Breastfeeding a 3 year old?!?!?!

GrnEydGrl86
GrnEydGrl86 Posts: 154
edited December 2024 in Chit-Chat
http://moms.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/11/11658637-time-cover-mom-defends-breast-feeding-3-year-old-son?lite&ocid=ansmsnbc11


Saw this on my local morning news. Just wondering what ya'll have to say about it? I LOVE MY OPINIONATED MFP FOLKS!

Replies

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I think it's a mom breastfeeding her child. Nothing wrong with that.
  • spade117
    spade117 Posts: 2,466 Member
    You can find a lot of those opinions in the thread that is already discussing it.
  • GrnEydGrl86
    GrnEydGrl86 Posts: 154
    You don't think there is an age where the child is too old?
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/593920-time-magazine-and-breast-feeding-a-4-year-old


    Please see that thread.
  • spade117
    spade117 Posts: 2,466 Member
    You don't think there is an age where the child is too old?

    My own child, yes. Other peoples children, thats up to them.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    there is no magical age where breastmilk stops being beneficial. I personally would probably stop before my child go that old. and I certainly wouldn't plaster a picture of it on a magazine cover. But I could care less what other people do.
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
    Breastfeeding is awesome. What other people do with their own boobs and child is their own business.

    That is all.
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
    I think it's a mom breastfeeding her child. Nothing wrong with that.
  • HotCuppaJo
    HotCuppaJo Posts: 476 Member
    I think it's gross. My opinion, and I'm stickin' to it. :drinker:
  • trybefan
    trybefan Posts: 488 Member
    Breastfeeding is awesome. What other people do with their own boobs and child is their own business.

    That is all.

    Perfect.....thanks
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
    I believe the kid is actually 4 but, to each their own. I believe BF is natural and beautiful, and if a mother wants to BF for that long, thats up to her and her child. I wouldn't BF for that long, but that shouldn't make me any less of a mother. The ONLY thing i hate about that cover and that article is the Titile...Are you mom enough? I guess im not....
  • Bmontgomery613
    Bmontgomery613 Posts: 200 Member
    Breastfeeding is awesome. What other people do with their own boobs and child is their own business.

    That is all.

    This.
  • courtxoney
    courtxoney Posts: 59 Member
    my opinion, i think that's too old. it just looks a little weird to me to see a child that old breasting feeding ..
  • chachita7
    chachita7 Posts: 996 Member
    someone needs to sit her down to watch "Grown Ups" -- poor kid is gonna get teased for the rest of his life on this...
  • NU2U
    NU2U Posts: 659 Member
    A kid with a nipple in their mouth...while playing the latest Halo game......nawwww..that aint right!!!
  • Klem4
    Klem4 Posts: 399 Member
    Breastfeeding is awesome. What other people do with their own boobs and child is their own business.

    That is all.

    Yup!!!
  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
    Breastfeeding a baby?
    Awesome.

    Breastfeeding a child that can ask "Mommy, can I have a drink from your bottles" ?
    Problems.

    I can't imagine her boobs looking all that great after having someone suckling them for over 3 years....
  • samf36
    samf36 Posts: 369 Member
    It is better than a child at that age sucking on a bottle of diet coke but that is just my opinion. If you want to bf or feed your child soda at 3 it is your decision.
  • rininger85
    rininger85 Posts: 131
    one of my ex's breastfed her son until he was almost 3... personally I think thats way too long - her son was very touchy feely with her at age 5 which just seemed bad to me... he was a little horn dog that grossed me out the way he acted around his mom and she didn't see it as a connection... another ex that thought it was OK to shower with her kids which I also had a problem with (possibly just because of the previous ex's situation)... I tried convincing her that there comes a time in a boys life when its NOT ok for his mom to be naked in front of him and to me that time is pretty early in life (her son was 2-3 and daughter 4-5 at the time that I tried convincing her that the kids would be better off not going to the bathroom with her and I'd block them from going in the bathroom when she went in there which caused them to scream/cry)... but apparently I'm just very opinionated on how to raise kids even though I don't have any kids of my own yet...
  • belladonnablue
    belladonnablue Posts: 24
    Our culture is weird in that using breasts for their intended purpose (i.e., nursing a child) is seen as weird/gross, but stuffing boobs into a tank top and jiggling around the supermarket seldom warrants much comment (unless the chick is really hot or... not.)

