TIME magazine and breast feeding a 4 year old
Replies
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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.
I'm sure there is plenty of info to show how very beneficial it is but not NECESSARY. It is not completely necessary to breastfeed a child once they can receive proper nutrition from food. Also, a woman's breast milk is only as good as what she consumes food-wise. That's were a parent's role comes into play to make sure they are providing nutritious foods for their children--something many of us fall down on. Beneficial? Absolutely. I'm all about breastfeeding, and although I couldn't for very long last time (trust me, I tried EVERYTHING and couldn't produce enough to go longer than 3 months), I'd love to breastfeed until my next child is about 2. I mean, it's probably beneficial to drink breast milk until we're like 15, but 100% necessary? Not at all. If it were actually necessary to breastfeed until a child is 3 or 4, don't you think more people would be doing it? I think there is quite a grey area there from when it stops being about nutrition for the child and starts being about the mother not wanting to stop.
Actually, with formulas it it unnecessary to every breastfeed a child. It's uncommon in the US because of social norms and peer pressure, not because we shouldn't . . . two very different things.0 -
I find it interesting that few people are looking at the fact this 3 year old is now on the cover of a magazine and might incur more HARM from people making fun of him when he gets older....Screw the breast feeding, whatever floats your boat. However, I find the mother to not think ahead about the position she had now put her son in.
Kids are MEAN. They will make fun of him. Probably not because of the BF, but because of the pictures of him BFing...I'm just saying...
As someone who was bullied for being 'different', kids will use whatever ammo they can. She just put her kid in the spotlight...0 -
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.
Really, there are SO many things that "should be kept in private" for that reason, then.
If I want to use this, "If you respect others, you should do this in private" I would ask that no one
Pray in public
Consume meat in public
Have pinup tattoos without wearing long sleeved shirts
Wear low cut tops
drink alcohol in public
... I dunno. I can think of a lot of conversations I'm not ready to have with my nonexistent 3 year old, but I'm not going to ask anyone to alter their lives to avoid them.
VERY true. I've had to answer all KINDS of awkward questions for my 5 year old (and he likes to be REALLY LOUD when he asks uncomfortable questions in public), but I mean, that's life. Being as honest (while still being age appropriate) with our children as possible is, in my opinion, the best way for them to learn about life.0 -
Agreed! People would have a problem with a child using a bottle at those ages but have no problem with a 3 Year old being breastfed????Pump it and put it in a cup...you wouldn't keep giving a 3-7 year old milk in a bottle0 -
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.
I agree. Sorry you felt the pressure to stop. In the civilized world, breast-feeding is just part of nature. In America, society long before us started enforcing puritanical ways. Sex BAD! Nudity BAD! Women's pleasure BAD! Exposing a teat for the purpose of feeding a baby?! OMG!!She's going to hell! This past societal thinking had continued to today's generation. We need to join the rest of the world and accept breast-feeding as just something natural. I see a woman breast-feeding in public, I don’t give it a second thought…0 -
Pumping is a great way to make a mom *feel* like a cow, so maybe that's why more people find it acceptable??? :flowerforyou:0
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I am all for breastfeeding and to each their own, but I feel 2 years old is the cut off for breastfeeding, it seems the possibility for issues with the mother as well as the child could arise.0
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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).
Yup.
I'm sure there is plenty of info to show how very beneficial it is but not NECESSARY. It is not completely necessary to breastfeed a child once they can receive proper nutrition from food. Also, a woman's breast milk is only as good as what she consumes food-wise. That's were a parent's role comes into play to make sure they are providing nutritious foods for their children--something many of us fall down on. Beneficial? Absolutely. I'm all about breastfeeding, and although I couldn't for very long last time (trust me, I tried EVERYTHING and couldn't produce enough to go longer than 3 months), I'd love to breastfeed until my next child is about 2. I mean, it's probably beneficial to drink breast milk until we're like 15, but 100% necessary? Not at all. If it were actually necessary to breastfeed until a child is 3 or 4, don't you think more people would be doing it? I think there is quite a grey area there from when it stops being about nutrition for the child and starts being about the mother not wanting to stop.
