TIME magazine and breast feeding a 4 year old

rbn_held

I think it is sick. I have nothing against breast feeding but If the child is old enough to hold a sippie cup then it is too old to be breastfed. Sick sick people out there.

Dovekat

I think the cover and the header are designed to get a heated reaction, and they did. The cover is terrible and not something they should have none on Mother's day as it's bound to promote arguments. I don't have and never will have kids ( so often I'm viewed as not having any right to an opinion on such matters) but I see nothing wrong in letting a child ween naturally, after all that's what breasts were originally designed for, we are mammals. Now I know some mother's cannot for one reason or another BF and that's fine too, at the end of the day as long as mum and baby are happy and being taken care of isn't that all that really matters. But like I said I am not a parent nor do I plan on being one, so maybe I'm wrong.

ren_ascent

Controversy sells and though I've never personally received any negative attention over breastfeeding, which I did with my daughter, I can see how this particular representation would raise a lot of hackles. Breastfeeding needs better representation, not to have the extremes broadcast.

WhittRak

Great. Just what this country needs. Another reason to go after women. This cover is making a point, and if you were disgusted by it, then go tell it off a mountain.

sammyjbray

Wow! A lot of judgemental people on here who aren't even mothers yet! I have 6 children, all breastfed, at times the toddler would still want milk along with the newborn, but I managed. Hell, that's what breasts are for! I was guided by the child as to when they were ready to finish, the longest was 3 and a half years, the shortest 19 months. They have still managed to wallk and talk fine, and have even managed school ok. Who'd have thought it? Human milk for human babies; nature didn't invent bottles, just sayin.

Mrsfullwood

Breast feeding is great, I did it myself for only a few months. But just like some of us said it comes a point when it's time to wean a child from it. Yes, America has a way to sexualize everything but I simply saw it as a child being too big for breast feeding. I feel the same way when I see 3 or 4 year old in pull ups, or a 5 year old with a pacifier or a 8 year old sucking his/her thumb.
How does this child act in public, does he pull at his mother's breast or lift her shirt? I've seen that done plenty of times. How will he adjust when he is in pre-school at age 4? I just don’t get it.

secretlobster

Well its none of anyone's business how long any woman chooses to breastfeed

I don't think anyone really cares how long women choose to breastfeed. That's up to them. I personally don't care. The responses from people who say "4 years is too long" are offering their own opinions based on how they raise their own kids, they're not saying "stop breastfeeding or I'm reporting you to CPS".

You're right, it isn't anyone's business... Until you make yourself a public figure and put your picture on the cover of a national periodical with your child sucking your breast.

BAMFMeredith

Not gonna read through all the bickering and judging, but here's my take:

I am ALL for breastfeeding our babies whenever and wherever they are hungry. BUT. What happens when the child plastered on the front of this magazine is in middle school? Kids are MEAN at that age, and with the internet out there, all it takes is one person finding that picture and making the kid's life hell. I do not find anything offensive about breastfeeding. I find it offensive that something private and personal is being exploited to sell magazines.

I don't really care how other people choose to raise their children, as long as nobody is being hurt. But think about it this way: we were breastfed as babies. We don't have memories of actually nursing from our mothers' breasts...at least I don't. I DO remember things from when I was 3 and 4 years old though, and I have to think that having an actual memory of drinking from my mother's breast would be a really uncomfortable memory.

Additionally, from a nutritional standpoint, it's totally unnecessary. Mammals nurse their young until they are able to receive adequate nutrition from solid foods. Once a child (or puppy, or kitten, etc) is old enough to eat real solid food, there is no need for breast milk any longer, as they can now receive all necessary nutrients via food sources. So, in short, it is completely nutritionally UNNECESSARY to breastfeed a child once they are able to eat a diet completely consisting of solid food (not baby food, but actual food---so really, probably about 2 years old).

I'm not a fan of the whole "attachment parenting" thing, as it seems (totally just my opinion) to be more about the parents and not about the children (and can set a child up for a whole host of dependency issues), BUT as long as another person's kids are happy and healthy, totally not my place to judge. We all want to make the best decisions for our children, and there is no one "right" way to be a parent.

secretlobster

That is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard another human say. Congratulations.

