Breast feeding until 8-9 years?

[Lckymii]

I was watching the Tyra Banks show where she had mothers who were for or against breast feeding on the show.
One of her guests thought that feeding until 8-9 years was perfectly natural for a mother to do.
I was wondering what some of the mothers on this forum think about this.

Personally I am all for breast feeding and think it is the healthiest way to nourish your child, if you are able to do it. However 8-9 years seems too old.
Any thoughts?

[Megin]

I hope you mean 8-9 months?

[erinlee01]

I heard about this show. Personally, I think that is way too long. I have 2 boys, 7 and 3, and I don't walk around naked in front of them as I think they are old enough to learn about modesty and privacy. I wondered what these kids do at school. Can you imagine trying to find time to pump every day for 9 years?

[KathyM]

I have 3 children and currently 21wks pregnant with the 4th and I am all for breastfeeding. However, 8-9years is just odd, far to long and with a proper diet I can't see the need or benefits for it at that age.

Each to their own I guess but I wouldn't do it.

[Angela R]

When your kid asks you to lay off the Mexican food cause your breast milk is too spicy....it's time to stop breast feeding...just saying.

I breastfed, not against it for i.p.

[femcuffs]

EEEWWWW. I have three kids, breastfed two of them. I am all for it.....until they are a year old. 8 and 9 year olds DO NOT NEED TO BREASTFEED. If she is pumping and giving it to them in a glass, and they KNOW where it came from, then it is just weird, and the woman needs some kind of therapy. She is gonna screw up her kids, especially if other kids know and tease them. If they are actually BREASTFEEDING..then DCFS needs to come in because that is perverse and abusive.

[Mindi911]

Yep it definitely happens - there a few whack jobs over here

[ctmom]

Eeeeeeew is right! I breastfed for about 6 months & while I wish I could have done it longer that is way too long & there is no nutritional value.
I had a friend who breastfed over 2 years I told me one of the reasons was because it helped her with an excuse not to do the thing that got her pregnant in the first place.
My stomach is actually churning....blah!

[heidismommy]

Okay, I am not only for breastfeeding, I'm also for child-led weaning/extended breastfeeding (most babies self-ween by 2 or 3 years). I breastfed my daughter for a little over a year, but wish I would have gone longer. I developed an illness and was pretty much forced to wean.

However, I must say that breastfeeding past the age of 3 or so, but especially at an age of 8 or 9, does seem quite odd. I wouldn't do it.

Edited to add: There ARE many benefits for continuing to breastfeed beyond a year. I never thought I'd want to breastfeed past that point until I had my child and did some research. Babies breastfed beyond that point continue to benefit both from an immune system standpoint as well as intellectually. However, there has to be a point where one draws the line. I think once a child is in school they are too old to breastfeed, especially in a culture such as ours.

[Sociogirl]

I support breastfeeding. I am currently breastfeeding my 11month old and nursed the older kids until about 1.5. I think extended breastfeeding is a personal choice and have actually known people who breastfed 4yr olds going on 5. That was sort of weird, but not my business. I think that 8-9, and whatever is clearly way too long unless it is one of your only food sources (ie-famine). I don't believe it is child abuse, but I think it is more of a problem with the parent who can't set limits for their children and say, "now, it is time to grow up," and that there are personal and cultural boundaries.

I can see a child having the sucking instinct that long (as in thumb sucking) but that doesn't involve someone else's body. Even the sociology and anthropology research I've seen by the most pro-breastfeeding people around have put 5-7 as the absolute upper limits for expected human breastfeeding.

[Lckymii]

Megin- 8-9 years, not months
Glad to see that I'm not the only one that finds this a bit odd.
Mindi, that is the lady that was on the show... I think the situation is very strange and I don't know that it is a healthy (mentally) situation.