While it may not be vital for their survival after they are able to consume solids I think referring it to as totally unnecessary dismisses the fact that it's still supporting healthy brain development and helping build the immue system and tons of other benefits. Maybe I read too much into what I quoted from you above and if I did, I'm sorry. I got hit with the it's "unnecessary" after the age of one from several family members when I was still nursing my youngest, so it stung when I read that. Didn't mean to project my past assocation about that agruement onto you.0 -
sure seems more natural and healthy than the crap you get from factory farms.
and as far as going raw, the govt sure is doing a good job of eliminating THAT option.
so my opinion (as a man, and a father) is to let nature take its course and provide what the child needs.0 -
Sex =/= breast feeding on any planet. You can go an entire lifetime without sex (although I wouldn't want to). you cannot go an entire lifetime without eating. I really think that equating the two is quite ignorant.
I think you missed the point - OR, I took the posters comment that you quoted differently.
You are entitled to one opinion. Someone else is entitled to their opinion. Respect the fact that you shoudl agree to disagree. One you start name calling (or about as close as you can to it in your case), you lose the argument. Fundamentals of debate.
Possibly, but the fact remains that she liken breast feeding in public to having sex in publc. She then used that to support why she doesn't want to explain to her child that another mother is feeding her child, and I don't see how these things even remotely relate. Feeding my son when he was hungry was a necessary action, I've never found it necessary to drop trou in in the middle of the mall and get it on. It's nice when places offer confortable areas to sit an nurse, but when they don't they shouldn't expect someone to feed their child in the restroom either. No one wants to eat their steak while listening to someone else take a dump in the stall next door.0 -
Everyone is talking about this at work.0
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I was only breastfed twice (due to complications) and somehow I ended up with an amazing relationship with my mother who is also my best friend.
Maybe the quality of a parent/child relationship has nothing to do with breastfeeding?
...Or maybe I'm destined to kill her.0 -
Breastfeeding... how in 2012 is this still even a debate-filled subject??
We are mammals last time I checked and the purpose of breastfeeding is EXACTLY why women have breasts. I BF both of my children until 6 months. This wasn't a choice... my boss' at work did not accommodate my pumping needs and therefore had to wean earlier than I would have liked.
That said... my step daughter self weaned around 2 1/2.
As another poster stated, in other countries no one questions when a mother BF's her child in public NOR the age of the child.0 -
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).
Yup.
I'm sure there is plenty of info to show how very beneficial it is but not NECESSARY. It is not completely necessary to breastfeed a child once they can receive proper nutrition from food. Also, a woman's breast milk is only as good as what she consumes food-wise. That's were a parent's role comes into play to make sure they are providing nutritious foods for their children--something many of us fall down on. Beneficial? Absolutely. I'm all about breastfeeding, and although I couldn't for very long last time (trust me, I tried EVERYTHING and couldn't produce enough to go longer than 3 months), I'd love to breastfeed until my next child is about 2. I mean, it's probably beneficial to drink breast milk until we're like 15, but 100% necessary? Not at all. If it were actually necessary to breastfeed until a child is 3 or 4, don't you think more people would be doing it? I think there is quite a grey area there from when it stops being about nutrition for the child and starts being about the mother not wanting to stop.
While it may not be vital for their survival after they are able to consume solids I think referring it to as totally unnecessary dismisses the fact that it's still supporting healthy brain development and helping build the immue system and tons of other benefits. Maybe I read too much into what I quoted from you above and if I did, I'm sorry. I got hit with the it's "unnecessary" after the age of one from several family members when I was still nursing my youngest, so it stung when I read that. Didn't mean to project my past assocation about that agruement onto you.
There are a lot of organizations that tend to be authorities on the subject that disagree with what you stated.
