Why does everyone think it is their right to tell a woman how to mother her children?

[Ilsa]

I bet if the picture was of a man doing something fatherly with his kids, no one would say a word about it. But because it's a woman and breastfeeding, everyone wants to butt into their business when there are far more critical parenting situations out there, such as neglect. I work in a school district and see it every day. I wish we had more moms like the one who is breastfeeding her six year old.

[bluestateguy]

1. In the case of breastfeeding, then you would be correct

But when I see a woman at the grocery store shaking her baby in a fit of rage, um yes, I am going to say something.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. breast feeding = healthy kids. Tell every mom and dad.

[Darth_Kitten]

7. Breast feeding is still a choice....doesn't make a woman bad...

if she doesn't or can't breastfeed her baby.

[mzteris]

32. can't is one thing -

won't is another.

I can't think of one single good reason to NOT breastfeed if you're capable. Sorry.

[John Q. Citizen]

34. I agree, but it's something to be encouraged when possible.

[blueamy66]

82. I hope you're being sacrastic.

Cause you do a disservice to all adopted kids if you aren't.

[vanlassie]

101. And yet, many of them are also breastfed. By their adopted mothers.

Yes, yes they are. No need to get too "offended."

[Zoeisright]

3. There comes a point when that kind of physical attachment is inappropriate.

And a six year old boy breastfeeding is past that point. What on earth could a man do that was "fatherly" in comparison?

[Kceres]

6. Since you are so enlightened as to the correct age a child should cease breast-feeding...

please share. Is it one year old? Six months? Two years? What if the child cannot tolerate most foods by six? Personally I think it is up to the health of the child, the culture s/he is growing up in, etc. I don't know why people are so opinionated over this issue. If the sight offends you then turn away; otherwise, live and let live.

[SmileyRose]

Honestly

None of us, including you, have any idea what's going on with this child and his mother. A few lines on the interwebs or on the TV machine hardly makes any of us an expert. To make the assumption there's nothing wrong with this and no one has any right to ask any questions is just as silly as jumping to the conclusion this is a Mom who's screwing up the kid beyond all repair.

There's an awful lot of people on the DU who have done a fantastic job raising kids, some of them grandkids too - and when they see something like this a few red flags go up and they ask a few questions and scratch their heads. Surely there's room for that here.

[EFerrari]

27. The health of the child includes the child's ability to develop

a sense of himself an an intact, autonomous individual. A development that isn't promoted by breastfeeding at six.

[theHandpuppet]

91. +1

:thumbsup:

[vanlassie]

102. Errr. Just the opposite, I would insist.

The age of six has little to do with it, still nursing once and a while with little brother is entirely healthy and this is true everywhere in this world, even tho you never knew it!!!

[EFerrari]

118. Well, no. Go look up the developmental tasks for the age. n/t

[vanlassie]

119. And will you certify for us, EFerrari, that the last time you behaved

"like a child" was when you actually still WERE a child????

[EFerrari]

124. Acting like a child is not the same as being a child with developmental

tasks to meet if you're going to be healthy and happy in this culture. Good grief.

[vanlassie]

126. You think he has failed to meet a developmental task???

[EFerrari]

130. We were talking about breastfeeding at six not promoting development

appropriate for that age. It's not that he meets or doesn't meet them, it's that this mother isn't promoting his development. Pretty simple.

[vanlassie]

131. And you have met his mother?

[WinkyDink]

64. Are YOU "so enlightened". then? How about age 15? What is YOUR boundary?

[Toucano]

98. I would like to see the answer to that as well.

Weening is an important developmental phase.

If it's appropriate at 6, why isn't it appropriate at 8? Or 10?

[vanlassie]

103. I nursed one child until age 5 and the next until age 5.5.

One is a healthy married father to a nursing 21 month old son, and both brilliant and happy. Lovely, happily nursing DIL. Son graduated from Cal w/ a degree in physics. Daughter also college grad, successful, married 3 years, lives in London, we are super close, thank GOD for Skype. What else would you need to know to convince you that this is within the realm of NORMAL? Just because you didn't know about it! Here in the US people are seriously undereducated on many subjects...... And in this particular case it is not hard to understand why, given the vitriol that tends to flow anytime someone talks about nursing past another person's PARTICULAR AND INDIVIDUAL COMFORT ZONE. Your comfort zone is YOURS.

