Breastfeeding toddler in a shop, AIBU?

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To cut a long story short, out this morning and fed DS (2.5) sitting on a cushion seat in a shoe shop. A few other customers around but nobody even looking like they'd like to try on shoes. All other seats next to me completely free.

An assistant came up to me and said please can I do that somewhere else? The seats are for trying on seats only.

DS was done by this point anyway so I got up and left.

AIBU to have fed him there, and see it as an acceptable place to feed? No other people were sitting there and I wasn't preventing anyone from sitting next to us in the mny other seats avaible

If the wording provided by FET is correct then she isn’t protected. She wasn’t feeding a baby

This thread is akin to banging one’s head against a wall

@Dividingthementalload

It says “of any age”

Don’t forget ‘she’s an exhibitionist’

And ‘those extended bf types are usually permissive parents who think the world revolves around them and their children’

@sauvignonblancplz, wrong. If I saw someone sit their 2 and a half year old down in a shop to eat a sandwich, I would think that parent was as entitled as someone breast feeding a 2 and a half year old in the middle of a shop so they don't have a tantrum.
I also really don't think many people would think the OP was "a terrible person" for breastfeeding, just that she could have picked a better place to do it. The seats are there to try on shoes, not have lunch.

@dontdisturbmenow
Breastfeeding a toddler is closer to giving a hug than a chocolate bar. I would never give a 2.5 yo a chocolate bar as comfort.
If a child's needs for comfort are met they they won't need to rely confectionary for comfort through their lives.

The natural weaning age is close to 6 or 7 so this child isn't even halfway there yet so still very depended on it for comfort and that should be denied.

Maybe if all toddlers emotional need were met then the next generation of adults might be a bit nicer and empathetic towards each other.

As I said before if everyone was out there feeding their children freely and whenever and wherever required without judgment (as is legally protected) then we wouldn't have such low breastfeeding and premature weaning rates!

It says no age restriction 😂

@ethelfleda
It really really is ... the question was AIBU to have been told to move on.
It was completely U- she’s allowed to irregardless of ANYONES opinion.
Yet women love to tear down and lecture about their own parenting methods , anything that doesn’t fit is wrong.
Actually head melting!

@Dividingthementalload Clutching at straws much?
"Baby can be used to refer to any child from birth to age 4 years old, thus encompassing newborns, infants, and toddlers." www.verywellfamily.com/difference-between-baby-newborn-infant-toddler-293848

This thread has made me deeply sad, as a new mum breastfeeding a 4 month old. I’m so sad that there are women out there who are so against breastfeeding mothers. Woman should support each other.

Breastfeeding a toddler is closer to giving a hug than a chocolate bar
Say that to a 2 1/2 who's never been breastfed! They will definitely consider a chocolate bar, or sweets as comforting food and will most will take it over a hug!

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion
The child wasn’t having lunch- he nursed for a few minutes .
You really need to read the thread- you sound ignorant by not knowing the full story when they are placed in front of you.
Also the lady is entitled to feed there .... how many times does this need to be said.
The shop assistant was wrong.

Just re-read the op: actually the
op wasn’t td of for breastfeeding. she was told off for sitting on a chair meant for trying on shoes. she could have fed her toddler standing up or in a sling, just not sitting down. no discrimination whatsoever - anybody sitting there for extended periods of time would have been told off.

I know, breast fed to stop him having a tantrum 🤦‍♀️ I did say that. I've read most of it, just missed the really vile bits apparently.

@myself2020
She was a paying customer ... she wanted to buy another pair of shoes potentially.
Frig , that’s not the type customer service I expect .
I often sit down when thinking about a purchase ... if I was ‘told off’ I’d never be back.
She was reprimanded for bfing , don’t try to gloss over it.

@myself2020 exactly, but everyone here is determined NO IT WAS BECAUSE SHE WAS BREAST FEEDING!!!!!! eh no, it more than likely wasn't.

What happens when he has a sudden emotional need for breast milk when he is with his dad and mum is out shopping?

Does that mean one should never give any toddler what they are asking for in case they expect it again when it's not available?

Stop trying to make this something it's not.

Does that mean one should never give any toddler what they are asking for in case they expect it again when it's not available?
While they are having a tantrum? Yes I would say so, or they think that's the way to get what they want everytime.

I don't understand why this is still a theme. OP was occupying a chair designated for people trying on shoes when she wasn't trying on shoes.

Breastfeeding is completely superfluous to the issue. The shop assistant realised that the seats were not being used for their designated purpose and therefore took action to resolve the problem.

It wouldn't matter if the op was breastfeeding, dancing or sitting writing her memoirs on the chair. The shop installed the seats for one purpose only.

OP why didn't you ask why they were asking you to move?

It does matter because it’s enshrined in law...

36 pages!

I can’t bring myself to read the whole thing. Neither could I bring myself to move on a breastfeeding mum unless it was in an almost unimaginably bizarre situation such as standing in a shop doorway or blocking a fire exit.

She was told to “ do that somewhere else” unless the shop had other provisions in place for her then they were discriminating against her ... how can you not see that?

Some serious repressed guilt going on on this thread.

OP was occupying a chair designated for people trying on shoes when she wasn't trying on shoes.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen more people occupying those chairs not trying on shoes than I could comfortably count.

People drinking coffees, water, playing on their phones, offering advice to friends, looking bored waiting for spouses, obviously taking the opportunity for a sit down. I could go on.

I don’t recall any of them being ‘moved on’ either.