his body a specific way and in my trust in God then I believe he did what was best. SO I will not change his body without his permission. If, when he is 16, he chooses to be circumsized then I will pay for everything including painkillers. To compare not protecting my son to not have him circumsized is ridiculous. The foreskin is there to protect the penis which is why we don't pull it down to even wash it until he is older than 2 and it goes down on its own.
On extended breastfeeding, my son is currently 14 months and not nearly ready to be weaned from the breast. He does eat solid food and quite well, he has teeth, he can ask for it and yet he is not ready. When he is ready the choice is his. Whether that be four, five or six years. The choice is his. BUT I do not agree with the woman in the video making such a huge deal of it. After the age of 3 or 4 when the child does not need the breast for more than comfort really it should not be a public thing UNLESS the child has been hurt, or is sick, or something major has happened to upset her/him. Breastfeeding is the easiest and most comfortable way to comfort a child in need. Otherwise it should be at home or in a nursing room, or changeroom, or car..etc where the mother and child can enjoy their bond without being scrutinized.

[Zicea Becks]

I breast fed my kids, all 6 of them, but I always alternated between the breast and the pump. (I work and it's not always great to pop a boob out if you're in the middle of a staff meeting).

I stopped the breast when they got to about 6 months (teeth start coming in). Then it was all pumped milk until about 14 months.

After that, they got regular milk and were eatting table foods.


I didn't watch the video...if a person wants to walk around with a kid old enough to wipe their own a*s attached to their boob, that's their business.

Weird, but their business....

[Reed's Mama]

How odd. I'm all for breastfeeding, but I find this disturbing. I think I agree with Anci about the mother's attachment to the comfort it appears to provide for the mother.

Incidentally, I also chose not to circumcise my son for a reason somewhat similar to Paula's, though it's not religious in nature. Male (and female, of course) circumcision are forms of mutilation regardless of how you look at it, even though the male version is culturally inscribed and generally accepted. I can't imagine making that choice for someone else -- to permanently change his body. I would never pierce a female baby's ears either, for the same reason. I, and many others whose logic is not particularly "messed-up", find the notion of deciding to change our children's bodies for artifice problematic on a number of level, not the least of which is choosing a circumcision because "most people do it."