I can guarantee you that the jails are NOT overflowing with late weaners...quite the opposite. :rofl:

[blueamy66]

83. when the child has teeth

there ya go....

[demwing]

94. About 1 in every 2000 babies is born with teeth

Most children get teeth in at around 6 months. Do you really believe children should stop nursing at 6 months?

[Name removed]

95. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

100. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[vanlassie]

105. And what wouldbe YOUR credential for tellingus what is and is not appropriate??

Inquiring minds are dying to know!!!!

[demwing]

125. Im not telling YOU anything, I'm telling the last poster my opinion

which, in real life, I tend to keep to myself. In an internet thread, I feel free to state my opinion, because that's all it is, an opinion.

If you don't like that, dont read these damned threads. Duh.

Now, that being said, my opinion is based on my experiences as a father, accepted social norms, and the fact that most children of a sufficient age are fully capable of eating solid food.

Nursing a 6 year old child is a little weird, in my opinion. Obviously, that's not a clinical observation. Also, for those who believe only women can make this judgement, mine is an opinion shared by my wife, my mother, my mother in law, my sister, her mother in law, my two aunts, and my daughter in law, all of whom are women, all of whom are mothers, all of who have influenced my opinion.

Furthermore, early weaning is also the opinion of The World Health Organization, which recommends that all children be exclusively breastfed for six months, then gradually introduced to appropriate family foods after six months, while continuing to breastfeed for two years or beyond.

How long beyond, the WHO doesn't say, but it's clear you should start thinking about weaning after only the first few years.

On the other hand, if you feel your child needs breastmilk for longer than two years, go for it. Does it need to be breastfed breastmilk? Can it be from a bottle? Those are questions for the individual to answer. Just because some people think its weird shouldn't stop you. Let it stop them, thats their business.

When should your child stop? Having teeth is so arbitrary. Some babies are born with teeth. Should they never breastfeed? Some kids lose their milk teeth very quickly, some not till they are 10.

You've got to draw a line somewhere. Is it appropriate to have a child of 10 years still breastfeeding?

9 years? 8? 6? Yes?

What about 16?

[vanlassie]

132. Early weaning? NO health organization recommends "early weaning"

The WHO addresses nutritional benefits, only. They don't imply, hint at, or otherwise offer an opinion on the timeframe for a final nursing encounter. To draw such a conclusion would be grasping.

Mothers draw the line every day. Why assume a mother is incapable of drawing lines for allowing her own child to her own breast? Even if her parenting style is different from that of all the women you personally are acquainted with? Why assume anything at all about this mother?

What is true: (That Which We Have Data For...)
She occasionally allows her six year old to the breast.
She was willing to share this info with a reporter.
She doesn't have a problem with it.

So why speculate on what she might do next year or the next?

[Nikia]

99. My son learned not to bite

When he developed teeth around 6 months. Breast milk was his only drink until 1 year. Between 12-18 months we gradually cut down. After he'd go days without, I eventually said "no" and he was completely weaned.
When he was getting teeth, he was just learning to eat. Also children under 1 year aren't supposed to have cow's milk.

[grasswire]

4. don't scare off helpful advice....sometimes a person's just got to intervene.

At the supermarket a few weeks ago I saw a baby sitting in a grocery cart stuffing a plastic bag into its mouth, chewing and slobbering.

The mom was on her cell phone, picking through the vegetables.

My first thought was to take the bag.

My second thought was that the mom might get mad at me for intervening.

I timidly said "Excuse me....." and the mom turned 'round and took the bag away, pulling about half of it out of baby's mouth.

Mom wasn't fazed apparently by what MIGHT have happened to baby, and went on her way.

So please don't scare off all help -- which your headline might be thought to do.

[dkf]

5. Isn't it a pretty cheap way to nourish your kid?

Why isn't it more sick to be drinking cows milk? I mean can you see yourself sucking a cow? Eewww

[blueamy66]

21. When was the last time

you saw an infant sucking on a cow?

