How old is to old?

[Italiahaircolor]

On 20/20 they are talking about breast feeding...7 year olds...

How old would be to old, in your opinion????

(Oh, and there was also a woman who had the big "O" during child birth)....

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/2/2009 10:03:50 PM
Author:Italiahaircolor
On 20/20 they are talking about breast feeding...7 year olds...


How old would be to old, in your opinion????


(Oh, and there was also a woman who had the big ''O'' during child birth)....

Oh my, that''s sick. There is something very wrong with that.

 

[neatfreak]

If they are old enough to ask for it in a sentence they are too old IMO...

 

[platinumrock]

Ummm....yeah.....7 years old is DEFINITELY too old. I think the cap should be 1.5 yrs. And I am being very generous. Basically, as soon as they start crawling, they may be too old. But then again, what do I know?

 

[platinumrock]

Date: 1/2/2009 10:16:47 PM
Author: neatfreak
If they are old enough to ask for it in a sentence they are too old IMO...

LOL

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/2/2009 10:16:47 PM
Author: neatfreak
If they are old enough to ask for it in a sentence they are too old IMO...

Exactly!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 1/2/2009 10:23:21 PM
Author: steph72276

Date: 1/2/2009 10:16:47 PM

Author: neatfreak

If they are old enough to ask for it in a sentence they are too old IMO...

Exactly!

agreed! When they can unclasp your bra you are BFing for YOU not your CHILD. That is disturbing. That''s a SECOND GRADER!

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/2/2009 10:30:00 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring

Date: 1/2/2009 10:23:21 PM

Author: steph72276

Date: 1/2/2009 10:16:47 PM


Author: neatfreak


If they are old enough to ask for it in a sentence they are too old IMO...

Exactly!

agreed! When they can unclasp your bra you are BFing for YOU not your CHILD. That is disturbing. That''s a SECOND GRADER!

Um, yeah...that child is going to have some major issues when they get older. Hope they start saving now for the therapy costs!

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

They don''t really need it past 9-12 months old.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I think a year is generous...1.5 is pushing it...

but 7, IMO, is disgusting. By the time a child is 7, they have started to "identifying" girls vs. boys stuff...ick.

 

[packrat]

I nursed my daughter until she was 14 months and my son until he was a shade over 18 months. I can''t imagine going 7 years-no way. I''d go to 2 but that''s it. I loved nursing my kids, but there does come a time when it needs to stop.

 

[KimberlyH]

A woman I have known for most of my life breastfed her oldest son until he was 7, it was quite disturbing. I would say 12 -18months-ish would be reasonable. My husband says any woman who breastfeeds until I child is 7 should be arrested.

 

[Courtneylub]

I just can''t get over how a woman had an "O" during childbirth. How does that happen? Was it obvious? Because if not, I wouldn''t be sharing that with anyone.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I am not breastfeeding my son, but I think a year is long enough and I think that breastfeeding a 7 year old is just gross.

 

[mia1181]

Wow, I really feel a year old is quite enough. After that point children should be getting their nutrition from foods. It doesn''t really "disturb" me until after two though. I take the little girl I nanny to a music class and there is a child who has to be at least 4 years old and his mother is breastfeeding him in the class! It''s 45 minutes long! He really can''t make it that long without some milk? I have officially nicknamed him as "the sipper" because he literally goes back to mom for sips! Seriously though, it''s a problem. He''s always hitting

his mom if she won''t give him some and she always ends up giving in!

 

[TravelingGal]

Well, personally I think a year is enough, but at the end of the day, mothers get enough flack without other moms freaking out over things that they do.

As for the 7 year old....well I think that could be tough for the kid if his/her peers get wind of it. As another poster said, it''s more for the mom than the kid because the kid doesn''t need the breast milk at that point.

With my old child, I believe in raising a child to become capable and independent, and that means drinking milk from a cup (whatever kind) at an early age.

 

[Blair138]

yikes! I was watching this too! I have heard the debate about when to stop breastfeeding MANY times...personally I think it is DISGUSTING to be breastfeeding a child that old. Whoever said it''s about the mom not the kid is right, when your child can eat ''big-people'' food, they no longer need to be breastfeeding. I haven''t made the personal choice about it (no kids yet), but couldn''t imagine doing it past 9 months. After that, the baby is just too old.

