I still breastfeed my 5 year-old

[TandemFeeder]

I’ve had another baby too so am now a tandem feeder. Happy to answer any questions.

No one is drinking cow’s milk from the udder, a cup suffices.

Where’s the anger? I gave you plain facts, that’s all. No anger, just facts.

I don’t understand your point about transitioning? The body transitions itself when breastfeeding?

Ok love, whatever you say 😂

Is your child at school or nursery? Do they mention it to their peers? Do your friends/family know? If so, what sort of reception do you get?

@TandemFeeder
I don’t have a question for you but just wanted to say well done, I too tandem fed, my daughter was 3 when my second was born. She weaned around the age of 6 but it was so gradual that I don’t actually remember the last time as it just became more & more sporadic. My second is still feeding at almost 4.
When I saw your post I clicked on knowing full well that most of the responses would be negative but I admire you posting because whilst it’s not for everyone there could be someone who reads it and realises you don’t have to stop once your child is no longer a baby and that natural term weaning has its benefits.
Your children are very lucky to have a mother who can offer comfort in such a way. My partner and I co-sleep with both of our children (we call it the family bed) and I still breastfeed as I said. Our children sleep soundly and securely surrounded by the people they rely on to keep them safe. It’s not how everyone does it but it doesn’t make it wrong. I hope the people who have no interest in asking you a genuine question and just want to share their disgust and opinion will consider that just because it’s not the ‘norm’ doesn’t mean it’s not a valid approach to parenting with the best intentions.

Jesus fucking christ. I haven’t got time to read through 20 odd pages of arguing.

Breastfeed your child until they draw their pension if you like, it’s got fuck all to do with anyone else, I can’t believe people get so wound up about what others do.

I don’t give a shit about any other mother or child on this Earth and I really, really don’t care what they do. If everyone just worried about thier own lives instead of what others are doing, life would be far less stressful.

I haven't read the full thread but just what was the point of posting it? You know it will just provoke arguments between people who think it's totally normal and people who think it's weird as hell.

Absolutely, ‘not your boobs, not your business’!!

If you imagine that the memory of sucking your mum’s nipple would give you a feeling of closeness then I won’t argue with that.

Personally I find the concept very uncomfortable. I’m glad I can’t remember it

And posters on this thread who can actually remember it also say the memory makes them uncomfortable.

This, this and this.

Because it's very natural for teenagers to find the idea of sucking milk out of their mum's nipple to be a bit gross? Sorry, but do you know any teenagers?! It's very developmentally normal for teenagers to emotionally detach from their parents during adolescence and the idea of being fed from their mother's breast is very confronting. It's not sad at all that teenagers might find that idea excessively intimate for comfort.

Kids (some) can be horribly cruel. It’s naïve to think you can let your child be different and they won’t get bullied for it. It’s not right but that’s human children for you. I was horribly bullied at at senior school and there were some nasty bullies at my primary (luckily I seemed to fly under the radar with those ones). It amazes me just how vile some kids can be.

Haven't read all the responses, so this has probably already been mentioned.
When your child is a teen, he'll likely remember still being breast fed at age 5 and feel embarrassed by the memory.
Kids talk about all kinds at school, if he mentions it to other kids, he ll be teased or bullied. Do either of these things concern you?

It’s on AMA, calm down 😂

I have no issue if you quote it. I would but I cannot remember what it said. There are literally people here claiming extended breast feeding is a safeguarding concern. Making vulgar remarks about sucking tits. Encouraging the bullying of kids. And your issue is with a remark about formula feeding. Something that in the vast majority of cases is a choice women make to the detriment of their children. But god forbid anyone would point that out. Fine to call women selfish when it suits eh.

If you read the responses between myself and that poster you would see that I said ‘I don’t have teenagers yet’. And I didn’t think that poster was talking about the teens breastfeeding from their mother, I thought she meant breastfeeding in general and I wondered why teenagers had such strong feelings about it because I don’t recall having any whatsoever either way. And no, I don’t know many teenagers. I don’t know one who is breastfeeding her child but other than her I’ve never had a conversation with any teenager about babies or feeding.

I only asked a question because I wanted to know the answer.

I can’t imagine many adults are signing up to be studied on the psychological impact of them being breastfed at age 7.

The tone of your posts come across as angry. Intolerant of another point of view.
As to transitioning, I mean a parent has a responsibility in my mind to assist a child move from baby to toddler, to child and so on. Not just let them fend for themselves. So you guide them, to ease them from one age to another. To acquire all manner of basic and social skills.

I work with them. They really don’t care unless it’s made awkward. Normally by some adults who have issues of their own that need dealing with.

Can I ask how long you breastfed your children for?

I can’t. I’ve got a backache and I’m taking it out on here 🤣

And someone above has given her experience of a sibling being breastfed until six, the sibling hating having a memory of it and being teased at school about it. So there is some information for you that not all kids will be ok with it, and understandably so.

Well I could easily say the same about others on here to be honest. I have no anger with regards to this particular exchange. My anger was obvious about David Walliams, that’s how my anger comes across on the boards.

Sorry, I’m confused about what that has to do with feeding? Do you mean they do those things without feeding? I don’t understand what you are referring to with regards to breastfeeding? Or are you referring to someone else? Sorry if I sound dense, I’m a bit lost.

I haven’t come across any such testimonies but of course I’d be interested in them. Is that on this thread, then? I’ve missed it, I’ll go back to find it. I’m more than happy to hold my hands up, I said ‘appear’ because that is the case. If there are people saying they have bad memories then I just haven’t come across them but I’d be interested to hear them.

@ChinneyTits but OP started the thread, so she’s obviously happy to discuss it. So the “mind your own business” approach is somewhat misplaced, unless OP has been forced at gun point to start a thread.