Come on.

[dkf]

28. So if the mother pumped we would be okay with this?

[blueamy66]

80. No.

6 years old is toooooo old to be drinking a mother's milk. That is why a 6 year old has teeth.


This woman has mental issues.

[vanlassie]

106. Human milk contains living antibodies. It is given to cancer patients.

[HuckleB]

25. It's probably not any cheaper.

The mother needs a lot of food to produce the milk. Some moms struggle to keep their weight up when breast feeding.

[Crystal Clarity]

40. I don't know. Some of that infant formula can be quite expensive

But you're right about lactating women having to consume alot of calories. I was able to eat MORE than I did while pregnant, yet was back down to 105lbs within 6 weeks after having given birth... thanks to nursing.

I think the LeLeche League and other breastfeeding advocates would do well to make this fact more widely known. Particularly among a younger and/or less educated demographic. Pretty much everyone already knows that breastfeeding is healthier for their babies, but a surprising # of women are not aware of the added weight loss benefit.

[Nikia]

47. Breast feeding is cheaper than formula

Breast feeding an older child who could be drinking cow's milk and eating regular food wouldn't be cheaper though. I lost a lot of weight breast feeding too. Unfortunatly, I gained most of it back within six months of stopping.

[snooper2]

143. oh it is...trust me...

Every time a doctor says, yeah, straight whole milk is okay now that she/he is 1, the parents have a party..

You must have not bought any formula lately...

$25-30 a week easy...

[The Straight Story]

8. When do people think it is their right to tell others where they can go and drink/smoke?

When and what they can drive?

Where and how they live?

What they throw in the trash and what they recycle?

Me, I get called a libertarian because I am for more govt regs on corps and less on people and small businesses.

Sad that it has come to this - you are either like me and those of my faith/ideals, or you are wrong and bad and need others to swoop down like the europeans on the 'savages' and learn them right.

Freedom starts with choice, and ends when others punish you for those choices over money and what is best for you in their eyes (ie, saving you from sinning).

[LAGC]

59. Your personal freedom ends when it interferes with others'.

Drinking and smoking (tobacco or marijuana) in private is fine. But once you get behind the wheel drunk or smoke in public, exposing people to HARMFUL second-hand smoke, you've crossed the line. I have no problem with laws regulating public intoxication or making public areas smoke-free. If indulgers have a problem with it, they can abstain, or keep it to themselves. Same goes with religion.

[HuckleB]

137. +1,000,000,000,000!!!

[Maru Kitteh]

77. Second-hand breastmilk doesn't kill thousands of innocent people every year.

[vanlassie]

107. BUT A LACK OF IT SURE DOES!!!!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. i think to a degree its our right to judge parenting (to protect children)

but we tend to judge any unusual parenting as hugely abhorrent. i have problems with that. is there anything to prove that breastfeeding a child past a certain age is really deleterious for the child? if not, we should back off.

i will say i have a family friend, and occasionally when they come to visit my parents i want to kick them for the way they neglect their baby. one time the baby was so thirsty it tried to drink their scotch several times, parents would not budge to get the child water. child was 2 years old. i finally did it, but i was pretty horrified. (in case someone wonders why i didnt do it faster, i was holding a bunch of food in my hand and had no where to dump it)

[ejpoeta]

14. that would need a call to CPS for sure. but it is a tough call to make...

people get pissed when you call CPS and if you aren't allowed around anymore you may not be able to make sure the kid is ok. my experience with CPS is that they don't always check thoroughly.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. if i called CPS on them, i would never hear the end of it. honestly, this couple

has a lot of help in general (wealthy, so maids and nannies). i think they are hardly ever alone with the kid, so when they are, they dont know what to do

[denem]

10. Because "a woman" is addicted to meth?

or should she be above criticism or concern?

[cali]

11. please, mods, I'm begging you.

you know it's the right thing to do. Put a clamp on it.

[Lucian]

12. If I was six years old and my mom was breast feeding me...

I'd want to kill myself. Obviously there's something wrong in her head if she's feeding them that long.

