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  • That is just ridiculous!
  • hmmm, each to their own, but i don't see the 'need' to bf a six yr old as surely the child will get very little benefit (if any) at that age as his or her immune system will already be well established and tehy should be getting all the nutrients they need from meals, so with out wanting sound nasty, it seems this is more for the mum than the child, because i really can't see any reason why a six yrold wld need breastmilk, or really any milk as there is much better sources of iron and calcium that the child could recieve in meals. but liek i say, if its not doing any harm then its up to them, altho i wld feel for the little girl if her school friends found out, as obv this is not the norm and she cld quite likley become the class 'freak'...not that i think she's a freak just thats how the other kids might react. hope i've not offended anyone, but i can't ration any reasoning for bf a six yr old xx
  • i just dont see the need really, at that age they should be eating healthy solids and not need breastmilk it would be of no benifit and at that age there are more effective ways to be close than getting them on your breast

    each to thier own i guess, if i was lucky enough to be successful with breatsfeeding i would be happy to carry on as long as it was benifical for my child but i doubt past the age of 2 it would really be of any benifit

    becca x
  • although I'm going to disagree that there is no benefit nutritionally - there have been cases and studies showing that people with certain types of cancer (and I cant remember all the details at the moment and am frazzled mid packing so cant be bothered to look - sorry) have been almost cured by having breast milk.... so there must be something still nutritional about it....

    But I personally wouldn't feed until they were 6. If it works for them i'm happy for them, but I dont think it would be for me.
    (I say think as I've had to unfortunately stop giving mj her morning bf last week when i was too ill to even look after myself let alone them and needed to take very strong medication and I don't know how long I would have carried on bf her if that hadn't happened - I was quite happy having that special little snuggle in the mornings image )

    xxx
  • Ridiculous, im guessing this is more for the benefit of mum than child. Im all for letting children be children but the seems to me a way of 'over babying' her child to keep her as her little baby for as long as possible.

    PP i think your right, dont think there is any benefit of BF beyond age 2 that threy dont get from food by this age .
  • Although currently I can not see the benefit of BF for that long, I would certainly reconsider my view if more research shows that extended feeding is benfical to the child.

    I do wish however it was encourage as more of a norm to feed your child up to the age of 2 instead of 6 months as they do continue to need milk up to this age and beyond on a regular basis and breast is still more benefical than cows, hence all the follow on formulas we have on the market today.

    Saying that my son self weaned at 11 months and by 12/13 months will only have the occasional glass of milk. So just shows that it is dependant on the child.

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  • I dont think there is a need to do it and I do agree I think its more for the mother's benefit than the childs. I was watching GMTV a few weeks ago and there was a midwife who was apparently some b/f expert and she said that after the age of 2 there is no benefits and after the age of one that it can actually damage the child's teeth because breast milk is so sweet.
  • I don't see the harm really, there are plenty of children who have bottles up to age 6 and that's worse as its bad for their teeth whereas breastfeeding isn't. Having said that I think bullying at school would be an issue - have no problem with bf up to school age - it's not for me, but no issue with it - lots of kids have bottles and dummies up to that age x
  • I can definatly say is it totally wrong!
    I was breastfed until I was 4 and I can still remember it, it has almost traumatised me to the point that I now find BF quite unnatural, even though I know it is (hope that makes sense) I haven't BF my children either because of this feeling.
    If a mother is concerned about the nutritional benefit the milk should be expressed and for the child to drink from a cup, and Ionly see that that could be necessary if the childhad medical problems.
  • Wow, no way. I was only breast fed for 1 week, lol. If you dont mind me asking, do you find it traumatising because you're remembering it as an adult? Because you must have enjoyed breastfeeding as a child I am guessing to have not self-weaned before 4? If you thought of it as having a drink of milk comforting you as a child, would that make you feel better -I'm just really curious as my mum was a real hitler lol no dummies no bottles no bf!! LOL
  • I dont remember ever liking it as a child tbh, it was my mum who offered it, suppose i probably found it comforting at the time, I can't really remember how i felt at the time, dont think i was that keen tho, i remember 1 definate occasion where my mum took me into her bed and I have this image of me bfing. The thought makes me sick. my mum is definatly the sort that would have used it to comfort her tho (hope that makes sense!)
  • I just posted on the same topic in b/f forum

    my hubby came home from work the other day and was telling me about something he read in a magazine on his lunch

    Apparantly there was a story about an American family and the 14 year old boy was still being breast fed! IMO that is wrong

    xx
  • I dont think there is a need to do it and I do agree I think its more for the mother's benefit than the childs. I was watching GMTV a few weeks ago and there was a midwife who was apparently some b/f expert and she said that after the age of 2 there is no benefits and after the age of one that it can actually damage the child's teeth because breast milk is so sweet.
    Can I just say that I saw this feature too and you're misquoting it - breast milk most definitely will not damage a 1 year olds teeth and is recommended by the world health authority until the age of 2. I'm sure the midwife said it could damage an older childs teeth if used regularly as a comforter, which is what the mother was doing. I'm still exclusively breastfeeding my 10 month old and will do so until he no longer wants it, although perhaps not to the age of 6!! x
  • I dont think there is a need to do it and I do agree I think its more for the mother's benefit than the childs. I was watching GMTV a few weeks ago and there was a midwife who was apparently some b/f expert and she said that after the age of 2 there is no benefits and after the age of one that it can actually damage the child's teeth because breast milk is so sweet.

    That 'midwife' was Clare Byam-Cook a self proclaimed bf expert. She is the author of a rather negative and unhelpful book and hasn't been a qualified midwife for many years.

    I believe she compared breast milk to hgaving a drink of Coke! :roll:

    She is full of crap.
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