I'm just trying to get a rise out of you

jcstanton

I find it interesting all the posters who say something along the lines of "XX is too old. I don't have a problem with a mother giving her child breast milk, but If the kiddo wants the milk, put it in a cup/bottle/sippy." So the issue, for many, isn't that the mother is still lactating and the child still drinking, but the bothersome fact is that the milk comes from BREASTS. Newsflash. Milk from every mammal comes from tits/teats/breasts. That's just nature. Cows' milk comes from cow teats. Oh, but wait, cows' teats aren't sexualized by society and their biological purpose isn't sigmatized. When you think about it, which is weirder? A mother feeding her child milk that was biologically designed for that child and changes over time to meet the child's growing needs, or milk that was designed for a baby cow?

Do you know any people that latch their mouth onto a cow's tit to get milk?

^^^That's what I said...TWICE! But, apparently, no one read my comment because two different people have made that same ridiculous argument.

Hannah_Banana

I personally find it disgusting-what are your thoughts?

In most countries children are breastfed until they wean themselves...usually around ages 3-4. This is not unusual or even discussed in those countries....it is just way of life. In American, breasts are not seen as life-giving, nutrient providers...they are seen as sexual objects. I don't fault you for your opinion. You are just a product of your society.

I nursed my daughter until she was around 15 months. After that I started feeling the presssure of people asking, when are you going to stop doing that already? I didn't let them make up my mind...we were both ready to move on. But I did feel the pressure...I am also a product of our society.

This.

Amazing how in a society that we're constantly badgered to be "accepting" that people are so judgmental about something natural. But say you don't support gays and OH MY GOD! YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON!



*I am pro-gay marriage, I just used it as an example.

Lleldiranne

I fully support breastfeeding, even beyond 2 years if mother and child desire. But the cover really is NOT about this at all. It was designed to shock.

The blurb says it talks about attachment parenting. But again, the picture is going for the shock, and its phrases ("are you mom enough?" "how far will some moms take it?") misrepresent what attachment parenting is. The cover is doing nothing to help people understand it.

Alma_Sana

I'm all for breastfeeding. But the picture is ridiculous.

BUMP

mdsjmom98

Jeez, are you people NOT reading my entire post? I said it was MY opinion. I am entitled to it, and you don't have to like it. Furthermore, if reading a book makes you the know all authority, then we ALL are right! I was simply saying that I breastfed my kids until they were 6 months old, and they turned out just fine. I didn't have them in bed with me until they were 10 or anything like that and they are bonded with me. It worked for me. I just don't believe this woman is making the best choice for her child, I believe her motives are selfish.

TripleJ3

This is what you people find disgusting??

Seriously people have nothing else to B**** about except whether they have the right to tell a Mother when she has to stop breastfeeding? You don't want to breastfeed a 3 yr old? Fine don't do it.

I worry about things like parents who don't feed their children and abuse them. I am certainly not going to criticize a parent for caring about her child even if its different from the way I do things. The longest I breastfed a child was just before she turned 2. She was a die hard and weening took longer with my youngest. I always was the type to breastfeed privately but I don't find it obscene to see a Mother breastfeed her child.

If I was to see a woman stop in the store and breastfeed her 7 yr old right there sure I may raise an eyebrow but shrug it off. Not my business. I do feel theres a way to be more discreet, but again, I guess I have lived through what real abuse is so this, along with other ignorant comments roll off my back.

rossi02

Additionally, from a nutritional standpoint, it's totally unnecessary. Mammals nurse their young until they are able to receive adequate nutrition from solid foods. Once a child (or puppy, or kitten, etc) is old enough to eat real solid food, there is no need for breast milk any longer, as they can now receive all necessary nutrients via food sources. So, in short, it is completely nutritionally UNNECESSARY to breastfeed a child once they are able to eat a diet completely consisting of solid food (not baby food, but actual food---so really, probably about 2 years old).