[vanlassie]

108. Oh Lucian, we KNOW. We know. You poor thing...........

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. I started that thread. 6 years is too &*%^ old, imho. But I'm not trying to stop her

not illegal, I guess

[vanlassie]

109. And tell us, what have you learned?

Just curious- no demand.

[jp11]

15. People think they are helping or are busy bodies who like to get involved in other

people's business. It is either to help or to correct what they see as bad and I'm sure some people would still say something to a man the only reason they might not is possible fear of getting punched in the face because let's face it that is a stereotype that some people will put on a man.

I tend to ignore what people do unless I notice something that might be a safety issue, as one poster mentioned a kid eating a plastic bag, beyond that it isn't my concern I'm out doing whatever I'm out to do.

[WolverineDG]

16. Okie, next time I see a mom beating her kids

I won't say a word.

dg

[HuckleB]

24. And the pointless red herring of the day award goes to...

:eyes:

[WolverineDG]

46. I wasn't the only one to say something similar to this

so here's your award back.

:eyes:

dg

[Warren DeMontague]

104. And if we legalize pot smoking and gay marriage, it'll be okay to murder, rape & eat babies.

Except, er, they're not the same thing.

[HuckleB]

138. You offered the most obvious line of crap.

The award is yours.

[apocalypsehow]

17. This. Will. Not. End. Well.

:popcorn:

[JoePhilly]

18. Not me ... let them breast feed into their teens ...

The decision to STOP breast feeding is one that is usually made jointly by the mother AND the child. So there is now exact point to end it.

However, your claim (in the title of your OP) is that MOM decides. Really? The child has no say? I call BS.

Normally, the end to breast feeding is a joint decision by the mother and the child.

Somewhere, usually between 6 months and a year (maybe up to two years), they BOTH agree its time to move on. And it ends. The child is becoming more independent, and their sources of food, more varied. And the ways for mother and father to show affection advance.

But ... some mothers do not want this to be a joint decision. The child would be happy to move on, but mom still wants that "special closeness" ... its a closeness that is singular ... no one else, including Dad can not participate.

There is a point where it passes into a control mechanism. And by 6 years old, that is where it is.

[Crystal Clarity]

30. That is just bizarre

Normally, the end to breast feeding is a joint decision by the mother and the child.

Somewhere, usually between 6 months and a year (maybe up to two years), they BOTH agree its time to move on. And it ends. The child is becoming more independent, and their sources of food, more varied. And the ways for mother and father to show affection advance.

But ... some mothers do not want this to be a joint decision. The child would be happy to move on, but mom still wants that "special closeness" ... its a closeness that is singular ... no one else, including Dad can not participate.

There is a point where it passes into a control mechanism. And by 6 years old, that is where it is.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds as if you implying that some mothers continue to breastfeed a child who is unwilling to continue on with it. I've never seen or even heard of that happening. I've seen children who have a hard time giving it up/being weaned, but never the other way around.

:wtf:

[laundry_queen]

33. I always lmao when I hear that.

Who ever says shit like that has obviously never breastfed a child. When a child decides they are done, you can't make them breastfeed. LOL I dare anyone to try it.
I have breastfed 4 children, and all weaned themselves, between 2.5 and 4.5. From what I remember when I was researching this, is most mammals wean their young around the time they begin to lose their milk teeth. For most humans, that would be between 5 and 7 years of age. Society today says that's abnormal, but biologically, it's how we evolved.

[JoePhilly]

42. I posted my view in another thread, and your response is the one ...

I expected.

Clearly, as man, I can't understand. Although, I'm a PhD in Psychology and have some background in this space. But what could I actually know?

If a child is rewarded for continuing to take the breast, it will. No force is required.

Your point about those children weaning themselves is correct ... it usually occurs by age 2, but can go later, maybe 4 or so.

And as I said, it tends to be a joint decision between mom and the child.

After that, there are other factors at work. Mom does not want it to end, and the child obliges.

Is it abnormal? Not really. It probably won't hurt the kid. Children are highly adaptive.

They survive regardless of whether you don't breast feed them at all, or if you do it til they are 10. They often survive and even thrive after various forms of actual abuse.

So they will be fine here as well ... unless Mom never lets go.