 

[LAJennifer]

Several of you have said "it is for the mom, not the kid". Can someone tell me what, exactly, it does for the mom (obviously I''ve never had a baby)?

 

[Kaleigh]

Yeah it''s about the Mom for sure. I can''t imagine that. Just makes me shake my head.....

 

[iluvcarats]

This thread makes me sad.

I know that it was probably not intended to become as judgmental as it is sounding, but to me, that is how it is sounding. While I also agree that 7 is indeed too old to breastfeed a child, 9 months? The Acacdemy of Pediatrics recommends one year. I breastfed my daughter for 18 months. That is what she needed. My son stopped at 9 months, that is what he needed. I really enjoyed breast feeding my kids. My daughter was so colicky and cranky that sometimes it felt like the only thing I could ever do for her to make her happy. I agree, 7 is too old, but different people do things different ways. There is not one answer for everyone. I guess you have to actually be in that position to know what you would actually do.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 1/3/2009 12:31:05 AM
Author: iluvcarats
This thread makes me sad.

I know that it was probably not intended to become as judgmental as it is sounding, but to me, that is how it is sounding. While I also agree that 7 is indeed too old to breastfeed a child, 9 months? The Acacdemy of Pediatrics recommends one year. I breastfed my daughter for 18 months. That is what she needed. My son stopped at 9 months, that is what he needed. I really enjoyed breast feeding my kids. My daughter was so colicky and cranky that sometimes it felt like the only thing I could ever do for her to make her happy. I agree, 7 is too old, but different people do things different ways. There is not one answer for everyone. I guess you have to actually be in that position to know what you would actually do.

If my comment made you sad, I am sorry.

I just think by age 7, a child, yes it''s a child not a baby should be off the breast.... 7 in my area is a second grader....Yikes to that.

 

[swingirl]

Date: 1/3/2009 12:31:05 AM
Author: iluvcarats
This thread makes me sad.

I know that it was probably not intended to become as judgmental as it is sounding, but to me, that is how it is sounding. While I also agree that 7 is indeed too old to breastfeed a child, 9 months? The Acacdemy of Pediatrics recommends one year. I breastfed my daughter for 18 months. That is what she needed. My son stopped at 9 months, that is what he needed. I really enjoyed breast feeding my kids. My daughter was so colicky and cranky that sometimes it felt like the only thing I could ever do for her to make her happy. I agree, 7 is too old, but different people do things different ways. There is not one answer for everyone. I guess you have to actually be in that position to know what you would actually do.

I agree. I nursed my daughter until she was 9 mos. and she quit herself. Nursed my son until her was 2! Yikes, I must be lucky. No therapy bills yet. My son is 6 ft tall, in college, NO FOOD ALLERGIES, and seems pretty normal to me. I DID NOT nurse in public and I think that is totally unnecessary.

But 7 years old is bizarre!!

 

[iluvcarats]

Date: 1/3/2009 12:39:48 AM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 1/3/2009 12:31:05 AM

Author: iluvcarats

This thread makes me sad.

I know that it was probably not intended to become as judgmental as it is sounding, but to me, that is how it is sounding. While I also agree that 7 is indeed too old to breastfeed a child, 9 months? The Acacdemy of Pediatrics recommends one year. I breastfed my daughter for 18 months. That is what she needed. My son stopped at 9 months, that is what he needed. I really enjoyed breast feeding my kids. My daughter was so colicky and cranky that sometimes it felt like the only thing I could ever do for her to make her happy. I agree, 7 is too old, but different people do things different ways. There is not one answer for everyone. I guess you have to actually be in that position to know what you would actually do.

If my comment made you sad, I am sorry.

I just think by age 7, a child, yes it''s a child not a baby should be off the breast.... 7 in my area is a second grader....Yikes to that.

No worries Kaleigh! I concur with you - 7 is too old. But 9 months, 12 months.... I don''t know? It helps with immunity so much. Neither baby was sick while nursing. My point is just different strokes for different folks. But for the record, you are one of my favorite PSers, and have NEVER offended me (or anyone else for that matter)

 

[puffy]

let me first start off by saying i apologize if i offend any one. i do not mean to and and definitely not trying to....
BFing past 7-9 months is totally 100% normal and it is not disgusting. babies don't "need" it past 12 months but you can go longer if you want or even wean earlier. that is the mom and often times, baby's choice. i, for one, nursed my son until he was 12 months or about 1 weeks after 12 months and until then i was not supplementing with formula. then i moved him to whole milk. to say that it is disgusting or that a child does not need to be BF past 7-9 months is definitely not true. they actually need to be on formula or BF until 12 months.
again, i was not trying to offend anyone. yes, i do agree that when the child can ask to be nursed they are too old. women get enough grief about choosing to BF or not. BFing i a special bond for some mothers and often times it is a bond that is hard to break.

