To the woman breastfeefing her 4 year old at the table at Wild Tomato...

[Anonymous]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOfI48IWESo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you judgmental women are going to make great MILs

Yes, we are b/c WE KNOW BOUNDARIES!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOfI48IWESo

LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Hate to tell you, momma, but at 2.5, he should be getting his "comfort, health and bonding" from you in a different way. You need to give it up. Why don't you at least admit that it's for you at this point, and not him?

I will bet you money this person either did not nurse at all or never past the newborn-under-a-blanket phase. I nursed two kids up to age 2.5, and it boggles the mind that people can think it's "for the mom." Do you know how hard it is to get 2.5 year olds to do things they don't want to do? Do you really think moms out there are forcing them to the breast?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I nurse my 2.5 yo, but taught him early on that we don't do this outside the home, unless I tell him otherwise (plane rides and napping not at home, so not too often).
I don't see the point of doing it in public?

Just curious, what is the point at all at 2 1/2?

Comfort, health, bonding.

Hate to tell you, momma, but at 2.5, he should be getting his "comfort, health and bonding" from you in a different way. You need to give it up. Why don't you at least admit that it's for you at this point, and not him?

exactly. pretending like this is anything but emotionally harmful to a child (physically probably doesn't matter one way or another) is just naive. mom needs a therapist.

and to the pp who said it's possible the kid was like, 6 months and looked 4 - come on. what are the chances?

You must be joking. Emotionally harmful? I'd like to see one respected literature citation or expert opinion on that. Give me a freaking break!

And to the other PP who asked about girls, I know women who nursed their daughters past two.

My earliest memories are at age 4. I rhink if you are old enough to remember, you're too old to be breastfeeding. I would need theraoy for sure if I had actual memories of sucking my mom's breasts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hate to tell you, momma, but at 2.5, he should be getting his "comfort, health and bonding" from you in a different way. You need to give it up. Why don't you at least admit that it's for you at this point, and not him?

I will bet you money this person either did not nurse at all or never past the newborn-under-a-blanket phase. I nursed two kids up to age 2.5, and it boggles the mind that people can think it's "for the mom." Do you know how hard it is to get 2.5 year olds to do things they don't want to do? Do you really think moms out there are forcing them to the breast?

"This person" (me) absolutely breastfed two children, both exclusively for 9 months, then supplementally for another 3. The day they turned one, I turned the faucet off.

The question is, why in the hell would YOU want to breastfeed a 2 1/2 year old? Obviously it was for YOU, because s/he didn't "want to do it" (your own words.) There is something really, really strange about this...

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, it is appropriate to start weaning from the breast and/or bottle around 12 months and on to 100% cups/sippy cups around 18 months. I wouldn't even think to offer my 4 y/o a sippy cup, let alone a breast. He is a little boy, not a baby. I also can't imagine either of my children wanting to nurse much past 15-16 months anyway, but clearly some kids do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't care if she had her dangly tits draped around her shoulders like a scarf. Watching a 4 year old nurse in public is not normal. It is just a mom being too lazy to engage the child in proper, age appropriate comforting and dialogue, or to teach him/her to develop self-soothing skills. Lazy and narcissistic, to boot. "You need ME to comfort you."

That's where I take issue with this. By that time, your kid should be a social animal and able to engage with others in a restaurant without resort to mom for comfort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't care if she had her dangly tits draped around her shoulders like a scarf. Watching a 4 year old nurse in public is not normal. It is just a mom being too lazy to engage the child in proper, age appropriate comforting and dialogue, or to teach him/her to develop self-soothing skills. Lazy and narcissistic, to boot. "You need ME to comfort you."

That's where I take issue with this. By that time, your kid should be a social animal and able to engage with others in a restaurant without resort to mom for comfort.