[vanlassie]

116. JoePhilly. You disclose you lack of TRUE knowledge of the subject here:.

When you say: "Mom does not want it to end, and the child obliges. "

If you only knew how funny this statement is. I can certify under oath that this statement is full of shit.

I have WAY more personal knowledge than you have gotten from your book learning. Unless your reading includes breastfeeding books, specifically including those about nursing toddlers and older kids? If so please share with us those titles- we will recognize the elemental ones.

Waiting eagerly.

[JoePhilly]

39. That is exactly what I imply.

It is not very common, but as the child ages, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... mom is, more and more, the one driving.

And it is not that the child is "unwilling" to stop ... its that the child is ready to move on ... but Mom is not, as you get past 3 or 4.

Consider this ... by 6, a child is certainly in day care of Kindergarten. Do we expect Moms to be in the cafeteria breast feeding them?

At a certain point, the nutritional aspect ends, and the ways in which closeness and affection can be displayed expand.

As for seeing it for yourself. If you know some one who is still breast feeding a 6 year old. Pay attention next time you see them. In most cases, Mom will be creating the offer. And the child will comply. It will all be subtle. But if you pay attention, you will see it.

[Crystal Clarity]

54. I'm fascinated by your logic

not in a snarky way, but more of a what-are-you-talking-about kind of way... Seriously, I don't get it and am at a loss as to know where to begin. But I guess I'll give it a shot out of pure curiousity...

First, what would be a woman's motive for wanting to continue to nurse that long if she didn't have to? It makes no sense. When I nursed, I loved the weight loss aspect of it. It quickly got me back down to pre-pregnancy weight, however all of the other pain-in-the-a** stuff had me happily weaning my child at 17 months of age despite that one benefit (to me).

My daughter OTOH was not as pleased at all and was the reason I stuck w/it as long as I did. My 3 sisters had similar experiences w/all of their children. They were happy to be done w/it at or around the 1 and 1/2 mark, even though NONE of their children were. Collectively the 4 of us had 12 children btw. Then there was my own mother w/all four of us... same thing.

Add to that friends, other family members, acquaintances, colleagues at work and we are talking LOTS of anecdotal experiences here, all w/mothers wanting to be done w/nursing before their children.

The longest I've ever seen anyone nurse a child was 4 years. This woman, a friend of mine, had gotten her child almost completely weaned when a breakup of her marriage had her giving in to his wish to continue (more then she would have liked). It was comforting to him and he needed that reassurance at the time. I don't know if I'd have handled it the same way she did, but I can understand her wanting to comfort her son during a distressing time. And that, at the time, was the one thing that seemed to soothe him.

I know of NO cases where a mother forced a child to nurse against the child's will... which is what you are basically saying in your post. It sounds creepy and possibly abusive for one thing. Maybe there are people like that, but I've never met or even heard of any. This is not to say that there are no abusive mothers in this world, but abusive people tend to work toward their own self interests... Nursing is not what any woman I know would choose to do for years on end. Especially selfish, abusive ones.

What's in it for them?

[laundry_queen]

76. Again, this is where I chuckle

Because an 'older' child who is breastfeeding does not *need* it in the same way a 2-month old infant does. There would be no breastfeeding in the cafeteria, lmao. Generally, as a child gets older and is less dependent on the nutritional aspect of breastmilk, it becomes more of an object of comfort. For instance, none of my children had 'blankies' or teddies or pacis. Not because I didn't try, but because breastfeeding was the ultimate comfort for them. As the child outgrows their need for the comfort, they nurse less and less. By the time my daughter who nursed the longest was 4, she was nursing once a week, maybe once every couple of weeks, tops. And usually only when she was inconsolable about something.

I get what you are trying to say. And having hung around breastfeeding 'militants' I can say I have never seen what you say happens. These were women who believed a child should nurse at until least 3-4 yrs, and hopefully longer. I am sure some of them did offer more often (as there was a bit of a 'who can breastfeed the longest' undercurrent) and yet, not one of them had a child nurse past 6. Biologically, it is against the best interest of both parent and child to continue that long. And again, as I said, by the time the child is that age, they generally don't breastfeed in public, or even every day, or week. How many 6 year olds do you know that suck their thumbs or have blankies or suck on their teddy bears? I'm willing to bet a large percentage still do that. Some kids just need that comfort and security longer than others. And for some kids, unfortunately breastfeeding isn't seen merely as a tool to meet those needs - all kind of societal biases exist that cause judgments when a child breastfeeds past age 2. Yet, none of those same judgments are made when we see a child suck on the corner of their blankie when they are 7. Why is that?

