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When to stop breastfeeding...?

post #1 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:01am
Thread Starter 
There is a programme on the TV tonight over here about women who breastfeed their children past what is the 'acceptable' age for breastfeeding. I'm not going to be able to watch it but I wanted to know what everyone else thought about this.
There is one woman who's children are 9 and 10 and she has only just stopped breastfeeding them. Personally I think this is wrong. It might be healthy for them physically, but mentally I think this is unhealthy. I don't have any children so don't understand the bond that is created between a mother and her breastfed baby but to me once the BABY is not a baby anymore I think this should stop.
I know there are a lot of women on this programme tonight and each of them has their reasons for doing this, and their children are all different ages.
The talk of this programme is causing quite a lot of controversy in our office and I've no doubt tomorrow it will be a hot topic but my view is that this makes me uncomfortable, once the child gets a bit older.
What does everyone else think?
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post #2 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:17am
JMHO - but I think it is really disturbing any children that old being breastfeed. I am all for breastfeeding babies but 9 years old - yuck!
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post #3 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:21am
There was a problem page article a while ago about a woman who was worried about letting her 11year old son go on a school trip because she still breast fed him!

The agony 'uncle' said that she should ask to come along and that he knew of a woman who still breast fed her 15 year old son!

Biologically I think that we are designed to be fed up until the age of 2 or 3 so I'd say thats the right age.
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post #4 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:28am
Thread Starter 
15?! Thats so wrong. IMO.
I even think that 3 years old is too old. I saw my little brother and sister being breastfed and they were both weaned off it before 1 mainly because they started getting teeth and it became painful for my stepmum. But I do have to say once they were walking and talking, breastfeeding would not have looked right. I may be small minded. I do think breastfeeding is a wonderful thing and if I can do it I will but they child needs to let go at a certain age.
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post #5 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:33am
Seems like those mothers might have serious emotional issues.
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post #6 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:48am
I'd say stop as soon as the baby has teeth!
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post #7 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:50am
From what I've seen of the Nipple Nazi breastfeeding advocates out there, you're supposed to have the papoose latched on clear into junior high. LOL

I don't have any kids, but my friends who do say that their pediatricians tell them one year is sufficient to provide the bona fide medical benefits breastfeeding has over formula. After that, it's mainly a comfort measure.

The idea of a 9-year-old sucking on his mom's boob makes me throw up in my mouth a little. LMAO
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post #8 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pombina
15?! Thats so wrong. IMO.
I even think that 3 years old is too old. I saw my little brother and sister being breastfed and they were both weaned off it before 1 mainly because they started getting teeth and it became painful for my stepmum. But I do have to say once they were walking and talking, breastfeeding would not have looked right. I may be small minded. I do think breastfeeding is a wonderful thing and if I can do it I will but they child needs to let go at a certain age.
At 15 with all those raging hormones, how could it fail to be a tad oedipal?

Thats one year of the age of sexual consent!

I think in the older days as breast feeding was used as a crude form of contraception it was more acceptable to breast feed for longer. But now, people tend to frown upon it.
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post #9 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:50am
At that age it's horrible. I saw a clip of that program the other day and i'm sure one of the girls it showed on her mums breast was 7 years old which was bad enough, but older than that is just wrong.
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post #10 of 39
2/1/06 at 6:55am
As a mother who did breastfeed until DD self-weaned at about 2, and as a past and present supporter of La Leche League. http://www.lalecheleague.org/
, I do advocate breastfeeding up until the child self-weans.
Understand that a toddler or older baby does not breastfeed every 2 hours (like the ugh exhausting but gratifying days and nights of young babyhood), but that its more of a routine comfort and attachment issue by that age (usually morning and bedtime for example)....

Obviously, my experience has shown me that its the healthiest most natural thing in the world and does show to lead to a more confident, secure and healthy child. It also seals that mother-child bond like nothing can.