[Mindi911]

Originally Posted by Lckymii

Megin- 8-9 years, not months
Glad to see that I'm not the only one that finds this a bit odd.
Mindi, that is the lady that was on the show... I think the situation is very strange and I don't know that it is a healthy (mentally) situation.

really lol I didn't know that

I find extremely strange - I don't have a problem with breast feeding but if a child can eat proper food then there is no need for breast milk.

just my opinion

[1972girl]

Originally Posted by Lckymii

I was watching the Tyra Banks show where she had mothers who were for or against breast feeding on the show.
One of her guests thought that feeding until 8-9 years was perfectly natural for a mother to do.
I was wondering what some of the mothers on this forum think about this.

Personally I am all for breast feeding and think it is the healthiest way to nourish your child, if you are able to do it. However 8-9 years seems too old.
Any thoughts?

I dont have kids but I think that breast feed at that age is not natural. Even animals will not let there young breast feed when the are able to get there nourishment from whole food. But thats just OP and like I said im not a mom so I dont know what my OP is worth.

[sexyargentina]

A little bit longer, and they can pass from their mother' s breast to their girlfriend's breast. Too long. A year was top for me.

[Lckymii]

^lol that is funny in such a wrong way

[terracotta]

I feel that up to 2 years is fine. 9 years old is crazy.

Unless in an impoverished country, there is no need/reason to nurse past when the baby teeth come in.

[ctmom]

"A little bit longer, and they can pass from their mother' s breast to their girlfriend's breast"

Thanks for the early morning wake-up laugh!

[jennoskcaj]

Originally Posted by Lckymii

Megin- 8-9 years, not months
I think the situation is very strange and I don't know that it is a healthy (mentally) situation.

I agree...the fact that they're drawing pictures of their mom's breasts, have them named and seem to be completely obsessed with them is evidence of this IMO.

[K-T]

I agree with everyone else...there is something very wrong with breastfeeding until that age. In a couple more years, those children will be hitting puberty!

When I was growing up there was a mother in my community who breastfed her son until he was about 8. It was disturbing and uncomfortable for everyone around, which was other mothers and children. For myself, being 6 years old and seeing that was very confusing and odd. Also, this woman would breastfeed him out in the open in front of everyone, at playgroup and school!

To this day, people STILL talk about it in that town.

[bambifox]

I too breastfed my 2nd child and so I know the benefits and support breastfeeding wholeheartedly, but something about this vid just totally "creeps me out"! IMHO, when the kid is old enough to talk...it's time for a cup!

Originally Posted by Mindi911

Yep it definitely happens - there a few whack jobs over here

[buttercup963]

I am all for breastfeeding aswell, my 1st child I wasnt able to but my second I only did until he was 6 months old, personally I think 2 years old is enough, I mean my little one is 2 and a half and it makes me cringe to think that he would be breastfeeding, he is huge!! And I just would not feel comfortable at all.

[Eileen]

I breastfed my first baby until she was two and a half, my second until she was five, and my third until she was four. All of them decided themselves when they were finished.

To people who are used to seeing only tiny babies being nursed, that might seem weird, but when you are doing it, it's not. You don't pump for older children, you just nurse them if they ask or if they are sick.

Worldwide, the average weaning age is four and a half. That's four and a half years, not months. That means half of those children nurse for longer than that.

I've also tandem nursed, where I was nursing both a new baby and an older toddler at the same time. I can definitely say that nursing an older child is a lot easier than the newborn. Older children have better manners, a more comfortable technique and can wait until it is convenient for you. Only newborns need to be nursed on demand, older children usually nurse once or twice a day, if that.

I've got to say, I was sorry when my last child decided she'd had enough. Not because of the breastfeeding bond or anything like that. No, the end of breastfeeding meant that I had to cut my calories by about 400 a day to maintain. THAT was what really hurt.

[bambifox]

I just wanted to say that I fully respect any mother that is nursing her child well-beyond Americanized standards for what is "normal". I'm really starting to believe that its just "cultural" differences. I mean...here in America, we own dogs as pets, while in other countries, they are eaten. So, I did not want to come off as if "my way or the highway"...but please understand that for American woman (IMHO), its weird and actually quite startling to see a mom nursing a child who can ask for it. I guess we should all broaden out our minds and realize that we only occupy a very "small" space in the world.