[vanlassie]

122. The mother in the story. Her child asked. He was waking up, rubbing his eyes, it was cold,

mom and little bubbie were already snuggie in the "big bed." Laundry-Queen, please let's not raise the "Militant" word. Nursing mothers are not militant- Because, you see- people like YOU and I have been called militant by virtue of the fact that we not only nursed a +3 year old, but- WE TALKED about it. Is this militant? (Or are you describing someone who marches in the streets? <wink>

[vanlassie]

120. Hmm. How many children have you observed to come up with this

personal data? Or did you perform a study? Where can I read the results?

I have observed hundreds,over age 3. Age six is on the outside edge. It is not pathological.

[vanlassie]

110. JoePhilly?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
So funny. really. You are clueless. But funny.

[JVS]

19. Because it is their right.

The rules are, everyone gets their say, but the other side of the rule is that nobody has to listen.

[muriel_volestrangler]

31. Correct answer

Expressing an opinion is a right. Just as expressing milk is. :D

[stray cat]

20. Or a president how to run a country

[HuckleB]

23. Your point is valid.

However, people do think it is their right to tell a father how to father his children, especially if that father is in public with an infant. Guess what? I did know what I was doing. I didn't need all that intrusive "advice" that I got, far too often. Yes, my wife got some of the same, but not nearly the amount I got, and she breast fed in public all the time.

[EFerrari]

26. Because women are more apt to listen.

lol

[ZombieHorde]

29. Because telling people what to do is fun. nt

[Stevenmarc]

35. Really?.. Someone is telling a woman how to mother their children.... Really?

Can someone bring themselves back to Planet Reality.

Someone posts a news story from the UK then a whole bunch of people felt the need to type on a screen, period.

No one told this woman anything.

[Lucian]

36. +1 million

Th fauxrage expressed on this site has become less entertaining and more annoying.

God forbid people express opinions! Oh noes!!!111!!11

[Ilsa]

43. Okay, I'll bite: how about liberals judging her lifestyle?nt

[Stevenmarc]

58. Obviously

under these particular circumstances I'm not overly concerned, but then again I'm not so self-absorbed that I have to be the arbiter of liberalism.

[seabeyond]

62. so what. the discussion was is it appropriate for 6 yr old to breastfeed. no different

from any other issue we have on du that we, as a discussion board, discuss...

what we do

[madinmaryland]

37. A six year old???

:wtf:

[Ilsa]

Dupe.

[Ilsa]

41. There are a hundred other parenting issues that are proven to be

Of greater consequence than how long they nurse. Let's start with neglecting to take a really sick child to the doctor...

[madinmaryland]

45. Yes there are hundreds of other issues. I thought you were arguing that it was ok

for six year olds to still being breastfed.

My wife breastfed our daughter until she was 13-14 months, and her only comment about 3-6 year olds being being breastfed is one word:

TEETH!

[Ilsa]

81. I nursed both of my kids when they had teeth. A baby can't

Effectively nurse and bite down at th same time. They can learn to nurse without biting.

[vanlassie]

129. Your child still hadno teeeth at 14 months?????

[Coventina]

38. Because breasts have become over-sexuallized in our culture.

Breasts are for nourishment, not sex.

One common Medieval depiction of the virtue of charity is a young woman nursing an old man.
Obviously, it was not seen as a sexual image or the church would not have encouraged it.

[Pisces]

48. Really, the church has homosexual scenes in churches that were condoned or overlooked.

This is the world we live in, not the world we wished we lived in. That 6 yr. old may have some issues when he grows up in this world.

[RegieRocker]

50. What he will see breasts and get thirsty?

[Toucano]

97. While that's true, this story referenced in the OP is about weening, not breastfeeding.

I think there's a slight difference.