No kidding. How is a kid like this supposed to develop his or her own self soothing techniques if his momma's always there to whip'em out? that's officially not for the kid, whether they want it or not, that's for mom to feel needed. That's mom unwilling to let go. Kids flock to all sorts of stuff that's not age-appropriate. Part of parenting is steering them toward what is appropriate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hate to tell you, momma, but at 2.5, he should be getting his "comfort, health and bonding" from you in a different way. You need to give it up. Why don't you at least admit that it's for you at this point, and not him?

I will bet you money this person either did not nurse at all or never past the newborn-under-a-blanket phase. I nursed two kids up to age 2.5, and it boggles the mind that people can think it's "for the mom." Do you know how hard it is to get 2.5 year olds to do things they don't want to do? Do you really think moms out there are forcing them to the breast?

"This person" (me) absolutely breastfed two children, both exclusively for 9 months, then supplementally for another 3. The day they turned one, I turned the faucet off.

The question is, why in the hell would YOU want to breastfeed a 2 1/2 year old? Obviously it was for YOU, because s/he didn't "want to do it" (your own words.) There is something really, really strange about this...

You really are clueless. The PP's child DID want to, which is why she asked if you knew how hard it was to get a child to do something they didn't want to do. My 26 month old LOVES nursing and would do it all the time if I didn't stop him. I DON'T want to keep nursing, but he does, and I'm willing to give him that much as he is still very little. There's actually nothing strange about it. What I find really, really strange is why you would suddenly deny your children nursing on their first birthday. What made that exact day so important? Clearly that was about YOUR control issues and not your children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hate to tell you, momma, but at 2.5, he should be getting his "comfort, health and bonding" from you in a different way. You need to give it up. Why don't you at least admit that it's for you at this point, and not him?

I will bet you money this person either did not nurse at all or never past the newborn-under-a-blanket phase. I nursed two kids up to age 2.5, and it boggles the mind that people can think it's "for the mom." Do you know how hard it is to get 2.5 year olds to do things they don't want to do? Do you really think moms out there are forcing them to the breast?

"This person" (me) absolutely breastfed two children, both exclusively for 9 months, then supplementally for another 3. The day they turned one, I turned the faucet off.

The question is, why in the hell would YOU want to breastfeed a 2 1/2 year old? Obviously it was for YOU, because s/he didn't "want to do it" (your own words.) There is something really, really strange about this...

You really are clueless. The PP's child DID want to, which is why she asked if you knew how hard it was to get a child to do something they didn't want to do. My 26 month old LOVES nursing and would do it all the time if I didn't stop him. I DON'T want to keep nursing, but he does, and I'm willing to give him that much as he is still very little. There's actually nothing strange about it. What I find really, really strange is why you would suddenly deny your children nursing on their first birthday. What made that exact day so important? Clearly that was about YOUR control issues and not your children.

Don't worry, he'll stop once the kids at school make fun of him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Did she have any other kids with her? If not, it might be she is still using nursing as birth control. Either that or her husband is so grossed out at seeing her nurse a 4 year old that they don't have sex.......

That is not a good idea. Totally unreliable.

[Anonymous]

I am the poster who bf's her 2.5 yo
I don't attach any special sacred meaning to it
I guess I am just a softie, give him what he wants, too lazy to wean...
I don't believe in any sort of harm, too
It is only convenience and nothing else
Btw it is extremely rare that he would ask to nurse for soothing, being hurt, etc
It is mostly around sleep
I don't know why anyone would be so worked up

[Anonymous]

My friend has a 13 month old that is the size of a four year old. I'm not kidding. He's so tall and weighed 35lbs at 10 months. I carried him into a restaurant and almost put him down so he could walk in with me. Fortunately I remembered he couldn't walk before I put him down.

My friend is tiny but her DH is 7ft tall.

[Anonymous]

I don't know, I remember being horrified by seeing a two year old nursing in public. Flash forward 15 years and four kids later, and a woman using her boobs to comfort a child doesn't seem like a huge deal. In fact I would probably not notice it. There is a good chance that the child could be special needs, and this is how he copes.