I, however, know NO ONE nor have I EVER heard of a child bf'ing into the grade school years. And 15???!!!! No way..I just don't believe it.
Hey, most 15 year olds I know are embarrassed to walk down the street with mum, let alone whip out her boob at night for a little evening feed.
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post #11 of 39
2/1/06 at 9:42am
Kids really will wean themselves and I think they should be breastfed until then. Most kids stop around 2, some as late as 3, and some earlier. I'm a strong supporter of ecological breastfeeding vs. cultural breastfeeding, but I can't imagine breastfeeding that late! Why on earth would an 11 year old breastfeed? That is just nuts. Kids usually start to get pretty body concious around 4. If I accidentally saw my mom naked when I was kingergarten age and up I got really embarrassed!! I remember being around 5 and having someone accidentally walk in on me while I was using the restroom. It was so embarrassing I still remember it. A 15 year old? At that age a lot of kids are groping each other, not their mom, that's just sick. When I was 15 I was too busy trying to keep boys from coping a feel!!
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post #12 of 39
2/1/06 at 9:44am
The thought 9 year olds, 15 year olds doing this is very very disturbing to me. I just finished a book on conciousness and children become full conscious and start storing memories between the age of 3 and 4. I think at the very least breastfeeding should stop long before the child is going to remember it and it forms a permanent impression on their life.

My sister started weaning about about 10mos since she knew she would have to be back at work by 1year and plus as mentionned earlier...TEETH!
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post #13 of 39
2/1/06 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renny
The thought 9 year olds, 15 year olds doing this is very very disturbing to me. I just finished a book on conciousness and children become full conscious and start storing memories between the age of 3 and 4. I think at the very least breastfeeding should stop long before the child is going to remember it and it forms a permanent impression on their life.

My sister started weaning about about 10mos since she knew she would have to be back at work by 1year and plus as mentionned earlier...TEETH!
Just as a note: You can bf and work at the same time. I went to school full days when my DD was 1. I either pumped and staff fed her a bottle and/or I went over on my lunches.

Also, the teeth thing isn't a big deal. Its not as if the baby is chomping down all the time. They may try it but all you need to do is give one or two "Ah's" and release them from the breast and they get it. You don't bite the hand (or the boob) that feeds you..

And I don't understand why it would be a bad thing to have this memory of these tender years? My daughter remembers being BF (and even what she called it) and we laugh about those times now. I think its a truly rewarding bond between us.
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post #14 of 39
2/1/06 at 11:35am
Uh... I'd say after one year of age, it'd be just not right.

I breastfed my daughter but had to stop when she was 3 months old.

I knew a lady once who had a kid in her class, who was 5 years old, and when the mom visited the daycare, the mom lifted her shirt up, said, "come & drink" and the son came over & stood there breastfeeding on her.

It made the teacher feel really, really uncomfy.

I think kids after a year or so need to be introduced to solids & other more grown-up type foods; not living off of the breast til they're 9! Altho I betcha some grown men would disagree, say, if their mother was Pam Anderson.
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post #15 of 39
2/1/06 at 2:31pm
If they can ask for it,they are too old!!!

I think cihldren should be weaned when they have teeth, as teeth are there to chew solids!

I think 1 to 2 years is fine, but not after that. It would no longer have the same nutritional value that a baby requires in its first months of life.

No to mention its just unpractical!! I'm sure hundreds of years ago women wouldn't have been breast feeding for that long! The baby would be in the way!
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post #16 of 39
2/1/06 at 3:00pm
Ok the first thing that came to my mind when I read the part about a 15 year old breast feeding was 'shouldn't he be wanting to umm...taste someone else's boob other than his mothers?'

