uhh... breastfeeding an 8 year old??

[Lightworker]

In African farming communities, much older children are BFd..they have a slogan sort of like BF will continue until the child is old enough to go and herd the cattle, which is typically 6-7 yrs of age. They are not BFing out of desire to survive, they have other food sources given that they are farmers and cattle owners.

 

[Lightworker]

I feel like I am banging on though, the point I am trying to make is that whether or not something is natural should not be defined by someone's individual reactions and beliefs about the thing. The fact that self-weaning usually occurs at a much later age shows that it is indeed normal and natural.

It is only in the West where this is disputed, and I bet it is primarily due to the sexualization of breasts and the incessant need to force children to attain independence before they are ready.

 

[smelly07]

Ok so human milk for human babies, cows milf for calves. In this topic it still makes it not natural as this child is not a baby/toddler

Its not natural as far as western society is concerned. In other cultures BFing older children is normal and natural.

what cultures? in asian cultures BF until a child is 2 years old is the norm apparently it even states this in the quran.

In 3rd world countries yes of course they BF as long as possible for obvious reasons.

 

[smelly07]

sorry lightworker got distracted and wrote that last comment and then saw all your previous posts.

 

[Lightworker]

Ok so human milk for human babies, cows milf for calves. In this topic it still makes it not natural as this child is not a baby/toddler

Its not natural as far as western society is concerned. In other cultures BFing older children is normal and natural.

what cultures? in asian cultures BF until a child is 2 years old is the norm apparently it even states this in the quran.

In 3rd world countries yes of course they BF as long as possible for obvious reasons.

African, Asian etc.. there's a study on Japanese children being BFd and co-sleeping for many years and how this relates to their overall wellbeing.

What do you mean developing countries BF for long periods of time for obvious reasons? What are these obvious reasons? In developing countries, prior to colonialization, they weren't all starving. They had enough resources for BF not to be the primary mode of survival.

So if the practice has perpetuated to modern times, what obvious reasons are these other than thats how they've always done things?

 

[Lightworker]

sorry lightworker got distracted and wrote that last comment and then saw all your previous posts.

lol i've just done the same thing ahhh

 

[special_kala]

It works both ways yes some people force indep3ndence on kids and even babies but at the same tike babying a child is just as bad which is whwt i think this mother is doing.

This isnt a African society so the same cultural mentality doesnt apply. This is one woman who clearly cant let go, their whole attitude is odd and the little girl seems very immature.

 

[Blah11]

No because im not a baby. Yes human milk for human babies but adults havebbeen drinking cows mipk for 10,000 years, i think thats long enough to class it as normal.

Just in the western world. Most humans in the world cant digest it, it makes them ill. Apparently we are born with the ability to metabolise lactose but that ability goes by the age of 5ish (natural weaning age?) and lighter skinned people handle cows milk better, something to do with vitamin D. Its something like 90% of black people, 30% of white and 60% of asians who show signs of lactose intolerance when they drink a substantial amount of milk.
Cows milk has loads of protein cos thats what baby cows need, it also has way more minerals but way less fatty acids that humans need for brain development. Cows milk is tailor made for cows, humans for humans. We dont need massive amounts of protein cos we dont have huge muscle growth like calves do and they dont need loads of fatty acids cos they dont have advanced brains like us.

 

[Lightworker]

It works both ways yes some people force indep3ndence on kids and even babies but at the same tike babying a child is just as bad which is whwt i think this mother is doing.

This isnt a African society so the same cultural mentality doesnt apply. This is one woman who clearly cant let go, their whole attitude is odd and the little girl seems very immature.

To be fair, maturity is quite subjective. I know some people seem to think that Western children mature to quickly..so perhaps this child is at the right level of maturity, but appears immature in comparison to other children.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I wouldn't buy breast milk!

 

[Blah11]

^ Why?

I would if there was some way of doing it. I wouldnt want a woman to have to sit and be milked for hours though

 

[special_kala]

It works both ways yes some people force indep3ndence on kids and even babies but at the same tike babying a child is just as bad which is whwt i think this mother is doing.

This isnt a African society so the same cultural mentality doesnt apply. This is one woman who clearly cant let go, their whole attitude is odd and the little girl seems very immature.

To be fair, maturity is quite subjective. I know some people seem to think that Western children mature to quickly..so perhaps this child is at the right level of maturity, but appears immature in comparison to other children.

That could well be true but in this context what is happening isnt normal andcould be damaging.

Im sure they do alot of things as the norm in other cultures we d9nt do doesnt mean we should accept it and greed or 5hat it will fit into our society

 

[Lightworker]

It works both ways yes some people force indep3ndence on kids and even babies but at the same tike babying a child is just as bad which is whwt i think this mother is doing.

This isnt a African society so the same cultural mentality doesnt apply. This is one woman who clearly cant let go, their whole attitude is odd and the little girl seems very immature.

To be fair, maturity is quite subjective. I know some people seem to think that Western children mature to quickly..so perhaps this child is at the right level of maturity, but appears immature in comparison to other children.

That could well be true but in this context what is happening isnt normal andcould be damaging.

Im sure they do alot of things as the norm in other cultures we d9nt do doesnt mean we should accept it and greed or 5hat it will fit into our society

So do you believe there is a set rules of what is normal and what isn't in Western culture, and people in the West should not have the freedom to deviate? How then does society evolve, if people stick to the same rules? Isn't that social stagnation then.

In the past women weren't allowed to vote. If they said it is not normal for women to vote then people womens rights would never have evolved.

 

[Blah11]

are you feeding willow at the moment?

 

[special_kala]

Cant we just agree ny kind of milk past say 7 isnt normal or neccecery and be done with it?

 

[special_kala]

are you feeding willow at the moment?

Yes hence the typos lol and my thumbs are to big for tge tablet

 

[smelly07]

There are lots of things in other cultures which are 'normal' for them but not us.

i.e females being made to have there clit cut out.
arranged marriages as young as 12 years old. etc

just because other cultures see that as normal doesnt mean its right or we shouldnt batter an eyelid.

BF an 8 year old isnt normal in our society like i said before the same as bottle feeding an 8 year old.

 

[Blah11]

Who is to say were right and they're wrong though?

 

[smelly07]

okay let me just swing this around:

formula feeding an 8 year old? your opinions please?

 

[aliss]

But I think the point many people make about breastfeeding is that it is normal for the human weaning age (from an evolutionary standpoint) to be anywhere between 2-7ish, so how is it abnormal for a woman to be feeding her baby a little later than the average weaning age? And I don't see how we can compare that to formula feeding because simply, a bottle had no place in human milk feeding/weaning from an evolutionary standpoint. The baby was either breastfed or... not fed at all and died? There wasn't an in-between until people started domesticating cattle, goats, etc.

So just because bottles and domestication occurred, now it makes her a weird overly attached kookoo?

In Mongolia, a breastfed 7 year old is to be celebrated. Yes, other cultures have traditions we disagree with (ie. FGM) but those actions are again, a cultural construction. A natural weaning age of 2-7 years old, from human anatomy perspective, is not a social construction but the way we seemed to have been designed to feed.