 |
|
|
|
|
May 10th, 2012
04:37 PM ET
Breast-feeding: Too much of a good thing?It's hard to avoid staring at the cover of Time Magazine this week. If you're on social media like Twitter and Facebook, the widely shared image may have arrived on your screen before you ever saw it in the supermarket. The provocative cover shows Jamie Lynne Grumet, a 26-year-old mother from Los Angeles, breast-feeding her son. This isn't your typical mom-and-baby shot: Grumet's son is 3. In case you were wondering, Grumet told CNN's Erin Burnett that her son is actually breast-feeding in that now-iconic image. Grumet said her own mother breast-fed her until age 6, and Grumet still remembers it. "I'm proud of her," Grumet said. The picture promotes an article about the growing popularity of "attachment parenting", a theory first advocated by Dr. Bill Sears and his wife, Martha, in their 1992 best-selling guide “The Baby Book.” The Searses argue that co-sleeping, “baby wearing” (where the baby is attached to the parent with a sling) and extended breast-feeding will help parents respond better to the individual needs of their babies. Celebrities such as Mayim Bialik of "The Big Bang Theory" are also promoting ideas about attachment parenting. Bialik said on Friday that she still breast-feeds her 3-year-old son. "He's not done breast-feeding, and I'm not ready to tell him not to," she said. Many moms and dads have strong opinions about these practices, especially the breast-feeding advice. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies be breast-fed exclusively for the first six months of their lives. "We don't all nurse older kids," Bialik said of mothers who subscribe to attachment parenting ideas. "But the notion that a child's voice matters, that every child is different, that's the basis of attachment parenting." Heather Curtis, wife of Fark.com founder Drew Curtis, told CNN's Geek Out that she practiced breast-feeding for an extended period, carried her babies in slings and practiced co-sleeping, as Bialik did. So did Caryn Rogers, a science writer for the Preeclampsia Foundation. "I didn't really choose to eschew conventional care so much as chose to get what I believed was the most evidence-based care," Rogers said. Grumet said that sleeping with her baby does not affect intimacy with her husband. Watch: Breast-feeding cover-mom defends pose "I think intimacy is extremely important in a marriage and I think a strong marriage is going to be a great foundation to show your children how to be raised confident and happy and I had that with my family, too," she said. Time: Extended breast-feeding is more common than we think CNN.com readers expressed mixed views on the subjects of the best age to stop breast-feeding and the appropriateness of the Time cover in general. See what they said. We want to know what you think. Is it OK to breast-feed well past toddler-hood, or is it too much of a good thing? soundoff (3,790 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Next »Leave a Reply to SuperWhy
Next entry »Choosing your first triathlon race
« Previous entryThese parties go way beyond Tupperware
|
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
 |
|
|
|
BTW, that is the neighbors kid.
If she wants her breasts sucked, I will volunteer to do it for her.
I say enough is enough HELL to the NAW he should be drinking out of a CUP @ three one really
Absolutely. That child will be entering Pre-K soon and then on to Grammar School. The child should have been weaned away at least a year ago.
Only Western societies have problems with breast feeding. Male doctors in the past hundred or so years, later backed by "scientists" who claim to offer "better" infant nutrition, i.e. FORMULA, shamed women into hiding and then giving up what nature intended for them to do. Later, the feminists proclaiming to defend their breasts at all costs...Children have MILK TEETH until they are approximately 5 years old. They are called MILK TEETH for a reason. I am going to go here, yes, the BIBLE, and remind people that when Abraham's son ISSAC was weened, at the age of 5 years, they had a weening celebration. SIMPLY BECAUSE A DOCTOR/PSYCHIATRIST/SCIENTIST says anything, it doesn't mean it is either true, correct or appropriate. Breast fed children have fewer allergies, health problems and are less likely to be obese. It doesn't scar a child to breast feed until they are 3, 4 or 5 years old. The ones scarred are closed-minded adults who only see breasts as sexual objects. Even feminists argue against breast feeding, which totally confuses me, since breast feeding is the most feminine thing you can do next to giving birth. I simply do not understand the feminist idea of defending breasts from breast feeding. Is it because the feminists think that the female is being subjugated to their infant as a result of breast feeding? It does NOT cause attachment disorders, and it is NOT abusive. What IS abusive, is to have other people shove their opinions down my throat, and presume to tell me what I can or cannot do. My opinion is that everyone, government, politicians, feminists, men, women, all those who cannot tolerate MY right to breast feed, to stay the hell out of MY business. It seriously angers me that people blindly follow government studies, medical "experts" and the like in the face of such a huge explosion in obesity, diabetes and cancer rates which are directly related to the government's interference in our eating patterns via the horrid food pyramids and "science" backed diets of the past 60 years. Seriously? Stay the heck out of my life, don't tell me what to eat, what to feed my baby, and when to stop nursing. I demand to read ONE serious medical report that gives 100% proof that extended breast feeding is physically or psychologically unhealthy for the child or the mother. Such reporting does not exist. There are only "opinions", and believe me, I do not accept any scientific "opinion" or government study as fact.