Originally Posted by Eileen

I breastfed my first baby until she was two and a half, my second until she was five, and my third until she was four. All of them decided themselves when they were finished.

To people who are used to seeing only tiny babies being nursed, that might seem weird, but when you are doing it, it's not. You don't pump for older children, you just nurse them if they ask or if they are sick.

Worldwide, the average weaning age is four and a half. That's four and a half years, not months. That means half of those children nurse for longer than that.

I've also tandem nursed, where I was nursing both a new baby and an older toddler at the same time. I can definitely say that nursing an older child is a lot easier than the newborn. Older children have better manners, a more comfortable technique and can wait until it is convenient for you. Only newborns need to be nursed on demand, older children usually nurse once or twice a day, if that.

I've got to say, I was sorry when my last child decided she'd had enough. Not because of the breastfeeding bond or anything like that. No, the end of breastfeeding meant that I had to cut my calories by about 400 a day to maintain. THAT was what really hurt.

[Eileen]

The point is that you normally won't see it. Once a child is mobile, it may still be nursing, but almost certainly not in public. I know a lot of women who did extended breastfeeding, but just never mentioned it in public.

Actually, if you did seen it, you probably just didn't believe your eyes. Once, one of my girls fell over in the street and cut her mouth badly. I'd say she was about three at the time. The only thing I could think of to stop the bleeding was to breastfeed her (puts exactly the right amount of pressure on the cut). So I sat on the curb, pulled up my top and nursed her. No-one noticed. People passed me going in both directions and not one of them so much as blinked. There were no double takes, no reaction at all. They just weren't expecting to see a woman breastfeeding in the street, so they didn't!

[bubtub]

Ew! Yes, breast feeding is great for babies - no doubt about it. I personally feel that 2yrs is ample. There is the trendy "demand" feeding that mothers are taught etc, i figure that "demand" feeding works both ways. I wanted my body back after 2yrs and felt more like a human dummy than anything towards the end of 2yrs. Nothing wrong with that I don't think, my body went through the 9mth of pregnancy then 2yrs on top of that feeding - it was then time for me to re-gain ME!

[ctmom]

I agree we don't know other cultures but as mentioned, there is NO additional nutritional value in the women's milk at that age & children 8-9 years old no matter what country are at the brink of puberty.

I'm not judging anyone, I mean that, but it would take a lot of convincing at least to me, that there is any benefit to nursing a child that long.

[Lckymii]

Eileen, if your children decided they were not finished at 8 or nine years would you have still considered the same child led approach to weaning?

I am just curious about different people's perspecives and thoughts, and you seem to have a very balanced view of the matter.

[IowaGuy]

From a guy's perspective, I find it downright weird if it goes beyond 2, maybe 2.5yrs.

The family on the You Tube video is just creepy.

[Eileen]

Originally Posted by ctmom

I agree we don't know other cultures but as mentioned, there is NO additional nutritional value in the women's milk at that age.

At the very least, it's still milk. But in fact, breastmilk adapts to the needs of the child, so that older children get a higher dose of protective factors to help them cope with all the stuff they are meeting. I often wonder if the five year old nursed so long because she had asthma (it runs in the family). If she breastfed during an attack, it helped her regulate her breasting so she didn't need medication.

[Eileen]

Originally Posted by Lckymii

Eileen, if your children decided they were not finished at 8 or nine years would you have still considered the same child led approach to weaning?

Their breastfeeding didn't bother me in any way, and I was delighted to get the extra calories sucked out of me, so I had no strong feelings about it either way. At that stage, there's no question of pumping or having to feed at set times, or leaking or any of that stuff.

However, I believe that once the baby teeth start to fall out, the shape of the child's jaw changes so it it becomes next to impossible for them to continue breastfeeding. Seems to me that's Nature's way of saying "Enough is enough".

What what it's worth, I am NOT a tree-hugging Earth Mother type. I'm a gadget freak who loves electronic toys, and I absolutely believe in doing things the easy way. That's one reason I continued with the breastfeeding for so long. It was so easy, and so much less work than the alternative.