Just watching Extraordinary Breast-feeding... programme on Chanel 4...

At what age should a Mother stop Breast-Feeding child?

I have just heard the eldest Child on here is 7/8...

Is this normal? should Breast-Feeding not just be kept to the very young?

Should be PC and say it's as long as the mother feels it appropriate but saw the 7 year old being breast fed and it looked kinda freaky :o

i think 7 is a little old myself and at what point is she going to stop ?

Should be PC and say it's as long as the mother feels it appropriate but saw the 7 year old being breast fed and it looked kinda freaky :o


It doesnt seem right... i know its a bond between Mother & Child... but still i think its wrong...

The older Children say Mothers should never stop... the Mother also said how her Children are always touching her breasts and even go to School and draw pictures of the Mothers breasts... that has got to be wrong... :?

I agree, I'm all for breast feeding but there comes a time when it seems inappropriate. I don't think I'd be into it once they had teeth, crikey

OMG look at the trauma caused now, lots of tears before bedtime!!! How can 2 year olds understand her suddenly stopping after all this time??

This is a crazy situation that this woman is in. Surely they are not hungry during the night, why didn't she give them a glass of water even if she was still breast feeding. They have got to realise that meals are eaten during the daytime?

is it still on?

Yup, and getting stranger by the minute!!!

i had to turn over to who do you think you are? some senseable tv for me i think

IMO breastfeeding at the age of 7 is wrong for many reasons. The bond to the mother is crucial in the first three years after that it's time to help the child gain a little independance. I know people that breastfed after 3 years but I question the benefit to the child. Yeah it's nice and they like it, but so are many things comfort things in life and it doesn't mean it's good for you.

I think it can set up all sorts of attachment issues.

For babies it's important because it's their only means of nutrition, children of 8 and 9 can get nutrition through having a healthy diet. I think it's more for the mother and it becomes a co dependency thing as the child gets older and it becomes more of a comfort thing! Why can't they just have a cuddle?

I breastfed both my children but as soon as the teeth arrived they were on the bottle. :o

Did I just hear that little girl right?

That means when I have breasts I can suck my own!

:suspect: strange, very strange.

OMG! i cant believe what i've just heard...

The kids are in dress up in Bras etc... and the youngest one of approx 7yrs... said when they grow i'll be able to suck my own... this is a Child we are talking here... :shocked:

What are Mothers doing to their Children by Breast-Feeding beyond baby stage? :?

Surely this is slightly worrying!

Did I just hear that little girl right?

That means when I have breasts I can suck my own!

:suspect: strange, very strange.


As you can see from my last post... i was shocked to be hearing such things coming from a Childs mouth...

I thought i was hearing things lol

It could have ben edited to make it look more ridiculous than it is and they waited for those moments to happen in order to get them in the film.

Kids say funny things especially when they know they have your attention.

That doesn't mean I agree with it all though, I think it's wrong.

I suppose there are no rules about breastfeeding and I read somewhere once that in the early 1500's bottle feeding became popular. Still think it does more damage than good though beyond 3 years.

That programme made the mothers look a little selfish, esp the one trying to force their newly adopted child to breast feed, what strange women and because of them.........very strange children!

I don't think breastfeeding adopted children is wrong (depending on the age). Wet nurses breastfed anyones children and still do.

Also it is a natural instinct for a mother to want to kiss their baby, adopted or not and this action is designed so that the mother picks up chemicals from the baby on her lips which her body interprets. The mother's body will then tailor make breastmilk with everything that baby needs. Isn't nature fantstic?

Didn't you hear the bit of where she gave birth to her second child and she allowed her German mother to suckle her own child while she was recovering from the birth. That would be like asking my mother to let my child suckle on her. This was surely not a normal family.
It was abnormal to let a nearly 8 year old to still be breast fed.
My daughters were gob smacked to say the least.
My youngest daughter was just 2 weeks short of 2 years old when she stopped but I had to put a stop to it as I'd had enough. I thought that age was bad enough!!!

I agree, in that instance it just seemed a little forced, maybe if the child had been younger it might have been a little more receptive

Isn't nature fantastic?

Interesting how they left out the bits like your boobs go rock hard like boulders, burn up and nips crack and bleed. and children are constantly expecting you to pop them out when the neighbours call round. Not because they are hungry, but because its the only thing to shut them up! :rolleyes:

Done correctly it is wonderful but if it all goes wrong... ouch :o

What about the mother talking about when they get a bit full and the dad has to have a go!