No, I TOTALLY agree that it is great for brain development and immune system support, 100% agree on the benefits. I just mean to say that by about 2 years, a child can be completely and totally healthy without it anymore as long as they are getting adequate nutrition from food sources. And again, as long as a child is happy and healthy, no complaints over here! In fact, just as anecdotal evidence, I was breastfed for almost a year as a baby, while my sister had terrible acid reflux and could only be breastfed for about a month. I almost NEVER get sick. I mean really, the only time I've ever used a sick day at work was when my son caught a stomach virus at school, I don't even get seasonal allergies (and in central Texas, EVERYONE gets seasonal allergies). My sister, on the other hand, is sick allllll the time. She catches every cold she could possibly catch. Had her tonsils removed by the time she was 15 because she got strep so much. I don't think that's a coincidence
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Breastfeeding... how in 2012 is this still even a debate-filled subject??
We are mammals last time I checked and the purpose of breastfeeding is EXACTLY why women have breasts. I BF both of my children until 6 months. This wasn't a choice... my boss' at work did not accommodate my pumping needs and therefore had to wean earlier than I would have liked.
That said... my step daughter self weaned around 2 1/2.
As another poster stated, in other countries no one questions when a mother BF's her child in public NOR the age of the child.
Wow, in Maine your boss has to provide a quiet, clean and private place for you to pump. And it can't be a restroom.0 -
It's not the picture that bothers me, it's the, "Are you MOM ENOUGH?" tagline that goes with it.0
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Jaysus we drink milk outta cows and goats and people are getting worked up over a breast
Most natural thing in the world, too each there own, no harm done, so fine by me
I find it more usually that we drink from cows myself
Theres a shop in london that sell "Breast milk ice cream"0 -
I breastfed my son for two and a half years. I feel that it's a private matter and I disapprove of the way it's "shown-off" and made into a public exhibit by the media and others.0
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Breastfeeding your children - great! Breastfeeding in public - great! Breastfeeding for as long as you both are comfortable - GREAT! Having your child stand on a chair on the cover of a magazine while breastfeeding - exploitation.
I agree with the above statement...0 -
They are posing for a picture. I'm sure she doesn't breastfeed him like that on a regular basis. I watched that babies movie about babies around the world and was surprised when I saw the mother from Africa feeding her child in an upright position. I had always fed my kids with them inclining, but I could see that doing it the other way may allow for more freedom to do something with hands. Which is one of the issues of breastfeeding, it can be really time consuming. I've nursed both my kids until about 2.5, my son is coming upon weaning time.
As far as what other people think, I think our society needs to get over what the majority (or the loud and critical few) thinks about things, because frankly, the majority and the shrill can be very immature. We seem to be a culture that cares so much about what other people think that we can't make our own choices and be individuals. It takes strong people standing up for what they think is right to change things. To each there own, and who cares what the bullies, cool kids, and otherwise loud mouths think.0 -
n 2008 the American Academy of Family Physicians did its part to try to destigmatize nursing toddlers and older children, applauding the WHO guidelines even as it acknowledged that extended breast-feeding “is not the cultural norm in the United States and requires ongoing support and encouragement.” The group added:
It has been estimated that a natural weaning age for humans is between two and seven years. Family physicians should be knowledgeable regarding the ongoing benefits to the child of extended breastfeeding, including continued immune protection, better social adjustment and having a sustainable food source in times of emergency. The longer women breastfeed, the greater the decrease in their risk of breast cancer. There is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to mother or child.
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/10/extended-breast-feeding-is-it-more-common-than-we-think/?iid=obinsite#ixzz1uZYSu2Wz0 -
I don't find breastfeeding a 3 year old disgusting.....but you could tell the photographer wad trying to make it appear abnormal. I am sure that is not the way most nursing 3 year olds appear. Standing on a chair? Please.0
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OMG OMG People what the hell has this world come too! I can not believe the things people are saying on here, its absolutely disgusting. Breastfeeding is the most natural thing to do and that is what our breasts are for, not to flaunt & not for mens pleasure, even though they are.
I would seriously love for everyone to take a look at the actual ingredients in formula. How can anyone even think about giving this to their children, its so disgusting. What really pisses me off even more is that there are women in this world that will never be able to breastfeed and its sad that people have become so judgmental. These women will never know the bond & the security that a woman feels while nursing their baby.
