TIME magazine and breast feeding a 4 year old

Pump it and put it in a cup...you wouldn't keep giving a 3-7 year old milk in a bottle

EXACTLY!!!!!!!

I'm against Time Magazine for pitting mothers against each other. And doing it on Mother's Day.

Great reply!

I think it's great that she's breastfeeding her child. The caption on the cover was super annoying. "Are you mom enough?" They are trying to incite some mommy war and it's dumb.

My brother's wife did it until the first kid was, if I recall correctly, about 7 or 8. Their son was a preemie and their chiropractor/homeopathist recommended it at the time. Also he stayed in bed with them until he was about 10. "Attachment parenting", I think they called it. Certainly not my cup of tea, but also none of my damned beeswax.

Their son is now a healthy, well-adjusted, outgoing teenager who is doing very well in school. He's a respectful kid who's a pleasure to be around, he works hard, and he's going to go a long way. Did the breastfeeding help? No idea. It obviously hasn't left any psychological scars or anything. They've got two other younger kids that they weaned earlier in life (not preemies) and they are also good kids who are doing well in school.

There are plenty of ways to raise a child. Caring seems to be the key. Who knew?

Thank you for this. I think it's none of my business how someone else raises their child. I have no children, and no clue if I want children. But if I did, I would want to do it without judgment from others.

I'm against Time Magazine for pitting mothers against each other. And doing it on Mother's Day.

Agreed.

I still breast feed my 16 year old.....why didnt anyone tell me that your supposed to stop!!!!!!!!!

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.

:flowerforyou:

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

I nursed all four of my kids for well over a year. My third child nursed until he was 2 1/2. I don't find it disturbing that the mother nurses a 3 year old (not four), but I find the pose distrubing. Nursing a child is beautiful, and the mother looks defiant, not nurturing. I find this debate really annoying too. Attachment parenting is wonderful.......people need to back off. I think Time Magazine has sensationalized a really important issue.

I'm against Time Magazine for pitting mothers against each other. And doing it on Mother's Day.

Agreed.

Double agreed

The only thing I find disturbing about it is Time's exploiation of a divisive topic and blatant attempt to revise an otherwise dying form of media.

In other species, and in other countries, breastfeeding is used far beyond children "growing teeth" or long after their first birthday. Breastmilk actually CHANGES as children grow to adapt to their nutritional needs. That's why it's so wonderful.

But society has sexualized breasts SO MUCH that they're no longer even seen as a means of providing nutrition. I mean, that's what's really going on here, right? That's why people are so upset - that's why breastfeeding moms should be shamed into a closet or covered with a blanket. Somehow either the mom gets some sexual gratification or the child myseriously starts thinking of breasts in a sexual way. Either way, breasts equal sex sex sex!

If that is what she wants to do...that is fine. I do not, however agree with it being on the cover of TIME.

If she is so hell bent on making sure her child gets breast milk, she could pump and serve it to him in a sippy cup. She is not going to bond her child to her by breast feeding this late in the game. If anything she's going to make him feel like an outcast. If a child is capable of getting his own drink, hooking him up to the tit is just perversion on her part, and will probably scar the boy. I'm probably going to get blasted by people, but it's just my opinion. And I also breast fed both of my children until they were about 6 months old, both are healthy, happy well adjusted kids, and are well bonded with me.

I agree with you!

Wow, breasts are way too sexualized in our society. Yeah, they're nice with one's husband, but it's a whole different story with ones children. It's a natural and good thing to breast feed. In reality, it's nutrition and bonding between mother and child. We ought to be able to be so open and free about it that we could nurse our little ones in public without anyone at all getting upset about it.

We need to get more real about this. Believe me, that mother nursing that child is such a non issue.....

The kid is 3, not 4.

Doesn't make it any less weird that the child is still breastfeeding. Too much, imo....

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?

Again, I say, when you give a child cow's milk, you don't take them into a barn and sit them on a stool beside the cow and put the teat in their mouth. People would most definitely be put off by that, as well. I think the issue here is more that breastfeeding should be a private, tender, bonding moment between mother and child. Not something to be put on display for the whole world and exploited for the sake of selling magazines.