breastfed babies result in better behaved children?

[MissCurly]

Hey all,

I have come across this today, which has just been released. Scientists are claiming that breast fed children turn out to be better behaved 5 year olds.

an article which you could read:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8502613/Breastfed-children-are-better-behaved.html

what do you think?

have you got experience of breastfed/formula fed children and been able to see the difference?

I am interested to see how big a sample was used, and was the sample a randomised trial etc etc.

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

Mia who is 6 and my 1st is a normal chatty independant 6 year old and compared to my friends littles girl and angel lol and guess what I FF and my BF xx

 

[MissCurly]

Also, if the evidence suggests that children are more anxous etc, why does impact a baby/child psychologically?

or would it make a difference if ff baby was held very closely/skin to skin for as long as a bf babe?


interesting interesting!!

 

[MrsVenn]

My best friend breast fed her first exclusively until she was over a year and FF her second from day 1, both are extremely well behaved children and have extremely good manners. I know a mix of people who BF and FF and all of their children are polite, well behaved, know their boundaries etc but I think that's down to the parenting, not the way they are fed.

 

[moondrops]

I saw it on daybreak and it peed me off, my baby has been FF since birth and i wouldn't say she is clingy or needy in the slightest, yet my BF friends little boy is the absolute opposite. All babies are different regardless of how they're fed so imo and it just seems like another guilt trip to mums who couldn't/didn't want to breastfeed.

 

[Louppey]

My friend has BF all three of her children, ages 5, 3 & 1. None of them are well behaved!! I love them to bits, but i've never known such naughiness

I think that behaviour has more to do with how you're brought up, rather than what you ate/drank as a baby.

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

My best friend breast fed her first exclusively until she was over a year and FF her second from day 1, both are extremely well behaved children and have extremely good manners. I know a mix of people who BF and FF and all of their children are polite, well behaved, know their boundaries etc but I think that's down to the parenting, not the way they are fed.

I def think its down to parenting, cause what about us mums who have prems and couldnt hold out babys cause they were in incubators and too poorly to be out. Mia is a very very confident and independant kids and yeah she pushes her boundries sometimes but I just have too look at her a certain way and she knows she has went too far xx

 

[MilitaryMummy]

I think it's all a load of crap!!!
I dont think that what you put into your baby food wise has anything to do with there personality/traits or behaviour! I think that is just how the child is and how they are brough up!
I BF for 6 weeks and then went onto FF at 6 weeks... my friend is still BF her son at 10 months and my other friend has FF since birth and her daughter is 9 months.... when you put all 3 children together you wouldnt be able to tell what baby is fed what and i doubt that will change as they grow!
xx

 

[Snowball]

Ozzie was BF for a year and I would say he keeps me more on my toes than my other two at his age and they were bf for 6 weeks!

 

[welshprincess]

what a load of bull crap its all to do with how your brought up as to your behaviour. both my oldest children were bf my oldest for almost 8mnths my second eldest for 5months and my little one was bf for 1month as silly doc made my milk dry up with medication prescribed. so two of boys were bf and ff so where does that leave them

 

[Fabby]

What a load of shit was what I first thought

 

[Aunty E]

OH read this out to me this morning as I BF'd Teddy and I laughed out loud. That's ridiculous. Breastmilk isn't magic, I only BF because it's easy and cheaper than FF. My little brother was BF for eight months and has ADD and is a complete nightmare (love him to bits obvo), my baby brother was FF and is super well-behaved. I think most people could come up with an example to disprove this research. Pah. Yet another thing for mummies to feel guilty about.

 

[pinklightbulb]

I think it's a load of you know what. I think it is all down to parenting.

 

[MissCurly]

Yes, i think you guys are right about them not saying anything about parenting styles.

also the sample wasnt very diverse!! anyway, i think this article isnt going to do many favours for people who were/are unable to bf- in terms of making people feel good that is!

 

[supertabby]

I don't know many children for comparison but I was formula fed and was a good child except for being a fussy eater.

I can't get the article to come up on my phone, but I wonder if they've taken social circumstances into account? I've read articles in the past that more educated and mature parents tend to be more likely to try and persevere with breastfeeding, while less educated or teenage mums etc tend to opt more for formula. Before anyone blasts me I know this is NOT the case for everyone and that formula feed.g doesn't mean you fit into any particular social group.

Anyway, the social group that is most likely to choose bf is also the social group more likely to work on instilling discipline and education in their children, so maybe its the parenting situation rather than the affect of the milk? (again, not applying one rule to all - I know being a teenage mum doesn't automatically mean you'll be less disciplined with your child etc)

I am breastfeeding btw although I haven't ruled out formula as its hard, taking it a day at a time (my little girl is 6 weeks).

 

[xemmax]

Interesting.

Although it will obviously be dismissed immediately by the public, I can believe it. Not that a breastfed baby would be better behaved, but that there would be obvious differences in the behaviour of a baby that has been formula fed to a baby that has been breastfed. Or more accurately a baby that has been bottled fed. I don't think it has anything to do with what is in the bottle/breast, I think it is to do with the act. Feeding your child is such a regular, time consuming act, particularly in the early days, so I can believe that the way in which you do this will have an effect on that baby (not necessarily that one is better than the other, just that each way will reflect diferently within the child).

 

[Lightworker]

To me the big question is WHY? Is it to do with bonding? IMO BF is much more complex than providing nutrition. There are physiological and psychological processes that occur when BFing eg everytime I BF I feel giddy almost, I want to weep, shout with joy etc its weird. Does this help with creating a strong bond? There are studies which show BF LOs are more content and maybe this is a follow on. I would like to see a more thorough report though the article is very basic.

 

[lozzy21]

What a load of crap, as iv just said on my facebook if the FF babys in the survey are taken from parents who are in and out of jail and drag rather than bring their children up then yes its going to show that FF babys are worse behaved than BF babys.

Why cant they for once do a study on a wide range of children, not just the ones who will prove the theory they want to show.

 

[Lightworker]

Also could it be due to maternal attachment as bottle-fed LOs can be fed by family members etc while BFing is down to the mom alone and as Emma said you spend AGES BFing. Studies on maternal attachment and maternal deprivation show that it is a HUGE factor on how children behave. So if this is the basis of their argument, then I can believe it it. I still want to see more! Lol

 

[Lightworker]

I hope this thread gets moved to News and Debates though.