Breastfeeding a SIX year old - aibu?

[flufffffy]

I was taking to another mother at gymnastics yesterday. She casually mentioned that she sometimes still breastfeeds her SIX year old. That sometimes her six year old will come to her and “have a go” and that she has milk left. I’m not making this up, it really happened, and she wasn’t pulling my leg.

I truly had no idea what to do with my face, so I made it look very polite.

Isn’t this a bit weird? I mean, the six year old will remember it when she’s older, surely?

I want to be told I’m being judgemental and unreasonable - because I feel bad for being so judgmental and horrified!

This child has no younger siblings, btw, so it’s not like she’s doing it because they are.

I have a six year old boy and there’s no way in hell I would occasionally breastfeed him! I breastfed up until he was 18 months, so it’s not like I’m not sympathetic to long-ish term breastfeeding.

It may seem odd to you but we’re all different. I take it you are a nude family then? Your kids won’t thank you for it in the future.

Well I didn't have any issues with it, so why would they?

It seems to be a very British phenomena to get worked up about this kind of thing.

I'm not one to walk around in the nude around my kids but it's just a human body. I also don't get why it's wrong for kids to remember being breastfed, it's a normal biological thing.

I can’t imagine most of this six year old’s peers would have had the ability to understand the arguments put forth for extended breastfeeding to this degree…

String was an unfortunate ( and very visual) typo 🤣

eta oops sorry that was really a response to @TheKeatingFive’s comment previous to yours about an odd “ string” reaction.

Breastfeeding is a normal biological thing for infants. In the natural world humans stop feeding around age 2-4 according to the evidence we have. It's also designed for babies underdeveloped stomachs and doesn't have the same benefits once infants get older.

So it's only really a 'normal biological thing' for a certain age group, even out of our modern society, so people who prolong it when there aren't any more benefits for the child are going to be seen as strange. I guess it's like rocking a 12 year old to sleep every night - normal for a baby, not normal for that older age group.

I was breastfed to age 3 and I vaguely remember it. I don't thank my mum for those memories, it's a bit too intimate to remember that now I'm an adult.

Bitty, bitty…

What’s religion got to do with it??

Id of made a joke about that Little Britain sketch and sat laughing my head off repeatedly saying “bittie”

Just seems very odd to me to get worked up about having seen your parents naked as a kid. That would be one explanation for it.

It's not for me but I wouldn't judge at all. I think around the age of 7 the shape of a child's mouth changes with space needed for adult teeth so it becomes impossible to breastfeed. So anything up to age 7 seems biologically possible if highly unusual in our society. I'm quite impressed she tell people.

I didn’t say sexualised by a 6 year old did I but this is why I personally find it weird… a six year old doesn’t NEED breast milk

Please explain what is 'self righteous' about my post?

This was in a village just outside of Brighton, where EBF was the norm.

I didn't EBF either of my 3. I raised an inward eyebrow about breastfeeding a Y1 child in the playground - but that's probably because I hadn't come across it before (I'm from Glasgow).

In practice, I collected my children and carried on with my day.
Other people's choices are none of my business.

What exactly is 'self righteous' about that?