[adamuu]

44. n/t

[RegieRocker]

49. She could use a breat pump

and pour it into a glass. Would that suit everyone? I mean where does milk come from anyway? The teats of a cow. Maybe we should all be weaned off milk at a certain age.

[JoePhilly]

52. A mother's milk loses its nutritional value after the birth.

During the first 6 months to a year or so, mother's milk has may advantages.

After that, the nutritional value decreases. By about two years after the birth, a woman's breast milk is not providing any real nutritional value above what is available in other food sources.

So I guess my point is that women do not produce milk in the same way that cows do.

[RegieRocker]

53. what if she keeps having children as in the case of this woman?

[vanlassie]

111. ARE YOU SERIOUS?

You really think this? "....And then, the milk turns to.....water!"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[blueamy66]

84. Now you're just being obtuse.

You know the difference between buying a gallon of milk, putting it in the fridge and then pouring it into a glass and holding a 6 year old up to a breast and letting him/her suckle.

Don't you?

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

51. Is this a trick question?

I got burned the other day for being "insensitive" on a matter that, silly me, is off limits to men.

[RegieRocker]

55. Oh crap!

[vanlassie]

112. Reg- guess what- you went there again!!!!

Read up on lactation and then come back to us with a report. You have some'splaining to do, son.

[mstinamotorcity]

145. Yep, unless you like

:popcorn: its a trick question:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[TexasObserver]

56. For the same reason everyone thinks it is their right to tell a man how to father his children.

As a society we have notions about good parenting. Your statement that "if the picture was of a man doing something fatherly with his kids, no one would say a word about it" is simply without any rational basis. The parenting skills of men are constantly under scrutiny, especially at DU.

Most Americans feel breast feeding is great and fully support it. Most do not, however, agree that children should breast feed beyond a couple of years. You're trying to create an issue out of it when there isn't one. Very few Americans think it's fine for a six year old to nurse.

[Morning Dew]

57. Harvey Pincher would agree. n/m

[Warren DeMontague]

60. Because for some reason many humans think they're placed on Earth to tell others what to do.

What can I say? I guess people need hobbies.

[WinkyDink]

65. Please. We're commenting on a news story. You know, on a DISCUSSION BOARD.

[Warren DeMontague]

69. So am I.

I'm commenting on the excellent armchair quarterbacking our planet's team is fielding.

[WinkyDink]

88. One of us is missing the irony.

[Warren DeMontague]

93. I think 6 is probably too old to be breastfeeding

but it's not my kid, or my breast, so I have trouble understanding why it's my business.

[seabeyond]

61. the discussion was on breast feeding 6 yr olds and opinion. the mother CHOSE to publicize

her choices. she put it out for a story. people discuss it.

WHY are there people that have issue when a story comes out, that others dare to discuss it?

[Toucano]

96. +1

It's not as if it was some "secret exposé" that spied on her.

[vanlassie]

113. She has done a service- and many before have also been ridiculed.

But it is quite dangerous to allow a population to continue to be so ignorant on such an important topic. LIST TO ME:
Mothers have had their children TAKEN AWAY from them on just such a disclosure of these facts in the past- Both KIDS. All her kids. Ignorant CPS people, ignorant neighbors, ignorant disgruntled estranged family- you get the picture. It is time we collectively get a clue. Someone probably asked this mother if she would be willing to be in a story- a very sweet story, I might add. Maybe she never imagined there would be people like some here who would be so nasty.

[seabeyond]

139. bullshit a moms kid taken away exclusively for breastfeeding. something else is up.... prove

otherwise. i dont believe.

people have a different opinion than yours. you are protcting a position that you hold dear from personal experience. you dont need others approval for what you did as a mother. was your choice. and others can recognize inherent flaws ina parent breastfeeding at 6. we can all discuss it

no more or no less.

[HuckleB]

136. And DUers chose to respond to a story in the Daily Fail.

That's probably the most ridiculous thing of all.

[seabeyond]

140. it is a discussion on breastfeeding a 6 yr old. i dont see where it is published to be relevant at

all.

who cares where it is coming from. it isnt about this woman, per se. nor the 6 yr old.

[HuckleB]

141. It's a right wing tabloid.

It's very relevant.