This cover clearly was made to create controversy & I am just appalled at how TIME magazine went about it. This is not what breastfeeding is about nor should it ever be!0 -
Quite honestly I think this whole "attachment parenting" thing is a crock of shi$$. !!
Letting kids sleep in your bed ( co-sleeping) and nursing till they are in school is ridiculous ! Bunch of tree hugging, granola eating nonsense...
If you don't teach your children how to be independent and confident and go to sleep without nursing or sleeping with their parents you are not doing them ANY favors !
The reason divorce rate is so high now is because of crap like "co- sleeping" husbands and wives don't honor each other any more, it's all about the kids... you picked your spouse first, start acting like a spouse.
Nothing makes me more annoyed than wives who once they have a baby they ignore their husband and their marraiges and everything revolves around the kids..
Life is about balance, getting all of your needs met by breastfeeding your kids or sleeping with them till they are 5 is not the way.....
I have 4 children, ages 8-21, all well adjusted kids who excel in school and college. They are love me very much, they were all breastfed till they had teeth and guess what..... I am still married, and they slept in their own beds and had bedtimes and routines and they were not the little hellions running around the stores or up all night in restaurants with adults having meals....
UGH0 -
...Or maybe I'm destined to kill her.
Probably this.0 -
And with link the between breastfeeding and reduced rates of obestiy, the US in particular should be doing everything possible to encourage it0
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Quite honestly I think this whole "attachment parenting" thing is a crock of shi$$. !!
Letting kids sleep in your bed ( co-sleeping) and nursing till they are in school is ridiculous ! Bunch of tree hugging, granola eating nonsense...
If you don't teach your children how to be independent and confident and go to sleep without nursing or sleeping with their parents you are not doing them ANY favors !
The reason divorce rate is so high now is because of crap like "co- sleeping" husbands and wives don't honor each other any more, it's all about the kids... you picked your spouse first, start acting like a spouse.
Nothing makes me more annoyed than wives who once they have a baby they ignore their husband and their marraiges and everything revolves around the kids..
Life is about balance, getting all of your needs met by breastfeeding your kids or sleeping with them till they are 5 is not the way.....
I have 4 children, ages 8-21, all well adjusted kids who excel in school and college. They are love me very much, they were all breastfed till they had teeth and guess what..... I am still married, and they slept in their own beds and had bedtimes and routines and they were not the little hellions running around the stores or up all night in restaurants with adults having meals....
UGH
So co-sleeping for the first 16 months with my daughter makes me a tree hugging granola head who hate my husband. Okay, sure.0 -
Does it?0
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I never said you "hated your husband" but ya.... pretty much..... a 16 month old belongs in her own little bed, tucked in, warm cozy and by 7pm.... so you and your husband can have a relationship outside of being parents....0
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Quite honestly I think this whole "attachment parenting" thing is a crock of shi$$. !!
Letting kids sleep in your bed ( co-sleeping) and nursing till they are in school is ridiculous ! Bunch of tree hugging, granola eating nonsense...
If you don't teach your children how to be independent and confident and go to sleep without nursing or sleeping with their parents you are not doing them ANY favors !
The reason divorce rate is so high now is because of crap like "co- sleeping" husbands and wives don't honor each other any more, it's all about the kids... you picked your spouse first, start acting like a spouse.
Nothing makes me more annoyed than wives who once they have a baby they ignore their husband and their marraiges and everything revolves around the kids..
Life is about balance, getting all of your needs met by breastfeeding your kids or sleeping with them till they are 5 is not the way.....
I have 4 children, ages 8-21, all well adjusted kids who excel in school and college. They are love me very much, they were all breastfed till they had teeth and guess what..... I am still married, and they slept in their own beds and had bedtimes and routines and they were not the little hellions running around the stores or up all night in restaurants with adults having meals....
UGH
Do you have any statistical data showing the connection between attachment parenting and divorce? I've been married for 10 years, no end in sight. You could probably describe the way we do it as attachment parenting. We've found other places to "honor" each other, and did so just last night. I'm pretty sure you would not appreciate the blanket statements I have in my head for you right now and I don't appreciate yours.0
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