What about the mother talking about when they get a bit full and the dad has to have a go!

lol, they've all tried it. ;)

lol, they've all tried it. ;)

Oh yes, they can't resist :D

Interesting how they left out the bits like your boobs go rock hard like boulders, burn up and nips crack and bleed. and children are constantly expecting you to pop them out when the neighbours call round. Not because they are hungry, but because its the only thing to shut them up! :rolleyes:

Done correctly it is wonderful but if it all goes wrong... ouch :o

My second child hated breastfeeding and was losing weight rapidly. A health visitor instructed me to give her a bottle after 5 and a half months and she never looked back. I do think breast is best but it isn't a one size fits all by any means. My other child weaned off breastfeeding by his own choice at 8 1/2 months, I was quite upset about it but had to go with it.

lol, they've all tried it. ;)
Oh no they havent! :o :gag:

Oh no they havent! :o :gag:

You think you haven't :hihi: but how many cups of tea has your wife made you over the years??? te hee hee

I've done that too Titian! It would be a crime to waste it...

My boyfriend tried a little bit too, don't think he was impressed. I on the other hand couldn't bring myself to have a taste maybe I am weird.

Didn't see the programme, steered well clear when I saw the subject matter. When I was a nanny I once had a 5 year old tell me about how his mother still breast feed him and his brother (about 3ish)....don't know maybe its once a children can call it breast feeding its time to stop.

Can't really say I have that much experience as I don't have kids, but it seems to me an effort by the parent to keep the child infantalised (sorry bad spelling) and dependent. As I said didn't see it but from experiences I've had in the past this kind of thing tends to come from the over the top earth mother type who define themselves by motherhood, so they keep their children bound to them to validate them.

Maybe they should stop thinking about themselves and think about the affect it is having on their children. Kids can be cruel, what are they having to deal with in school and amongst peers if they are talking about and drawing pictures of this extended breastfeeding.

I think its very sad that we see breast implants as normal and breast feeding a five year old (world average) as abhorrent and unnatural. Very sad indeed.

Have to say I watched the programme with a mixture of feelings running through my mind...

My first thoughts were: Is this behaviour normal/natural/responsible/acceptable?

The feeling I tried to rid myself of constantly however was 'Bitty' :sad:

I guess I could type a really long laborious sociological/psychological type post on the various associated pro's and con's - but ultimately I guess, like most other parental decisions, it should be down to the parents to work out for themselves. Not society.

For me personally, having weighed everything up during the course of the programme, I wouldn't want a child of mine breast fed until it was eight. But hey, I'm only one person in the world :)

And let's not forget, the apes and gorilla's in the Jungle that we evolved from weren't too troubled by what was 'normal' or 'acceptable' were they? They weren't particularly bothered about socio-psychological issues? and they kinda did ok ;)

You think you haven't :hihi: but how many cups of tea has your wife made you over the years??? te hee hee
And she loves the milky coffee I do :P

Nobody has mentioned the stupid Burberry clad idiot who said `it should be banned what with all this `peedafiddlier`about
Best stupid quote I have heard in ages,:hihi:

Nobody has mentioned the stupid Burberry clad idiot who said `it should be banned what with all this `peedafiddlier`about
Best stupid quote I have heard in ages,:hihi:

Forgot about that, made me laugh for ages when I heard it.:hihi: :hihi:

I think its very sad that we see breast implants as normal and breast feeding a five year old (world average) as abhorrent and unnatural. Very sad indeed.

I have to say, I don't think breast implants are normal. I don't think breastfeeding a 5 year old is unatural either, just imo wrong and not the best thing for the child, not where poverty isn't an issue anyway.

I also don't think we can say it is natural or unatural as there are so many variations on breastfeeding.

Nobody has mentioned the stupid Burberry clad idiot who said `it should be banned what with all this `peedafiddlier`about
Best stupid quote I have heard in ages,:hihi:

He was just so funny, I am sure he must have been an actor, 'bottles, strong as an ox' what a plonker.

Nobody has mentioned the stupid Burberry clad idiot who said `it should be banned what with all this `peedafiddlier`about
Best stupid quote I have heard in ages,:hihi:


Can't believe I forgot about him - missed the next five minutes of the programme I was laughing so much. I found the rest of the programme a bit hard to watch in some places, especially with the older kids. The lady who'd adopted and was thrilled that the baby loved the breast shaped bottle seemed a bit odd - I assumed the baby liked it so much because it had food in it rather than the actual shape..?!

for anyone who missed it, it's on again tonight, on More4 at 10 pm.

Got to be worth watching (again)if just to see the Burberry prat:hihi:
enjoy :D

Saw a few of the mothers interviewed on Richard and Judy yesterday...

They stressed that they had found no research evidence to say that breastfeeding was anything less than beneficial. But I wonder how many studies there have been into breast feeding an older child in a socially and economically developed country?

