Mum asked to stop breastfeeding a TWO YEAR OLD in shoe shop.

You'd think but apparently some poor MNers suffer from a debilitating disease whereby they will keel over clutching their pearls if they see part of a breast or a child older then what THEY decide is ok, breastfeeding.

I really hope we can raise awareness of this debilitating disease in 2026 😓

I breastfed until almost four years old but at two I would have provided a snack or drink as there wasn't a need to breastfeed so often. However if she wants to then it's kind of ok but I would have thought they could have gone somewhere else.

The posters children - or worse HUSBAND - could have caught sight of the shamless attention seeking breastfeeder's boob or even nipple!

Her husband would turn into a ravening sex beast; sons would either be so distressed that they'd be turned off boobs and have to go gay, or be so excited that they'd become addicted to porn. Daughters might think their bodies aren't shameful, and god only knows what that could lead to.

Thanks. Then I really don’t see the issue at all - better a quick glimpse (if even that) of breast than a crying child, surely?

Do you feel this way about every parenting decision you've made? That it is the only right or acceptable option? Or are you only this authoritarian about breastfeeding?

2 Year olds don't need to cuddle in public. 2 year olds don't need cute little matching mittens and hats. 2 year olds don't need to learn to use a little scooter. But lots of things that aren't "necessary" aren't wrong either. And there is nothing wrong with breasts being used to feed or comfort a baby or child. It's literally why we have them.

I wouldn't do it, not because I think 2 year olds shouldn't be breastfed but more because well I wouldn't let my 2 year old just sit in a shop and eat their lunch either. I would probably find somewhere else that was more comfortable because feeding a 2 year old isn't as urgent as feeding a baby, they can wait.

That being said I wouldn't actually care if somebody else did it and they certainly should have just been left to it.

Sometimes actions are performative. And people do want to challenge and rile other people. Maybe the mum was really pro BFing and wanted to make a point / start a discussion.
It does seem less about the child who could easily have waited 5 mins or bought themselves a twix.

so? I said that I didn't breasfeed, bottle feed, feed OR give snacks to my children in a shoe shop.

How is your point relevant.

I agree

Not as judgemental as yours.

Seriously? I’ve breastfed a hungry screaming baby in a swimming pool before. I sat on the side. What’s the issue, I don’t get it? Why is any one place better than another? It has absolutely no impact on anyone else. In fact arguably swimming pool makes more sense than a shop because you’re already semi-dressed in swimwear. And swimming pools are plenty of other more disgusting bodily fluids than breast milk (which was going into my babies mouth anyway not into the water).

Fucking hell the child is TWO.

I don’t see what’s funny about breastfeeding at a swimming pool? I breastfed my baby at a swimming pool. When they’re hungry, they’re hungry! What are you supposed to do: get everyone dry and changed before feeding them in the cafe?

And I wasn’t ‘performative’ about breastfeeding in the slightest! Absolutely hated it.

If you had read the article before jumping in you would know that she wasn't feeding the child as an equivalent of a snack.

It's really not relevant how old the child was or what the reason for breastfeeding was. A mum should be allowed to breastfeed her child. I don't understand why people make such a drama out of it. You see more skin on most music videos and it's perfectly possible to just not look. I have had full on conversations with breastfeeding mothers on multiple occasions and never once seen her breast and even if I did how weird would I have to be to be offended by it?!

who on earth gives formula to a 2 year old?

Two year olds don’t need to breastfeed in public (nor do they need bottles). Give the child a water bottle with a straw for sips of water if they’re thirsty. If they’re hungry, then take them for a meal / snack.
Of course, if they’re ill and need to feed for comfort then it’s different, but stay at home and look after them properly and don’t drag them around the shops.

I fed both DC to early toddler age (14 ish months I think). I never fed in public once they were well on the way to weaning, at around 6-8 months. It’s just not necessary.

congratulations on spectacularly missing the point

It’s not just ridiculous but ignorant. The reason formula is so popular in western societies is because of agressive marketing (to make profit for others) and because societally, women are forced to separate from their children very young (to work, to make profit for others).

Breastfeeding duration correlates with the mother’s education level.

Neither of those were in play when I stopped breastfeeding (when DD turned 1) - I just got fed up with her scraping her teeth across my nipples!

The child was upset.

totally

I'm embarrassed for people who are so brainwashed by formula marketing they actually can't cope with the sight/thought of breastfeeding toddlers, eg a completely developmentally normal and beneficial human behaviour we have engaged in without stigma for millennia... Until formula marketing.

Breastfeeding at this age is about a lot more than simple feeding.

Completely normal to breastfeed a two year old and it’s a shame it’s seen as strange or inappropriate. I fed my 20m old in the doctors yesterday waiting for my older ones flu jab because he’d just woken up from a nap and was super grumpy because he wasn’t at home and it settled and comforted him.