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

[GinaDavva]

Mixed feelings with this one. Shaming a mother publicly breastfeeding a small baby is never acceptable but breastfeeding a two year old child in a shop? Surely at that age a bottle is more convenient in the middle of a shop? My first thought was that this was more about attention than the actual principle of the matter. After breastfeeding 3 of my own I can honestly say there has never been a time where it felt necessary to start breastfeeding any of mine in the middle of a shop at two years old. Frankly at that age they wouldn’t find much in mine anyway!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3z31jn7v1o

I breastfed my 2 year old where ever was needed - regardless of your personal experience its not legal to ask a breastfeeding mother to stop.

YABU.

Humans natural weaning age is 2-5. We just stop early because companies make more money out of us that way (both with targeted baby milks and food, and because women have to work and pay for childcare).

The dc may have needed to feed for all sorts of reasons. The mum and baby know best, imo.
Maybe distressed, maybe to keep baby busy while other dc trying on shoes.

The shop broke the law.

A mother fed her baby with the mammary glands that exist for that purpose. Oh the shock oh the horror.

Its not inappropriate to breast feed in public.

What a ridiculously judgmental post. YOUR kids didn't want to breastfeed at that age so you're going to judge another mother and decide what's convenient for them, why? because it doesn't fit what you've decided is normal? Parent your own kids and let everyone else do what's best for them.

Human breastmilk is better for human infants than cows milk. Of course a child won’t become malnourished from using cows milk with a healthy diet from solid food.

It’s a lot of palaver pumping breastmilk, storing it, then cleaning out pumps/bottles.

I stopped breastfeeding DD when I fell pregnant as it hurt too much/it started to dry up/wanted her to eat more solids when she was two.

We should be praising mothers for going against social norms for the benefit of their children.

The way the shop owner spoke to her was disgusting

It's probably the only place mum could get a seat! There is a huge need for towns and cities to have clean and safe places to go for feeding and changing babies and children. Other countries have parenting rooms. The assumption in the UK is that you'll find a cafe somewhere and feel obliged to spend £10 on a coffee to feed your child and then beg them to open the disgusting toilets so you can change them on a plastic shelf.

I work in a shop and see woman breastfeeding quite a lot in store, mainly sat in the shoe department because there are chairs dotted around.
I sometimes offer a large fitting room with seating but some are fine where they are, fine with me.
If a customer complained to me about a woman breastfeeding a two year old I would tell them that it is there choice where they feed their child, it natural and if it’s offended them in some way then there choice is to either shop somewhere else or just don’t look.

I was still breastfeeding at that age, but I wouldn't usually do it in public, because toddlers can wait to have food/snack more than tiny babies can. ,

Also they were far more likely to get distracted and leave me fully on display in a shop, which I preferred not to if possible 😂

That said, if they fell and injured themselves and were upset, I didn't care where I was, and I did what was needed.

Each to their own though, it's no business of mine how and where another mother chooses to feed unless it's unsafe or unsanitary.

YABU. Breastfeeding in public is breastfeeding in public and there are laws to protect women's rights to do it in shops etc. You don't get to slap arbitrary age limits on it.

Baby bottles should not be given to toddlers or older, no. They're terrible for their teeth.
The owner should have educated him/herself in the law before opening their mouth. Hopefully an expensive lesson for them.

How on earth is a bottle more convenient????

Would you rather a 2yo was given an iPad to shut them up instead?

Well as long as they’re not teenagers 😬

You are grim. My kid has never taken a bottle. Breastmilk is still changing and adapting to suit a child’s needs up to three years. Why are people so scared of breastfeeding?

Teenagers wouldn’t want to though. All mammals wean naturally. No need for shame

And bottles are for babies one year and under. If you want to get technical.

Absolutely!

What a ridiculously judgemental response.

How is it attention seeking to breastfeed a 2 year old? Do you really think the mother was only doing it so people thought she was too cool to use formula, like mothers who know their place?

I breast fed till mine turned 3, mainly just a night feed at that stage, but if they were sick or upset it helped to settle them, so there was the odd feed during the day while out and about.

The prissy judgement of the OP is ridicoulas, women putting women down, who needs the patriarchy?

So you don’t want to publicly shame her because that’s never ok but it’s fine to slag her off on anonymous forum? Cool

Was the mother allowed to be there and was the child allowed to be there. If yes, the Mother is legally and morally allowed to breastfeed.

I think there was only one attention seeker present in the shop OP. Get a life and stop judging other mums!

Bloody hell, the amount of judgment in these posts, and I don't mean just the OP's. I think by the age of 2 people don't expect to see a toddler being breastfed like they do a baby, that's why the shock is guess. And just because you breastfeed your baby, doesn't make you a better mother than a bottle feeding mother. Good god like a pp said, women putting women down🙄

What is actually so wrong about feeding your child in public? Its just a boob.

I didn't even breastfeed mine and I still think it's insane that boobs aren't allowed to be used for the sole purpose they're created for.