If children had a bit of education about breastfeeding at school...

[hunkermunker]

Would that be good or bad?

I think from the pov of raising awareness and normalising bf might be good.

But it might also make feelings of guilt rise to the surface if they come home and say "Mummy, did you bf me?".

Whaddya think?

good thing -

I think that there should be more children's books that show babies breast feeding. Too often they just show a bottle, in the same way as dolls always seems to come with a bottle (though dd used to breast feed hers).

Good thing.

But needs to be balanced with personal choice/medical reasons for no bf etc. to avoid the guilt thing.

How about bf mums going into school to bfeed in front of children? Or is that too far?

the australian breastfeeding association goes in to schools to talk about BF. We reckon if we can get one kid willing to say they may have a crack at it if they have kids then our work is done.

I think the demonstration might be good in biology/sex ed/personal doo dah whatever they call it these days [bof emoticon]

Teenage boys will be very keen on attending.

It is a normalising thing IMO. We had a breastfeeding discussion as an aside in a science lesson with a bunch of 11 year olds last year and they thought the whole thing was 'yeuch' and 'urgh'

topsy and tim and the new baby has a breastfeeding mum in it.....

peter rabbit was breastfed

i bf my nearly 2 yr old toddler at nursery when i pick her up. the other toddlers come over and get an up close and personal look which i find very sweet.

my one small step to normalising it.

I'm sure this Usborne book about a new baby had breast feeding in it. I got it for my neice when my sister was pregnant. Its aimed at 2yrs+.

I'm also in favour of the 'normalising' approach. So from very early on, looking at books with babies being breastfed - but just as part of the story, not being 'taught' as such, and talking about it positively when questions are asked.

i think it would be great. i think teen girls do have some 'training' in the realities of motherhood these days, but i don't know how much bf-ing it includes. i would definitely remember a lesson about it if i was 13+.

Should it go in the National Curriculum? Have teaching materials available - like picture books for children? How about BookStart? Should they have books showing bf in a positive light (but not the main focus of the story just a "this is normal" thing)?

"Should they have books showing bf in a positive light (but not the main focus of the story just a "this is normal" thing)?" - Yes!

I am not against the 'benefits' of bf being taught, but am kind of uneasy that it wouldn't be done right, iykwim, teachers opinions colouring things perhaps? I think it might be hard to get right, without it being so general that kids are really none the wiser.

I know for a fact that had I been taught about breastfeeding at school in my teens I definitely would have retained the information. Things like the virgin gut, for example, I wish I had known about that before I started breastfeeding. If you can guarantee that the information is accurate, up-to-date, and myth-busting, great. I think it could really help people make a more informed choice about how they feed their babies. I think all this detailed information does need to be communicated to women before they have babies, but I am not sure how well that could happen in school.

That's the problem with any support of bf, Tatties - the women doing the talking about it come with their own baggage.

It's hard - it needs to be part of normal life, but it can't be while not many people do it for long.

I think it would be a great thing. Not least because we might have some hope of raising a generation of men who don't think breasts are purely sexual/silly/rude.

I think too many very vociferous people would kick up great dust-clouds of bluster and indignation for it ever to happen on a meaningful scale, though.

I think you're not wrong, sadly, Greeny - imagine, breasts at school!

It would generate even more prudish outrage than sex education IMO. Oddly.

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my dd breastfeeds her dolly's, she gets some funy looks at school

I think that I'd be worried children would go home and say "Why didn't you bf me?" to their mums and it would cause real problems for some women who'd torn their hearts out over this feisty child as a non-latching newborn.

some adults need normalising about breastfeeding my mil sends me upstairs to breastfeed dd is she has vistitors. I feel like an outcast !

I went into to several lessons with one of the local NCT bf counsellors as a b/feeding mum. Of course the ds2 would choose the best time to wake up, so I have probably b/fed in front of 150 15yos (not all at the same time!). No "yucks", but several sharp intakes of breath!

I guess the thing that surprised me most was that a lot of the youths knew someone (eg sister, cousin etc) who had tried breastfeeding but it didn't work for them so they had to use formula. Ie the norm for them was to try to b/feed but to expect it not to work. The counsellor did try to show how a lot fo these "problems" could be overcome with support, but ultimately some people (especially the boys for some reason) already have a perception that b/feeding is great if it comes naturally, but it is just something to try and see.

In terms of message it was made clear that whilst we could be very positive about feeding etc, we should also emphasise the amount of work a young baby entails and ensure that teen pg wasn't presetned in an attractove light!

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