To think BF-ing a 2yr old is, um, weird?

[Lucy85]

Well what do you think? I know it's a very emotive subject, but I've seen it a couple of times and it makes me come over all strange.
I BFed my baby exclusively until 7 months when I went back to work, but the thought of doing it now is just plain odd, - not wrong, it's just I can't imagine doing it to someone who can walk, talk, get their own drinks, eats proper food and is too big to lie sideways on my lap.

your post sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder lemony.

Can I play devils advocate here what harm (regardless of whether ebf does that) does infantilising actually do?

tsc, lots of children have milk through the day in drinking cups or sports bottles. my ds1 who is 4 loves milk and would rather have that than water during the day. he is a very independant little man, not at all babyish. i dont see how breastfeeding a toddler is any different from giving it milk in a cup. it is still getting the milk and breastfeeding at 2/3 is not unnatural if you look at ebf rates across the world.

yes because that would be damaging tsc, bfing is not. what a ridiculous thing to say.

Regarding infantilising, and I'm guessing, I think people are troubled about:

a) kid being bullied
b) developing an 'unhealthy' bond with mother -- particularly if a boy
c) that the child will develop an obsession with comfort and will be basically an orally fixated addict type personality
d) - that the child will not learn new ways to calm down if the breastfeeding mother is always doing it for the child
e) they are feeding so much (I remember a thread way back about this) that they are missing out on activities.

The strength or weakness of the objections depends on where on the 'children need to grow up' spectrum you sit.

developing an unhealthy bond with mother,particularly if a boy????

so it is more important to discourage ebf in boys than in girls then?

But TSC you also argued that they should not have a feed to sleep or a dummy or a bottle because that also infantilises them may I ask why you think think it is so damaging. Also what age do you think bf should be cut off?

booyoo. I am ebf, I was saying that I've heard that objection from people who mistrust it before.

I think all those reasons I gave are nonsense, and fail to understand what breastfeeding is about, but I've heard them IRL and on forums.

ok just so there is no doubt about this

a) kid being bullied- ds 4 has not been bullied as of yet

b) developing an 'unhealthy' bond with mother -- particularly if a boy- Ds did have a amazing bond with me but he has bonds with others and I certainly wouldn't say he has a fraud bond or a unhealthy bond.

c) that the child will develop an obsession with comfort and will be basically an orally fixated addict type personality- ds has less orall fixation than most children I know whose bottles or breasts were removed at 1.

d) - that the child will not learn new ways to calm down if the breastfeeding mother is always doing it for the child- Ds calms down absolutely fine if I talk to him (if you mean tantrum wise) If you mean sleep wise I now read hm a book and he goes to sleep.

e) they are feeding so much (I remember a thread way back about this) that they are missing out on activities.- IME ds would not ask for milk if something really exciting was going on and that is why weaning on holiday is a good idea, he would ask for a cup of water instead.

Ok otchayaniye .The above post is for anyone who thinks I have damaged my ds by ebf.

i dont care if they do remember it, i teach my dcs to have healthy relationships with their bodies and a healthy respect for otehr peoples' bodies. bf is a completely normal thing and nothing to feel embarrassed about. my dcs know this. (and ds1 is able to tell people too)

ah, i get you now otchayaniye. i was

Good for you, slushy!

Okay TSC you have no issue with a child being fed to sleep in the night you just think it is unnecessary to feed a 3yo in the day is that right?

BM is food tsc, why should a child go without food, a completely healthy food, just because they are in public? that is madness.

i am not looking for a fight, i am just trying to understand your reasoning.

At the end of the day, it's very simple. I know plenty of middle class guardian reading liberated, smart and sassy women who find the thought of breast feeding a child beyond babyhood gross.(not just the uneducated working class single mothers that you would like to think dont get bf) There is everthing wrong and nothing right about a four year old sucking on it's mothers nipple. it's wrong on every level. End of..You loony ebf can witter on as much as you like. Thank god you are still in the minority..

Here's an interesting article in The Times:

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article388487.ece

Some interesting quotes:

"if you are the perfect mother to your children, always anticipating their needs and meeting these perfectly, they never grow up"

"mothers feel so empty that they can?t tolerate their own loneliness, and perhaps their partner is unable to meet their needs, that they see their baby as a kind of extension of their childhood dolls, and they can?t let their children grow."