[seabeyond]

142. so, if it was in "liberal media" we could talk about it? that is ridiculous. facts

a mother is breast feeding a 6 yr old....

opinions. discuss.

fuck....

[WinkyDink]

63. Breast-feeding a first-grader? Don't they start drinking bottled milk in Kindergarten?

IT'S WEIRD and CREEPY.

And a father shouldn't BATHE with his 6-year-old DAUGHTER, either.

And I'll opine on whateverthehell I want, TYVM.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

66. my father bathed me for a long time. nothing creepy about it

unless you assume that fathers are attracted to their 10 year old sick child. which my father wasn't.

[Violet_Crumble]

67. You couldn't bathe yrself until you were over 10 yrs old?

I was able to do that long before that....

btw, I'm calling OTT BS on the OP as I breastfed my daughter and the only folk I ever encountered who thought they had a right to tell me how to be a mother was a few extreme supporters of breast feeding at a centre I went to when I started to have problems feeding my baby. When I said I was considering changing to bottle feeding coz I was getting worried my daughter wasn't getting enough milk, they went apeshit at me...

[La Lioness Priyanka]

68. not with a raging fever , i couldn't. i got sick a lot between the time i was 10-12

and my mom and dad were separated. so if i was at my dads and sick, he gave me a bath if i needed/wanted one.

why is that so horrifying or strange?

[Violet_Crumble]

70. Sorry, I misread you. I thought you couldn't bathe yrself at all...

When yr crook, it's really different. When yr a kid and yr crook, you need yr mum and dad :)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

71. crook? is that a term for sick/unwell? never heard it before

:hi:

[Violet_Crumble]

72. I think it might be an Australian slang term that I've always used...

I've had many a sickie from work where I've rung up and said 'I'm not coning in today coz I feel a bit crook' :)

[Hannah Bell]

75. a father shouldn't bathe his 6 year old daughter? why?

what's creepy is when people sexualize perfectly innocuous things.

[laundry_queen]

78. I agree.

It is creepy when others find it creepy. I can't help but wonder why they are concerned about it?

[Hannah Bell]

79. I blame the media. People have come to see pedophilia in normal parenting &

sex in *everything*.

There's a perv behind every tree -- you'd think if you watched tv a lot.

[blueamy66]

85. bathe WITH

his daughter...is what the post said....

[WinkyDink]

89. Sure.

http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,6246,00.html

[snooper2]

144. For most all babies it's safe at 1 year of age to start straight cow milk

FYI

[hfojvt]

73. sometimes you gotta say something

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz7CWjrHUgk

[Hannah Bell]

74. yep. & that "concerned" disapproval typically does more damage than whatever it is

people have their panties in a wad about.

[Shandris]

86. Does anyone else see the extreme variance in positions on this?

Which is it, It Takes A Village or Shut The Fuck Up Its My Kid?

[seabeyond]

90. true that. how does it takes a village fit in. nt

[JVS]

92. yeah

[B Calm]

87. Maybe you're right, but to me when someone breast feed a 6 yr old, it's sick!

[vanlassie]

114. Nice try B Calm.

[likesmountains 52]

115. If a 6 year old can (and does) open his own carton of milk...he's probably a little

old to be nursing...

[vanlassie]

117. Yes, it's been said. Many, many times. Sometimes even funnier.

[mentalsolstice]

121. okay, I'm one of those cruel women who decide not to have children...

I have no thoughts about the appropriate age to stop breast feeding. However, it's my belief if a child and mother can verbally negotiate for the breast, it's really time to think about weaning.

[vanlassie]

123. Yes, it's been said. Many, many times.

[Iggo]

127. Everyone?

Not even close.

[DeadEyeDyck]

128. K&R

[Bunny]

133. Because SOMEONE has to tell that stupid idiot that having an

elementary school kid sucking her tit is disgusting and sick and she needs to have her personal issues addressed by professionals. There. Answer your question?

[Richardo]

134. "No one's telling her how to mother her children."

"We just think she ought to put them away if the kid's consistently late for the school bus."

[Bunny]

135. Hahahaha!

Thanks, Greg! :thumbsup: :rofl: