breastfeeding at 5 (and above?)

[cleopatracomingatya]

fully expecting to get some extreme opinions here.

www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7286609/mum-breastfeeds-five-baths-naked-normal-break-stigma/

This is the article (and the bath photo is disturbing enough for me as it is)

interested to see the general consensus on this. AIBU to think this is just... no!!

@flybabyfly

But you don’t typically see people with their mouths around an udder to get the milk out

Aquamarine1029

It's ridiculous and of absolutely no benefit to the child. It's all about the mother and her emotional dysfunction. Just my opinion, (as a mum who breastfed all of my children for 14 months each), and I don't care who disagrees with me.

We are not in a 3rd world country

Bitty

Perfectly normal. If it works for her and her family then why not? well within biological norms just not societal. I remember my ds2 being so upset when he lost his latch and couldn't feed! He was young for it, a few months past his 3rd birthday.

As for nudity why should we be ashamed of our bodies? My 11 year old is still perfectly comfortable to be around me naked and will get into bed with me when I'm naked. Nothing sexual about it at all, just our bodies and I sleep naked! My 6 year old'd greatest joy on a Sunday is to share a bath with his dad.

I did this but certainly didn’t want my picture in the papers!

@cleopatracomingatya Legally?

I breastfed my child until 5 , never in a million years would I allow my photograph or his to be published in a newspaper.

Touting your boobs and child to the redtops is distasteful

To be fair the woman is asking for attention, comments and feedback by posting images of it in her Instagram and selling naked pics of her son to The Sun.

If you want to breastfeed, knock yourself out but you can’t complain if you invite comments by putting it in the internet. A five year old breastfeeding is unusual.

I find it really hard to get worked up about something that is completely biologically normal.

Perfectly normal if that’s what they want to do.

However the photo of the bath in the paper is inappropriate as the child isn’t old enough to consent to it. I highly doubt at 15 he is going to be impressed when his mates find it online!

By 5 years old, she is obviously just attention seeking.Hence the article in a news/online paper that the entire world can see.
And poor kiddo when he gets older and sees what his Mom put out there.
I hope she's saving up for all the therapy he's going to need.smh...

Nothing wrong with longer term breastfeeding or bath sharing with little ones. An awful lot wrong with taking pics of it and putting them in a newspaper

Yep. This sums it up.

Someone told me that when they worked at great ormond street hospital, the hospital reported a mother to social services because she was still bf her child at age 3. I thought that was massively sad, that the poor mother had to deal with a sick child and issues with social services investigating her for feeding her other child. Who probably needed the comfort and reassurance because their sibling was ill.

I kept my gob shut as I was still bf my then 2 year old.

For all those getting het up about the bath photo use your eyes. The child is obviously only around 3 or so years old in that one. She has a totally different hair colour and it's much shorter so it's a much earlier picture than the later pictures in the article. He's not 5 in that one.

I breastfed mine into toddlerdom. I only weaned as it got embarrassing when they'd ask for the boob out! It was societal pressure rather than child led. I don't see the issue.

Nothing wrong with longer term breastfeeding or bath sharing with little ones.

An awful lot wrong with taking pics of it and putting them in a newspaper.

This ^

Why on earth would you post this photo of your naked child in the bath with you on the Internet? Absolutely bizarre. I thought people avoided such things being put out there for the whole world to see. Not only because there are some dodgy folks on the internet but also because this 5 year old is not old enough to say 'yes I want my photo online' or 'no I don't!' He will very soon be at an age that this kind of thing will become horrifyingly embarrassing for him. Poor sod.

Don’t care about the breastfeeding or nudity one bit, but fuck The Sun (and by extension, the mother for agreeing to be in the paper) with their bullshit “look at these tits being used for their biological function with is gross, but do turn to page three for some lovely bangers” shtick.

Bathing with your child is fine. Bf is a personal decision but I find it weird at that age. Each to their own though. Splashing that photo on the internet is bizarre and distasteful, especially as the poor kid’s name in the article.

Good on her. Utterly normal on every count.

I do very much enjoy the notion that it's always the mother doing it for her benefit. Like there's no nutrition, antibodies, comfort or joy in the act because you didn't choose to do it. It is normal. It truly is. Far more normal than mass milking of cows and drinking their milk. Socialisation has a lot to answer for.

Completely normal to bf.
Not completely normal to have pictures in the Sun.

Absolutely nothing wrong with still breastfeeding a child at 5 years old.

It's very beneficial to their immune system as well bearing in mind that young children are in a higher risk category still at this age. Breatmilk is full of antibodies.

BUT there is no way I'd put my photo in a national newspaper.

It doesn't bother me at all. I suspect her DS probably doesn't get much physical benefit from it, at his age. However if they're both happy with it, who are we to judge. However, I do judge her a bit for going to the Sun with her story... if his friends didn't know before, they probably will do now!

I think it’s way sicker that we live in a society that sexualises breastfeeding and nudity - that women bash other women for their choices, and that we would rather see our children being fed breast milk from a cow than from their own mother.

God what a horrible bunch of posts on here. It's just a naked child and their mum. I'm honestly disgusted at some of the venom on here - what's wrong with you?

Wow attention seeking or what, that child will eventually be an adult, and will see that article in the Sun. I don't agree with it, for me, its really inappropriate once they get older, like 6/7. will she still be breastfeeding naked in the bath then!