TIME magazine and breast feeding a 4 year old

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  • Jenni268
    Jenni268 Posts: 202 Member
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    I'm against Time Magazine for pitting mothers against each other. And doing it on Mother's Day.

    This. I agree with this ^^^. It's just incendiary journalism. I breastfed. I did not nor would I even consider breastfeeding into the toddler years. However, that is the choice of the parent. And seeing a Times cover or reading a Times article isn't going to change my opinion. As to if I am "Mom enough" that is a put down to me, who only breastfed for a little while, to women who CAN'T breastfeed and to women who choose NOT to breastfeed.

    They don't want anyone to judge her for her decisions, but the type on the cover is judging everyone else and claiming that we're not "mom enough" for our children. Sad.
  • russmo31
    russmo31 Posts: 4 Member
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    If that is what she wants to do...that is fine. I do not, however agree with it being on the cover of TIME.
  • mdsjmom98
    mdsjmom98 Posts: 333 Member
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    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.
  • JennaM222
    JennaM222 Posts: 1,996 Member
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    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!
  • joannea1988
    joannea1988 Posts: 73
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    round of applause , well said !!:drinker:
  • JCDF
    JCDF Posts: 25
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    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.....
  • headlock_lynn
    headlock_lynn Posts: 79 Member
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    I think discretion is the key. Each child is different. (I know, I have 4) I breastfed each of mine and never had a bottle or soother in the house. They never sucked their thumbs and were very independent kids. My youngest was 5 when he finally gave up the breast. When I say he was 5 that doesn't mean he nursed all day long. He mostly nursed just when he went to bed. However, people hate to think of a child breastfeeding at that age but don't seem to mind seeing a 5,6 or even 7 year old sucking their thumb all day or using a plastic soother.
  • BOLO4Hagtha
    BOLO4Hagtha Posts: 396 Member
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    The kid is 3, not 4.

    Doesn't make it any less weird that the child is still breastfeeding. Too much, imo....
  • mamnboston
    mamnboston Posts: 81
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    I'm against Time Magazine for pitting mothers against each other. And doing it on Mother's Day.



    ^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^

    i am a mother. and i also have to say, at that age, or after 1yr, has NOTHING to do with the child anymore, this has everything to do about her. research.
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
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    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.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    ~sbip~

    By that age they are exposed to tv, video games and realize what things are sexualized.

    If your child is aware of sexuality at age 3, they're viewing inappropriate material.

    A 3 year should not be exposed to sexual content. The issue here is completely with the viewer of that photo on Time, not that a 3 yr old thinks nursing has a sexual connotation. :huh:

    My opinion is that how long to breastfeed is completely the parents decision. It is absolutely none of my business. Period.
  • firstnamekaren
    firstnamekaren Posts: 274 Member
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    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.

    Perversion?? Are you serious?? It's people like YOU that give breastfeeding a stigma!!! Probably scar the boy? HA that is a joke!
  • opus649
    opus649 Posts: 633 Member
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    Honestly, when your kid is starting school and socializing with other children... It's time to stop breastfeeding. I don't see anything wrong with prolonged breastfeeding, not at all, but there is no reason you can't pump it.

    The arguments from "attachment parenting" people are all so fake. The mom on the Time magazine cover says that she remembers breastfeeding and feeling so loved, like her mother would never leave her. Well, good luck coping when your mother finally does leave you. There's a difference between giving milk as nourishment to your child, and having your child breastfeed at an advanced age because you are obsessed with attachment.

    Just hug your kids, they don't need to latch onto your nipple in order to feel loved.

    It's a good thing we have you to tell us all how to raise our kids.
  • happyfrogg
    happyfrogg Posts: 86 Member
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    I think the only reason the cover was gross was because of the way the two were posed. It was posed as a sexual looking scene rather than a natural, nuturing moment.

    Yes, this right here.
  • CrazyLazyStylist
    CrazyLazyStylist Posts: 65 Member
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    Even if I was slippin my kid the nip at 3 I wouldnt put it on a mag so he could be embarassed 10 (15, 20) years from now. Who knows, maybe he'll still be thirsty then too.
  • BeckyProctor
    BeckyProctor Posts: 56 Member
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    Though I would never consider it, I have no problem with her breastfeeding a 3 year old. I do think it is wrong to put the that photo on the front of a magazine. What happens in a few years when one of his classmates stumbles upon the picture (or hears his mother gossiping about it)? I can't imagine the teasing and bullying that he may have to endure.
  • sjiphone
    sjiphone Posts: 67 Member
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    It's a mother's right. This mom has decided that it is in the best interests of her child to continue breastfeeding and she should be supported. Society is too down on breastfeeding. Lighten up.
  • mamnboston
    mamnboston Posts: 81
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    I agree. I am a Time Magazine subscriber and found the photo to be shocking but I think that was their goal. And yes, the way the mother and child are positioned was offensive. Haven't read the article yet but has certainly stirred my interest...
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    It's a good thing we have you to tell us all how to raise our kids.

    "Raise our kids" is an interesting way of saying "imprison our children in perpetual infancy"
  • Contrary03
    Contrary03 Posts: 289 Member
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    My son has a friend who is the same age -(5).. the whole family sleeps in the same bed~ father, mother, brother (12) and him. Not sure if breastfeeding was involved. The child is not right. Very immature for his age and has a habit lately of wanting to completely undress when my son is over. For this reason, i no longer let them play. Everything we do as parents affect our children. Some personal choices are good, while some are wrong in my opinion. Breastfeeding past bottle age or sleeping together for that long can't be healthy.:noway:

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