Woman Breastfeeds 7 Year Old Daughter
In the “live and let live” category? Or “some parents are scary” category? You decide.
While I’m not a huge believer in extended breastfeeding, my two year old daughter has other ideas. And being the usual busy working mommy who loves a 6pm snuggle up, I let her have her way. I’m not a devotee. I’m just tired.
[via Zero Boss]
PingBack from http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2007/03/31/ill-never-graduate-from-advanced-attachment-parenting/
While I never would have wanted my daughter to nurse for 7 years – it didn’t creep me out and it made me miss nursing her as a toddler.
And no when they can “ask” for it – is not too old. My kid was speaking very clearly at 12 mo – and nursed for seven months after that and used her word for it all the time! (And she did decide when she was done and weaned herself.)
yikes. that was intense to watch. in most parenting situations…but…. i like to look to evolution to shape my beliefs… not western culture.
this article: [http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/priscilla_colletto.html] on the natural child project website said:
:::::According to the research of Smith (1991), many primates wean their offspring when they are erupting their first permanent molars. First permanent molar eruption occurs around 5.5 to 6.0 years in modern humans. It is interesting to note that achievement of adult immune competence in humans also occurs at approximately six years of age, suggesting that throughout our recent evolutionary past, the active immunities provided by breast milk were normally available to the child until about this age (Frederickson).
Our evolutionary past has produced an organism that relies on breastfeeding to provide the context for physical, cognitive and emotional development. The non-human primate data suggest that human children are designed to receive all of the benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding for an absolute minimum of two and a half years, and an apparent upper limit of around seven years. Natural selection has favored those infants with a strong, genetically coded blueprint that programs them to expect nursing to continue for a number of years after birth and results in the urge to suckle remaining strong for this entire period.:::::
while I hope my daughter wont nurse that long… it makes sense (in an evolutionary context) and is perfectly naturally to end breastfeeding around the age shown in the video.. but I don’t know if she will be self-weaning soon or she has other emotional issues that is causing her to extend bfing. Either way, it still is a bit odd to see that happening in a modern western situation.
i guess there are much worse things to do to your kids…
I thought I would be creeped out but instead saw what appeared to be a balanced and loving Mom and her balanced and loving kids. Good for them. Whatever works for your family, who are we to say?
Yuck!
When your kids have names for them (or can name them), it’s time to stop!
No, I wouldn’t say she’s abusing them (although some might). But she’s creating an extraordinarily dependent relationship with them (and I think she’s as dependent on them as they are on her) at a time when they should be developing some independence.
Yeah, it’s a little creeparific. It’s not bad though. It’s not as though she’s abusing them or anything. At least not my definition of abuse. Maybe I’m just a little envious that she makes breastfeeding look so easy and relaxing.
Really really just completely inappropriate. Talk about a lack of boundaries in that family. Those kids are going to need some major therapy to ever separate from their mother.
Breastfeeding at that age is just…icky. You can provide comfort and intimacy to your children without nursing them into their tween years.
Oh. my. god. No offense but that’s a little frightening. I’m all for breastfeeding if it works for you – but at seven years old? Seriously? Going to go try and erase the images from my mind now.
“is this video a hoax?”
God, I hope not. If so, then I think it needs to be reclassified as super-freaky pr0n.
I have to agree with the “weird but sweet” conclusion. It isn’t for me and mine but if it works for her and hers, then good on them. My kids self-weaned at fourteen months. Sometimes when I see a woman nursing her toddler I feel a little pang of longing to have that intimacy with my own again. But I figure that as they grow up I’ll always find things to be nostalgic for that they’ve already outgrown. Hell, I found a little baby hat in the back of a drawer the other day and got all verklempt.
is this video a hoax?
I found it both wierd and sweet. However, as much as I adore my 5 year old, I also really enjoy my own autonomy and watching him develop interests outside of me. Of course, he still finds comfort in me and Dad. We cuddle, hug, and kiss so many times a day, esp. when he needs solace. I’ll always be available for that. But its also nice to know that when we are away from each other, like when he stays overnight with Grandma or plays w/ friends, he can comfort himself too.
The woman keeps speaking of her breasts as her kids’ property. I must say that I am very proud and happy to not have that outlook on my body. My breasts are mine. They don’t belong to my son or my husband.
I thought I would find this weird, but instead found it kind of sweet.