There are a lot of organizations that tend to be authorities on the subject that disagree with what you stated.

myfitnessnmhoy

I think the cover and the header are designed to get a heated reaction, and they did.

The cover and header were designed to sell more copies so as to maximize ad revenue. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED".

There's rarely anything in those tabloids worth reading, and TIME magazine is a shadow of what it one was as a periodical. They gotta generate lots of hate against something to keep them copies flying off the shelves.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

The kid is 3, not 4.

thanks for the correction-even at 3 years old-its disgusting. Not breast feeding itself-just at that age and the cover was just disturbing.

Do you drink cow or goat milk? Eat cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream? Did you know that one theory about lactose intolerance is that if anyone stops consuming dairy products for a period of time they will become lactose intolerant because the human body is not supposed to consume milk beyond the 3 or 4, so by that theory a woman nursing her child to the age of 3 or 4 is biologically appropriate, but consuming the milk of another animail at any point in time is not. By those standards a persons decision to consume animal milk products could be described as disgusting.

I nursed my son to 16 months, but if he had remained allergic to cow's milk I would have continued to nurse him until 3 or 4. Even now at 2 1/2 I feel a lot of guilt when he gets sick because both of our immune systems were naturally stronger until the day he stopped nursing . . . it had so many physical and emotional benefits for both of us. Also, nursing to older ages is more common in some cultures than others, so why impose western standards and norms elsewhere in the world?

ashleymichaud

To everyone saying to just pump it and put it in a cup: I just have to say that pumping totally sucks. It's not as easy as that. I couldn't wait until I got to the point where I could go a whole day at work without pumping.

And as far as the whole "cow teet" argument goes, I don't think its about the child actually drinking directly from a cow. That would be a huge health hazard. Its about them drinking milk that is not at all designed for them.

cspong

I personally find it disgusting-what are your thoughts?

In most countries children are breastfed until they wean themselves...usually around ages 3-4. This is not unusual or even discussed in those countries....it is just way of life. In America, breasts are not seen as life-giving, nutrient providers...they are seen as sexual objects. I don't fault you for your opinion. You are just a product of your society.

I nursed my daughter until she was around 15 months. After that I started feeling the presssure of people asking, when are you going to stop doing that already? I didn't let them make up my mind...we were both ready to move on. But I did feel the pressure...I am also a product of our society.

Yupyup. Its so stigmatized (example, this thread), that women in America (and Canada, like me) are pressured to stop...

People say it's because kids know its a sexual thing (if you're 3 year old is sexualized, they're being exposed to the wrong things), and how embarrassed he'll be when he's older... But that's because people are making it a big deal. Its a natural thing that has a huge amount of health benefits for the child and their mother. The rest of the world knows it, but the most "scientifically advanced" area in the world is stunned by the breastfeeding mothers deciding to let their kids wean themselves...

TheFunBun

Anyone using this "cow's teat" defense is just in denial.

Meat comes from animals.
Milk comes from breast.

Just because you distance yourself or dissociate yourself from the source doesn't change the source. I think that's why other countries have less problems with this. They don't divorce themselves from the natural process that produces what they use and eat. I bet half of you that have this "put it in a cup" defense would never go out and kill your own food.

I would have no problem drinking from the cows teat, and I would have no problem with my children drinking from my breast. It's a breast. Yeah, it's sexy, but it's first function is for milk delivery. I'm not going to say, "Oh, you've got to drink this out of a cup because you're going to remember drinking it from my breast after this certain point" or, "Now that you have reached this arbitrary age, it's DISTASTEFUL". Nah. We'll know when it's time to quit the tit.

I think the woman on the cover was probably intending to just give a good article about something she's passionate about.. but with the photo and the tone of the article being out of her control it just ended up being that way. It's disappointing and will ultimately lead to a lot of people not researching attachment parenting as much.

opus649

That is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard another human say. Congratulations.

I'm just trying to get a rise out of you

Mission accomplished

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I am not a mother.