ETA: totally 100% agreed ILUV!! i guess we were posting at the same time.

 

[indypitty]

I watched this too, and was disturbed like many of you. Especially the little boy (six years old) who said "the left breast has more milk than the other one". His mom admitted he goes for the breast when he "needs comforting", several times a day. Like the doctor said, a six year-old needs to be developing some other coping strategies.

It was interesting to hear that the average age of weaning from the breast is 4 years old (worldwide)!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/3/2009 12:48:22 AM
Author: indypitty
I watched this too, and was disturbed like many of you. Especially the little boy (six years old) who said ''the left breast has more milk than the other one''. His mom admitted he goes for the breast when he ''needs comforting'', several times a day. Like the doctor said, a six year-old needs to be developing some other coping strategies.

It was interesting to hear that the average age of weaning from the breast is 4 years old (worldwide)!

Which leads me to believe it''s a societal thing. Don''t get me wrong - that is an important factor. Here in the US, if you choose to BF your child until s/he''s past the age of 2, then you have to know that it''s not the norm! Whether it is right or wrong, I don''t care...you do what is right for you, but I would hope that the mother would take the social implications (and teasing of the child) into consideration. I just believe BFing until 7 years old IS entirely selfish. There are other ways that children NEED to learn to cope.

 

[Dreamer_D]

What is wrong with BFing a seven year old?? I think that is a-okay...

I try not to judge other people''s choices, at least not to their face

, but that is pretty strange in any culture. Though I seem to recall that in ancient China the little princes used to have a wet nurse until they were very very old... and probably in other cultures too at one time or another.

From what I have read, the World Health Organization and Health Canada recommend breastfeeding for 2 years, with exclusive BFing for the first 6 months. Although many of the benefits are for the baby, and these benefits do continue past 12 months, many of the added benefits past 12 months are for the mother: BFing longer is associated with reduced risks of uterine cancer and breast cancer, and with reduced incidence of osteoporois strangely enough. It is also associated with better weight management post baby, which apparently shows the greatest effects after the 6 month mark (i.e., many women lose those last 10lbs after BFing that long). Anyhoo, if WHO and Health Canada say 2 years is good, then that isn''t "too long" in my book! But I agree with others who said that when the baby can ask for it, it maaay be time to stop! LOL! My mom said she knew it was time to quit when I would walk over and pull up her shirt when she was in the middle of a conversaion! I think I was around 16 months old. I''d personally like to BF for around 18 months.

Obviously, though, many factors impact the decision/ability to BF longer term, every woman has to make her own choice. One major factor, though, has got to be the amount of meternity leave that a country offers to women. I can''t imagine how difficult it would be to BF when one had to go back to work after 6 or 12 weeks! This aspect of a culture may contribute to the norms that TGal is talking about, at least as they apply to BFing past 6 months or a year.

 

[AmberWaves]

I was also just watching this. As a child I weaned myself at 3 months- just wouldn''t take to it. My parents supplemented my formula with Kefir. My brother, on the other hand, nursed until he was three. I''m not biased either way, because to each their own, in my opinion. Despite that, those older children were disturbing, perhaps solely because the children said things like, "I don''t want to get big, I want breast milk!" and the above mentioned "one has more than the other". I also wonder about the children''s abilities to console themselves when they''re hurt, instead of running to mum for some liquid courage. I dunno, I agree wholeheartedly with NF!

On another topic, did you see the segment on the woman who was the ''career surrogate'' but used her own eggs? At least 10 times- one of which turned out to be her boyfriend''s child, but was given to another couple thinking it was that father''s sperm. She offered a return policy, but it was HER baby, with her boyfriend! A DNA test proved it!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Umm, once they can drink from a cup? 12 months is about as long as a baby needs a bottle or to nurse. Mine were using a cup pretty much at 10 months. But I guess I can see it up to 18 months.

I didn''t see the show, thankfully, but I''d think that family may need some counseling.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I would really worry about the nutritional and immunological side effects of breastfeeding a child that long, for both the child and the mom...