Also the woman who was breast feeding her 8 year old admitted to home schooling her children, and the other woman they were interviewing (whose child was 3 or 4) intended to home school as well. So the peer pressure/bullying thing wouldn't really be an issue in these cases.

Still I think that, although breast is best for younger children, and I fully intend to breast feed when I sprog, there are going to be psychological issues if you continue into childhood. I agree with the above poster who mentioned it being as much about the mother wanting to be comforted/keep her children babies, as the kids wanting to still suckle.

Did anyone watch the documentary (think it was on More 4) last night, called Extreme Breastfeeding?

In the past on this Forum I have spoken out against women breastfeeding their babies in public.

But after watching that documentary I think I've changed my mind. It made the valid point that the UK currently has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, partly due to society's views that it is somehow 'wrong' or 'indecent'. So I'd like to say sorry to all the Forum mums who breastfeed in public - I think it's my views that need to change, not yours! And perhaps if we saw more people breastfeeding, it would seem quite natural instead of a bit wierd or wrong.

One thing I did find a bit wierd and wrong from the documentary though was the woman who was still breastfeeding her eight-year-old daughter. Not sure about that one!

I've never understood people who find it in some way offensive, it is probably just that they have a hang up about naked bodies. There is nothing more natural then breastfeeding, and people should be allowed to do it anywhere they want. We need to start coming out of the victorian era, maybe then we will have a happier society. :)

Did anyone watch the documentary (think it was on More 4) last night, called Extreme Breastfeeding?

In the past on this Forum I have spoken out against women breastfeeding their babies in public.

But after watching that documentary I think I've changed my mind. It made the valid point that the UK currently has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, partly due to society's views that it is somehow 'wrong' or 'indecent'. So I'd like to say sorry to all the Forum mums who breastfeed in public - I think it's my views that need to change, not yours! And perhaps if we saw more people breastfeeding, it would seem quite natural instead of a bit wierd or wrong.

Good post JBee.

Its nice to see people can admit that they have made a mistake and have their views changed for the better.

I was brought up in the country and there is nothing more normal or beautiful than seeing calfs feeding off their mothers. Its the most natural thing in the world. Its the same with breastfeeding, if ever you've watched a young mum feeding her baby its beautiful, not sleezy or dirty or erotic or any of those things, Just BEAUTIFUL!

I breast fed both my children, and I fed them anywhere - on buses, in cafes, parks etc... most of the times no-one even notices because i was discrete. You don't have to whip your boobs out for all to see, to feed a baby!
But what is the problem anyway?
If it became an accepted thing and people started to see breasts being used for what they were meant for instead of satisfying 'sexual fantasies' then maybe, just maybe, women could start to be proud of their bodies just as they are and stop mutilating them.

Yes, our society is a bit topsy turvy.

We sell soft porn publication The Daily Sport alongside our newspapers, but get all embarrassed about a woman feeding her bady.

Maybe that's why we have a problem. Breasts are seen as erotica, and we forget about their real purpose!

:loopy:

Que lowered tone opinion:

If women wanna get their baps out in public it gets my vote too :clap:

I watched the documentary... see here!

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=87541

Que lowered tone opinion:

If women wanna get their baps out in public it gets my vote too :clap:


back to the playground DaBouncer! come back when you've 'growed up' into a Big boy! :hihi:

I breast fed in public, descreetly. However, I often got disconcerning looks - particularly from older men (i.e Senior Citezens)...I used to ask them if they stopped and ate when they were out and about and hungry or whether they went all the way home and disrupted their outing...obviously the sheer fact I made a point to respond to their looks embarrassed them! People should be more open and supporting. Breastfeeding is a difficult thing for all new mums to do and the last thing they need is pompus idiots making them trying to feel bad.

As far as age goes, I thought the 8 year old and 4 year old were too old. I though the mother of the 8year old was also slightly cuckoo - letting her own mother feed her daughter???

Although the documentary said it was normal on the continent to breastfeed until 4 years, the only medical studies available show it is really the first 6 months that are the most important - although the WHO said age 2.4 was the recomended age. Each to their own, whatever is comfortable but 8??? ERG!

back to the playground DaBouncer! come back when you've 'growed up' into a Big boy! :hihi:
I deserved that I guess :P

I was thinking about this last night...

It's udderly ridiculous. We have fleets of cows linked up to mechanised milking machines to provide enough milk for the adult population - which is sterilised, pasteurised and packaged and delivered all over the place - yet some people still have a problem with children drinking their mothers milk! its mad!

the prog on 4 about breast feeding seven and ten year olds was for me way over the top.