Having done some research on BFing, however, I have read there are A LOT of different things that are positive about breast milk, so I could see why the idea of BFing till they are older would be a benefit.

My problem with it is, you ween children off bottles, "binkies", out of cribs, etc - So why wouldn't you just put the pumped breast milk into a cup? Mixed with cereal or oatmeal?

1) not everyone forces a ween at all.
2) pumping takes time (I would pump 30 - 45 minutes at a time), nursing takes far less time as it is natures way of extracting the milk and therefore generally the most efficient, and although many of the benefits still exist when storing it for the prescribed period and using it (which how you described is another way we got milk into our kiddo) it does lose something in the storing process. It's best directly from the breast.

cspong

To everyone saying to just pump it and put it in a cup: I just have to say that pumping totally sucks. It's not as easy as that. I couldn't wait until I got to the point where I could go a whole day at work without pumping.

And as far as the whole "cow teet" argument goes, I don't think its about the child actually drinking directly from a cow. That would be a huge health hazard. Its about them drinking milk that is not at all designed for them.

THIS.

firstnamekaren

Additionally, from a nutritional standpoint, it's totally unnecessary. Mammals nurse their young until they are able to receive adequate nutrition from solid foods. Once a child (or puppy, or kitten, etc) is old enough to eat real solid food, there is no need for breast milk any longer, as they can now receive all necessary nutrients via food sources. So, in short, it is completely nutritionally UNNECESSARY to breastfeed a child once they are able to eat a diet completely consisting of solid food (not baby food, but actual food---so really, probably about 2 years old).

There are a lot of organizations that tend to be authorities on the subject that disagree with what you stated.

Yup.

10acity

Breastfeeding is great for infants. If you can do it, I think you should.

But this whole "it's totally natural so I should be able to do it in everyone's faces whenever I want" crap is tired. Sex is totally "natural" too, and you'd be horrified if someone started doing THAT in the middle of a restaurant. One thing that no one seems to consider: I appreciate that you're doing the healthiest thing for your child, but can you appreciate when you're thinking about whipping your boob out in the middle of the mall, that maybe I didn't want to have that conversation with my 3-year-old yet? I can have respect for your parenting decisions, but you need to have some respect for everyone else's.

Huskeryogi

This is disturbing...fast forward 20 years and I want to see if these kids has serious mommy issues.

Do you want to know about this specific kid or just kids who were BF later in general because as I previously stated - I was BF until I was 3 and a half and I have a great relationship with my mom.

firstnamekaren

I appreciate that you're doing the healthiest thing for your child, but can you appreciate when you're thinking about whipping your boob out in the middle of the mall, that maybe I didn't want to have that conversation with my 3-year-old yet? I can have respect for your parenting decisions, but you need to have some respect for everyone else's.

What conversation? "That is a breast, mommies use it to feed their children". And done.

cspong

I appreciate that you're doing the healthiest thing for your child, but can you appreciate when you're thinking about whipping your boob out in the middle of the mall, that maybe I didn't want to have that conversation with my 3-year-old yet? I can have respect for your parenting decisions, but you need to have some respect for everyone else's.

What conversation? "That is a breast, mommies use it to feed their children". And done.

Yeah seriously... They even show and talk about it in Sesame Street...

cherrybomb_77

^^^That's what I said...TWICE! But, apparently, no one read my comment because two different people have made that same ridiculous argument.

The reason that you don't latch a child on to a cow is because the cow isn't the child's mother, and therefore is not designed to provide milk to a human via its teats. Your assertion that a toddler nursing from his own mother is in anyway comparable to a child sucking on the teats of a cow is absolutely absurd. We milk cows and drink that milk from a vessel because we aren't of the same species and we aren't their offspring. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether or not it's appropriate for a child to nurse at his own mother's breasts.

I'm still waiting on all the empirical evidence that nursing past an arbitrary age is detrimental. I'm sure that since so many people feel confident enough to contradict the advice of every major medical body in the world, they must have some really good research to back them up. Once again, here is what the WHO has to say- http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2011/breastfeeding_20110115/en/index.html