In medieval China it was customary among the nobility to breastfeed until age 7.
Ouch.
Psst! There's no such thing as medieval China. Medieval refers to a time in European history. Thanks for contributing absolutely nothing but misinformation. Ouch.
Experts!! Speak now please. Everyone else, shush it!
Laura, don’t be such a hypocrite.
Oh No! Someone used the term medieval in relation to china, alert the geek squad! What a faux pah!!! Hey Laura, get laid much??? LOL
I am AMAZED at the pure ignorance of some people!! The mother is feeding her child and you find it sexual or relate it to incest? Either you are a twisted pervert or you were not hugged enough as a child... take your pick!
I agree!
I don't think it has a sexual context but I do feel it is kind of creepy. The kid is way too old.
I totally agree with Natalie.
no, it is sexual...definitely... and it is incestual also.
Did you pop fondle you as a child, Jason?
If it's not sexual, maybe they should've picked a less attractive mom.
Why does she have to do it standing up and with her hands on her hips?
Some women are aroused when men suck their breasts.
I think it's abusive that she's displaying her son like that to the whole country. HOw will he live this down????
As someone already commented, most kids wean themselves off before two. Those "toddlers" who continue to ask for it usually have some emotional issues. Maybe mums find it easier to pacify the kids if they offer up breast milk...it's easier for both mother and child. Cant comment on long term effects...
Long term effects? Are you serious? For centuries, this was common and still is in some countries today. Good grief. I breastfed mine from 1 year to almost 2 and a half years depending on which child and NONE of them are experiencing long term effects.
It's really a shame how it's the women who sexualize themselves for men. Breasts were created first and foremost for nourishing and comforting babies and small children–not comforting men and their fantasies. This country is SOOOO backwards when it comes to equal rights.
You really do not know what you are talking about. Ok. I agree that it takes guts to take a picture of this and the son really has no say in the matter and the mom should realize it BUT, it is not sexual or wrong. It is just different from what you have grown up with. My son still breastfeeds a bit and is almost 3 soon. Not a lot. He drinks from a cup most of the time and mostly loves to drink water. But, it is comforting to him and he asks for it himself and I don't just offer it. It lasts about a minute and he moves on. Now, I can tell he is weaning even more and I welcome that.
Breastfeeding is a normal process between mother and child. Some kids will wean away sooner than others.Each family to their own. Also, OBAMA might change his mind and go for this too,since he has now changed his mind about same sex marriage..the moral values of this country is down the tubes...
Obama didnt change his mind. He is finally openly stating what his feelings are.
As for moral values, examine your own.
Slippery slope comment, TC – next time somebody might try banning something YOU believe in.
Aren't you mixing Oranges with Apples? One thing has nothing to do with another. Move to another forum for opinions of that nature.
Allah says in Holy Quran Chapter 2 verse 234: "And mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years; this is for those who desire to complete the suckling".
Everyone will have their own opinion about this but i guess what Allah has instructed is the best. Neither too little nor too much.
Good lord. Do you really think Allah is the expert on breast feeding????
Allah is not for all. Each culture has its own beliefs, and some individuals also have their own. I don't have to get into a box for anyone.
Allah won't leave me alone. I have asked him to stop breast feeding but he keeps pulling up my shirt.
I don't know about the breastfeeding, but the damage that has been done by allowing that picture to be published is enough to get her Worst Mother – Ever! There is a woman who is all about her and doesn't give diddly about her son.
I just hope that the child, when grown up, does not see that photo. Can you imagine his peers seeing it? OMG
I agree with you on this one – that poor kid is going to be teased to death when he gets in school. BTW, I have a relative who breast fed her child until she was 4. I breast fed mine until a year and they both wanted to drink from what we were drinking out of – we pretty much let them go to a cup when they wanted to. Same with potty training – around 3 mine just wanted underwear.
