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News

'Mother breastfeeds 5yo son' Is this really news?

189 replies

Disenchanted3 · 29/04/2010 22:22

BBC article here

Really amazes me the stuff that is classed as news these days

OP posts:
HelenRosie · 03/05/2010 20:34

Policywonk:
That's complete rubbish, but then I'm just a dentist so you clearly know more about it than I.

bedlambeast · 03/05/2010 20:41

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policywonk · 03/05/2010 20:43

Calm down Helen, I was just repeating something I'd seen on here! I know absolutely nothing about dentistry and I have the teeth to prove it

ZephirineDrouhin · 03/05/2010 20:56

That's interesting Helen. Is there some way that, as a dentist, you know that the decay was caused solely by breastfeeding, rather than by poor brushing etc?

LeninGrad · 03/05/2010 20:57

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LeninGrad · 03/05/2010 20:57

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Goblinchild · 03/05/2010 21:01

Try and get to the end of my post people, before jumping up and down and frothing. I'm going to mention sn, but please read on before you roll your eyes.

My son is 15, often does or says things in public that many others find weird, or describe as freaky or odd. Or they get judgy and tut.
But he's happy, I'm happy for him to be himself and we really don't care what the wider world thinks about small matters that cause no harm to others. NTs often find our reasons and choices difficult to understand, but that's OK.
We have thick skins and confidence.
EBF should feel the same way.

policywonk · 03/05/2010 21:02

Not your tits then, Len?

ZephirineDrouhin · 03/05/2010 21:05

That's nice goblinchild. So if someone uses words like "inappropriate and unnecessary" in relation to your ds you don't find them just a leetle ignorant and irritating? I take my hat off to you in that case.

policywonk · 03/05/2010 21:05

I know what you're saying goblin. FWIW I do have a fair amount of confidence and thick skin on this issue - thanks to DS2 really, who is a delightful child and ridiculously socially adept (not saying this is due to EBF, but the way I see it, EBF certainly can't have harmed him).

But - to extend your analogy - if people started calling your son's behaviour inappropriate, you'd probably at least want to engage them in conversation about it, wouldn't you?

JackiePaper · 03/05/2010 21:05

I don't find a mother feeding her child human milk, that was intended for them and produced for them, odd. I do find it odd that it is so acceptable and normal to feed baby humans cows milk.

stressedHEmum · 03/05/2010 21:06

Assuming that an older littley who is BF doesn't drink from a cup or satisfies his thirst with breastmilk is wrong. CHildren who bf until naturally weaned eat a full, balanced diet, drink from a cup and have a normal life like every other child. You can leave them with others, they can form relationships with others, go to nursery or even school, have friends round, visit granny, whatever. They just have another thing that they do in the course of their routine.

Often ebf is only in the morning and at night and doesn't "interfere" with a child's day to day living, only enhances it. Sometimes, when a child is sick or fretful it is the only way to help settle them/get some fluid into them.

It's very wrong to judge people because they do something differently to you. I have known children with bottles and dummies at 3 or 4, older children with comfort blankies which they suck, thumb suckers and more, and I do not judge either the child or the parent. There is nothing wrong with giving a child the comfort that he craves in the manner that he craves it. I sucked my thumb until adulthood so did my brother, we are both normal, well adjusted human beings who have suffered no trauma from our protracted thumb sucking, just as none of my children have any ill effects from prolonged breast feeding. In fact, bf helped my children to take many things in their stride which could have caused more upset, as it was a constant that they could rely on.

AS far as tooth decay goes, I know very little about dentistry but all my children have perfect teeth, even my 20 year old, and they all fed through the night on demand until they weaned. But perhaps that says more about the fact that they were never really allowed much to eat in the way of rubbish than anything else.

policywonk · 03/05/2010 21:06

x-posts

LeninGrad · 03/05/2010 21:09

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HelenRosie · 03/05/2010 21:12

ZephirineDrouhin:
caries is multifactorial, however it cannnot occur without the presence of dietary sugars (including lactose). A child can have exceptionally poor oral hygiene but if dietary sugars are minimal this will not lead to caries. Fluoride can reverse the effects of dietary sugars, but sadly many of the parents who practice extended breastfeeding are the same ones who won't give their children fluoride.

LadyThompson · 03/05/2010 21:14

The whys and wherefores of whether a child 'should' be bf at 5 are one thing (and as an aside, I am getting a bit tired of all the 'shoulds' and 'oughts' brigade) - and I have never bf myself but if that's what the lady wants to do, let her get on with it in peace. The original point of the thread was 'is it news' and, um, I think the answer has to be no. I despair at the BBC. I know it's 'local news', but please.

LeninGrad · 03/05/2010 21:14

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poutine · 03/05/2010 21:16

I don't see any problem with extended BF'ing if the child and Mum both enjoy it. But it really winds me to see people implying it's 'normal' in other countries. A quick trip around the world, including to China and Subsaharan Africa, will leave people in no doubt that it is NOT common practice, either in urban or rural areas to breastfeed a five year old. It just is not true!

LeninGrad · 03/05/2010 21:18

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fifitot · 03/05/2010 21:20

FFS - in the scheme of things, does it even matter? Can't believe people get so arsey about this. Surely it's their choice?

I bet my 4 year old would still do it if she was given the chance!

LeninGrad · 03/05/2010 21:21

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ZephirineDrouhin · 03/05/2010 21:27

Thank you Helen. So the sugars could have come from anywhere really, but presumably the parents insist that their children are not given sweets/raisins etc, and that the only source of sugar in their diet is breastmilk?

How many cases like this would you see in a year do you think, where you believe the decay to be caused by breastfeeding?

onebadbaby · 03/05/2010 21:40

If she only breastfeeds in private- how did it make the National News??

LeninGrad · 03/05/2010 21:43

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ZephirineDrouhin · 03/05/2010 21:45