    Breasts have been so sexualized here that most people have trouble separating them from that sexual connotation.

    Truth is, anthropologically speaking, most children will self-wean much later than the usual breastfeeding length of time stops -- somewhere between 2 1/2 and 4, usually, but as late as 7(!!) is still considered normal in places-that-aren't-the-U.S.

    I agree that the, "are you mom enough?" comment is unwarranted, but there's nothing inherently wrong with a 4 year old still breastfeeding. Unhealthy, dependent behaviors tend to come from other factors, not the breastfeeding itself. It CAN be used as a tool to manipulate/keep the child clinging to Mommy, but so can food, toys, treats... it's a problem with the mother's attitude/state of mind, not the act of nursing.

    I'm still nursing a 19-month-old, but it's a very different thing, nursing a toddler, versus nursing her when she was less than a year old. She makes pit stops now and only nurses for longer periods when she's falling asleep. I expect the pit stops will grow less and less frequent.

    They'd better, anyway, cause I think I'm going to lose my tolerance for getting kicked in the face long before she's 4.
  • Exna
    Exna Posts: 96 Member
    it become everybody's business when you pose for a magazine ...
    The photo (not breastfeating per say) and title are disturbing ...
    my opinion :)
  • tmaksparkie
    tmaksparkie Posts: 279
    Personally I would not do it but it is the mother and child's choice, most children will wean themselves off. But on the benefits of breast milk I do think if you are going to drink milk it should be breast milk. But that's my opinion, I don't believe in drinking milk that is not meant for me to drink. But I only drink almond milk.
  • Typhanee83
    Typhanee83 Posts: 309 Member
    I don't know about others, but my 3 year old twins have big *kitten* teeth, and I ain't about to be lettin' them suckle on deez tiitties. But to each their own. I cut it off long before they could actually say "boobies!"
  • jdsmom0104
    jdsmom0104 Posts: 236
    IMO, i think breastfeeding is natural & all that, etc. moms should do it... a 3yo... i dont think so. i'm a mom of 2- 11 & 7... my 1st was breastfed for several months, but it later creeped me out when i was intimate w my husband & its a chore in itself. my 2nd child wasn't successful @ it.... i get moms want to bond, but.... NOT ME!
  • liog
    liog Posts: 347 Member
    I think the photo does more harm than good. Every mother and child are different and most children will self-wean, some need gentle guidance to do so. I see nothing wrong with nursing a 3 year old. I had to wean my DS at 18 months due to my health issues. It was not something either of us were ready for and I wish I could have let him wean himself.
  • Candida1983
    Candida1983 Posts: 188
    Our culture is weird in that using breasts for their intended purpose (i.e., nursing a child) is seen as weird/gross, but stuffing boobs into a tank top and jiggling around the supermarket seldom warrants much comment (unless the chick is really hot or... not.)

    Breasts have been so sexualized here that most people have trouble separating them from that sexual connotation.

    Truth is, anthropologically speaking, most children will self-wean much later than the usual breastfeeding length of time stops -- somewhere between 2 1/2 and 4, usually, but as late as 7(!!) is still considered normal in places-that-aren't-the-U.S.

    I agree that the, "are you mom enough?" comment is unwarranted, but there's nothing inherently wrong with a 4 year old still breastfeeding. Unhealthy, dependent behaviors tend to come from other factors, not the breastfeeding itself. It CAN be used as a tool to manipulate/keep the child clinging to Mommy, but so can food, toys, treats... it's a problem with the mother's attitude/state of mind, not the act of nursing.

    I'm still nursing a 19-month-old, but it's a very different thing, nursing a toddler, versus nursing her when she was less than a year old. She makes pit stops now and only nurses for longer periods when she's falling asleep. I expect the pit stops will grow less and less frequent.

    They'd better, anyway, cause I think I'm going to lose my tolerance for getting kicked in the face long before she's 4.



    Completely agree with you ^^^^^ :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
This discussion has been closed.

Categories