quick weaning may work with some children (i think it would have worked fine with ds although i never tried it he self-weaned) but is quite traumatic for others. i don't like the promotion of the idea that sudden weaning is ok, it really isn't.
i agree that the programme was not about ONE child, but about 3, so the parents treatment of all 3 was pretty appalling.
i just get annoyed when programmes like this put forward AS USUAL the "freaky" nature of a bf toddler, when in fact it is the most natural thing in the world. Ch 4 is a major culprit in this, they did that awful programme a few years ago called "Extraordinary BF". the same rubbish again, the women were made to look like freaks.
the average age of self-weaning globally is between 3 - 4, the average age of primates (our closest animal relatives) weaning off their mother's breast is equivalent to 7 (human) years. In fact before fomula was invented MOST toddlers were bf an average of 3 - 4 years.
Shakespear talks about Juliet (Romeo & Juliet) being bf until she was over 3 years old, so even here we were bf-ing children up to 3 - 4 years, something frowned upon by most people I know today, but it was socially acceptable a few generations ago.
indeed so was exposing ones boobs in public to bf, even in the extremely uptight Victorian era, it was quite normal for a woman to take her boobs out and bf an older child.