Time to stop breastfeeding?
Few things heat debate among parents up like the delicate issue of when to stop breastfeeding. Anyone who caught a glimpse of Time magazine’s front cover for May, showing a young mum breastfeeding her three-year-old, will no doubt have been shocked.
Twenty-six-year-old Jamie Lynne Grumet is an advocate of ‘attachment parenting’, but recalls being breastfed by her own mother up to age six.
In her follow-up interview, Jamie points out that one of the reasons she has decided to make her choice public is to ‘normalise’ it within a culture where breastfeeding beyond a certain age is considered unacceptable.
Her hope is that by letting more people see it, it will become more socially normal.
To a certain extent, I can appreciate this sentiment. Prevailing social norms do have a habit of getting away with themselves, to the point where a mother who breastfeeds a child up to two years’ old is frowned upon. Yet the World Health Organization explicitly recommends breastfeeding up to two years and beyond.
We have to put this into context of course. One of the reasons breastfeeding is sensible in other countries beyond what is typical in the UK or US is that, nutritionally, it is probably the best way of ensuring poor families provide for their little ones.
Personally though, I wonder at the practicalities of breastfeeding a child of nearly four years’ old in a developed country like the US or UK. There are plenty of other alternatives and – by Jamie’s own admission – breastfeeding for this long can prove an incredible challenge for most mums.
Leaving aside whether you think breastfeeding until school age is right or wrong, it’s certainly not something most mums could ever manage.
Jamie has the luxury of working from home and chooses to home school her children. But this isn’t an option for most mums I know. So even if you do agree with Jamie in principle, is this kind of parenting practical in today’s modern, work-orientated lifestyle?
The issue I had with this cover was the pose didn’t look natural. Who do you know who makes their child (of any age) stand on a chair to breastfeed!
It is definitely a contentious issue. My friend whose daughter is 17 months was recently asked by a doctor of all people ‘Is there any reason why you’re still breastfeeding your child?’
My son is 16 months and I still breastfeed twice a day, after breakfast and just before bed. If I’m not hurting anyone I really don’t see that anyone else has a say in what I do with my child
I’m not sure how to approach this as there are too many people with too many opinions about things that they have no right to comment about.
I am currently breastfeeding my 3 month old son and plan to stop by 6 months, as I feel that he will become too clingy as a child (plus i have to go back too work!)
I have fed him both breast and bottle’s right from birth, despite being advised not to do so.
It’s surely entirely up to the mother? I personally wouldn’t until 3 , as I feel the child should be independant by this time, also, I can’t wait to be ‘me’ again. But what difference does it make to other people?
Attachment parenting or natural parenting is all about trusting your instincts and following your baby’s lead. I work 40 hours a week and I find parenting this way works so much better for me. With my first I stressed myself out so much trying to stick to a schedule and follow all of the rules in certain books and I honestly lost a lot of joy in my childs first 2 years. This time around I breastfeed, co-sleep, do baby led weaning and I am so much more relaxed and I enjoy every second of it. I breastfeed my 5 month old on demand, whenever she wants and I also breastfeed my 3 year old. A lot of people have misconceptions on just how much a toddler breastfeeds. Around 18 months my child cut down on nursing sessions to only 4 a day, then 3, then 2 and now at 3yrs 8 months only breastfeeds for 10 minutes each night, maybe a little more if not feeling well. Breastfeeds do not replace solid food meals, it’s a nice, comforting extra. I will remain a source of comfort and familiarity for my child as long as I possibly can.
I would also like to point out it can be incredibly challenging to breastfeed a toddler and you certainly can NOT force a child to do it – they have sharp little teeth (which when latched correctly do not come in to contact with nipples)!
No mother should be criticised for her choices and no one should force their choices, beliefs or opinions up on another person. If it is working then carry on as you please!
Ignorance is not an attractive quality and trying to pit mothers against one another and encourage ‘mummy wars’ is not fair.
I am almost 39 weeks pregnant with my second baby and I still feed my 2 and a half year old once or twice a day.
Where I come from, it is a mother’s choice to decide how long she chooses to breastfeed.