As far as the rest goes, I'm thinking 1 year maybe till 18 months.
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post #17 of 39
2/1/06 at 8:38pm
I breastfed all 4 of my children. With my first born, when we saw the pediatrician, it was always so great that she was still breastfeeding. Then she turned one, and they said she needed to be weaned! But I felt that is a cruel birthday present, to take away your nursing...so I kept nursing for another month or two. By the time she quit nursing, she was drinking from a cup, and never needed a bottle. (Except the occasional bottle of juice when she was under a year old.)
A few weeks after weaning, she walked to the refridgerator and tapped the door and said "mik mik" (meaning milk). We were out, so I said "All gone". She tapped my chest and said "mik mik". So I said "all gone". And that was the end of it! Even as a toddler, she was smart enough to know that milk from the fridge is good for kids!
I think different cultures are different. I knew a man who grew up in a tribe in Africa, and he was nursed until he was 5 years old. If that is part of your culture, it is probably fine. But whipping it out at daycare, or at 7 or 15...I don't see how that can be beneficial to the kid.
I must confess that since I knew my youngest was my last child, I did joke that I would breastfeed him until he was 16. Unfortunately, he must have understood me, because at about 10 months he weaned himself and refused to nurse any more. I would even wake him at night and try to sneak him into nursing some more, but he totally refused! Honestly, I would have kept it up until age two otherwise, but he made the decision early. And just to clarify, when you nurse an older baby, generally it is just early morning and bedtime...not at the sitters or when out with their friends!
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post #18 of 39
2/1/06 at 8:53pm
Thats sexual abuse.
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post #19 of 39
2/1/06 at 10:21pm
I couldnt do it past a year..but thats me. I am of the thought if it can be asked for. thats enough of that.
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post #20 of 39
2/1/06 at 10:21pm
I have read from medical journals and cutrual items that most cultures bf till 2-4 yrs of age... In a developed nation 2-3 should suffice ... in poorer nations I can see the 5-7 yr old as they may not get enough nutrients otherwise
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post #21 of 39
2/1/06 at 10:53pm
Well I can see BF to 2 and maybe 3 but anything older than that...it's getting to the "eeeeww" factor. By the time the kid is a teenager that IS a major Eeeew factor! That's just plain nasty.
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post #22 of 39
2/3/06 at 10:21am
I have an acquaintance that has a 2 year old and she still breastfeeds her....yeah, I think it's weird too.....they even go to breastfeeding conferences....
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post #23 of 39
2/3/06 at 3:52pm
Seems like everyone has pretty much the same opinion on here. I agree with most (when they are old enough to ask, that's about time).

I do however, understand different cultures might go longer (2-3 or so).

Regarding the 5 year old at daycare - IMO too old

The 9-15 year olds, I don't think I'm even going to preface that with "IMO" that's too old.

Gross!
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post #24 of 39
2/3/06 at 4:26pm
Ok i watched this programme the other night, and i felt really uncomfortable watching it Dont get me wrong, i am all for breastfeeding your baby, but feeding your baby untill she is 8?! I'm sorry but there something isint right there, there was one clip where the little girl got into bed with her mum and started to breastfeed and that just made me sick, it's not right
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post #25 of 39
2/3/06 at 5:35pm
My reaction is that breast feeding until they're toilet-trained is fine, but once they're past the toddler stage it's unnecessary, and might stem from the mother's inability to cope with the child's growing independence. Breast feeding a school-age child seems neurotic, at the very least.
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post #26 of 39
2/3/06 at 6:00pm
The twins will be 3, in April and Sam still lets them nurse, when they want to. Since they're HER kids and HER boobs, I'm staying out of it. At MY house, they get a sippy cup (dry well here).

ANYONE, who nurses their kids well into school age, has some SERIOUS issues and is setting the children up for a huge amount of teasing and even more emotional problems.
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post #27 of 39
2/3/06 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by katl8e
The twins will be 3, in April and Sam still lets them nurse, when they want to. Since they're HER kids and HER boobs, I'm staying out of it. At MY house, they get a sippy cup (dry well here).

ANYONE, who nurses their kids well into school age, has some SERIOUS issues and is setting the children up for a huge amount of teasing and even more emotional problems.
Three I can see; five I can't. Fifteen is sick, IMO.
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post #28 of 39
2/3/06 at 10:31pm
I don't have kids but I think somewhere between 2-4 years old is long enough to be breast fed.
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post #29 of 39
2/4/06 at 5:36am
Both of my boys were bottle-fed, as I went right back to work, after they were born. Even so, I had them off of the bottle when they started biting off the nipples. No way, would I have nursed them, after they had teeth.

In addition to the breastfeeding issue, I'm appalled at seeing 4-5 year olds, with PACIFIERS.
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post #30 of 39
2/4/06 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by katl8e
I'm appalled at seeing 4-5 year olds, with PACIFIERS.

I cannot begin to describe how much seeing that bugs me.
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