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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

TIME magazine: extended breastfeeding on the cover

64 replies

stopgap · 11/05/2012 00:24

Making waves across the pond, is this...

www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-timecover-20120511,0,4753231.story

OP posts:

5318008 · 11/05/2012 23:38

why don't you 'agree' with natural term BF, piglet?

5318008 · 11/05/2012 23:39

yes a challenging photo, the mother's direct gaze is tremendously powerful

showtunesgirl · 12/05/2012 00:51

"It just does not do extended bf any favours, and really enhances the bitty, and icky stereotypes" pigletmania why do you think this? Is it because the woman is attractive? It's not her "fault" that she is is it?

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 12:56

I just don't, older children do not need to be bf, it's what babies and toddlers do, and when they hit a certain age like dummies and bottles you wean them off. Yes it is quite a provocative image which is going to come back to him later in life and may open up to bullying. That boy is only little he does not have a choice bf from his mother which is in a less than nurturing pose.just because I don't agree does not make me wrong

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 13:00

Sorry that picture just smacks Benny Hill and does not help dispel the stereotypes ofextended bf, just adds to them. Sorry it's just yuck

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 13:05

Meant the boy does not have a choice appearing on the cover of an international magazine sucking from his mothers breast, I would have said the same if the mother had not been sexy

EauRouge · 12/05/2012 13:25

"I just don't, older children do not need to be bf"

What do you mean by 'need'? There's a lot more to breastfeeding than just nutrition.

The child's own mother is the best judge of what they need.

5madthings · 12/05/2012 13:35

oh there are two threads on this?

i cant be arsed to post what i put on the other thread. but i think its fine, its attitudes in our society towards bfeeding that need to be challeneged.

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 13:51

No they do not. It's the same when I see a schoolchild with a dummy or a bottle, just makes my teeth itch. Challenging attitude also works the other way

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 13:52

Yes the Childs mother is the best judge, but this mother has put herself and her child in the pilublc domain which is going to be open to criticism

EauRouge · 12/05/2012 13:54

Yes, it does. I'd love to hear more about your reasoning why it is wrong, that's why I'm asking. I want to have a friendly debate :)

There are very few benefits and several risks of using a dummy or bottle past a certain age so you can't really compare that to breastfeeding.

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 14:02

I already explained, I justdont think a older child shouldn't bf, IMO it's not right and mabey the mothersoes not want to let go, or herchild to grow up. It's like she is keeping them as a baby.

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 14:04

Of course I would keep my views to myself if I saw an older child being bf in public and just walk on by. Noway would I march up to them and give them a piece of my mind

5madthings · 12/05/2012 14:05

oh that old argument piglet you do realise you cant make a child bfeed dont you and they still grow up and mine are growing up to be independent happy and confident children, one of whom even remembers bfeeding as he was almost 4 when he stopped, he just knows it was something he did when he was little and it hasnt affected his development in any way. nor was it because i wanted to keep him a baby, i had another baby and fed him at the same time! it was just something that happened, it wasnt planned, or even thought about, it just evolved that way :)

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 14:07

It's just how I feel, everyone is going to have different opinions

FrancesFarmer · 12/05/2012 14:11

I like it - it shows bfers can be a normal, trendy people, not just hippies!

I like that she is looking out at the lens too - all those photos of mothers gazing adoringly into their babies eyes while they bf make me roll my eyes.

FrancesFarmer · 12/05/2012 14:13

Older children love bfing though. The smile on my 2 and a half year old daughter's face when she is about to be bfed is the same as the one she does before getting chocolate. They find it soothing and calming also. This idea that bfing older kids is all about the mother is nonsense.

RecursiveMoon · 12/05/2012 14:13

Ah, it's interesting to see the full Time cover - the other thread about this only has a link showing the top half of the cover.

I probably like the photo overall. It's a shame that it doesn't accompany an article solely about natural term BFing, and that the article wasn't run in the UK version of Time.

EauRouge · 12/05/2012 14:21

piglet, of course, I think it's brilliant that this kind of thing is being discussed and it's great to hear other opinions. I'm glad this isn't turning into a bunfight -yet--.

There is nothing wrong at all with not wanting to breastfeed an older child. Every family has different values, different goals, different ideas. But there is no evidence that breastfeeding an older child is wrong, or unnatural, and there are always benefits to breastfeeding until the child wants to wean.

From the point of view of a mother that is breastfeeding a 3.7yo, there are benefits for me for sure- lower risk of several types of cancer and osteoporosis for a start, and it means I can eat a fair bit and still fit in my skinny jeans but there are also lots of benefits for my DD.

I admit that some days I wish she would just wean already but that's just part of the process. She's growing up and one day she won't need it, but I'm happy to carry on until then. Breastfeeding an older child is very, very different to breastfeeding a baby so it's not really about wanting to baby them at all.

Just thought you might like to hear the perspective of someone on 'the other side' rather than just being given scientific research :) Maybe I won't change your mind but it might help you see it from a different angle.

RecursiveMoon · 12/05/2012 14:23

Another great post Eau.

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 14:33

Thanks eau I respect your views and yes it's up to you as your Childs mother. But it just does not sit well with me, and that picture dis not do extendd bf any favours just fuels the stereotypes. I am glad hat we are having an honest debateane not turning intoanything nasty

EauRouge · 12/05/2012 14:35

Damn, I was just about to start throwing stuff

ShowOfHands · 12/05/2012 14:53

You are of course entitled to your views piglet and it's fine to express them, but it's quite important to separate your own opinion from fact. You can't say 'they don't need it' because you simply can't qualify that as true. Similarly, you can't compare it with bottles or dummies. The two are artificial substitutes for a natural and normal feeding process.

I can understand why it feels weird to somebody who hasn't done it. Because it's not that you suddenly bf a toddler, you create a relationship which starts with a newborn and develops. No single photo or glimpse of extended bfing can portray what that relationship actually is and how it works.

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 14:57

Sorry I am on my I phone and it's a nightmare typing. Oh don't get me started on the article I saw in that's life wimans magazine. A woman was bf her 13 year old, yes 13 year old, and there was a picture of him doing it too. As you probably would expect I was

pigletmania · 12/05/2012 16:05

I mean a school age child not toddler

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