This is a very difficult question. I don't think that outsiders in society, particularly men, should tell women how to raise their children. Breastfeeding should continue until the child and/or mother has had enough. We should also look to other cultures for examples. We cannot dictate a norm for all based on Eurocentric ideas. I personally nursed my children this way. They nursed well past what most Americans would agree with. I say it's none of their business. I see many worse things happening in American society such as parents concerned with materialism over spending time with their children.
Men should not tell women how to raise THEIR children? Shameful.
Kyle, put your mouth back on the breast and shut up.
Let me start off by saying I breast fed both my kids, but NOT in public. You can't legally show your breasts in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, what makes you think it's ok when you're breast feeding??? I think by the time the kid has teeth, that's enough. Get a cup, for God's sake!
I just wanted everyone to see that my milkshake does bring all the boys to the yard.
That's what [boobs] are for .... Not to play with but to feed a kid with. Let mothers breastfeed when & ware ever thay like. It's one of the most natural thing in life. I think ,when when thay get teeth time to wean. But I do like the[oop's] boob shots from moms breastfeeding
Oh, I see, so boobs are ONLY for breastfeeding, is that it? Tell me, Steve, is your penis ONLY for urination and reproduction?
You also have Niples, why is that? What's their function?
This is a loving, caring mother who is doing exactly the right thing – her son is very lucky to have such a great mom! 🙂
Happy Mother's Day, Jamie Lynne Grumet – and thank you for standing up for breastfeeding!!!
You think he's going to feel that way when he is 12 and having friends over to the house and his mom has got that magazine cover framed up on the wall? You don't have any kids, do you?
not so fast...she just set the La Leche League back a few steps with this picture even though the La Leche League has nothing to do with this picture or the ludicrous article that goes along with it. She's just trying for shock and awe.
From Time Magazine's "Q & A with Jamie Lynne Grumet":
"...people have to realize this is biologically normal. It’s not socially normal. The more people see it, the more it’ll become normal in our culture. That’s what I’m hoping. I want people to see it."
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/10/q-a-with-jamie-lynne-grumet/
she's not feeding her child.....she getting off from a 3 year old who can walk to fridge and get himself a juice box full of nutrition.....she needs help. she a control freak.....if man was on the cover of time with his penis 1/2 exposed wearing a santa hat and a little girl was sitting on his lap....would that be ok? because the article is really about love and xmas.....so its really innocent... and i think alot of us here were hugged plenty as children we just did not french kiss our parents...
I am mortified by the image on the cover of a magazine (for whom I worked many years ago) that would intentionally provoke many of us on Mother's Day weekend...just to sell the magazine. Couldn't TIME have done this more tastefully? I am so angry, I cancelled my subscription and will not bother to read the article (which might have been thought provoking). This image offends me, someone who believes in breastfeeding! This image will cause so many problems....clearly no one thought about the consequences (except reaping in the dollars) of using a mother and child to sell magazines. Why the shock value? Why not have used an artistically acceptable, beautiful picture of a mother and child? Nope, the "Snookie" culture wins and women and mothers lose. What is such a precious bond and interaction has been "sold" to the highest bidder....how dare TIME magazine use our most precious responsibility..loving and caring for our babies...to sell magazines. If I could I would convince everyone in the country to take it off the stands so that any child who is uncomfortable seeing this - the most precious and personal bonding activity - used to sell a magazine - doesn't point it out to some embarrassed mother or father in the grocery store. With this post, I am asking TIME magazine to use next week's cover to issue a worldwide apology to everyone who ever had a mother!!! Yes, I know in some cultures this is not so unusual, but in a country that is trying hard to be sensitive to everyone else's culture and values, is it too much to ask that TIME magazine be a little sensitive to those of us who would rather not have the TIME magazine cover the focus of discussions around the dinner table on Mother's Day? What a selfish act on the part of TIME magazine.....how cruel....how embarrassing for those of us who ever worked for TIME! TIME has a responsibility to use the power of images in a responsible way.
In 1984, I nursed my first child for 6 months and then began weaning her. She was weaned by 1 year. I regret to this day bowing to pressure to stop breastfeeding during the first year. With my second child, born 13 years later (1997), I nursed him until he was almost 2 and a half and then began weaning him. He was weaned within about 2 months. I was amazed at the difference in the culture that had transpired from 1984 to 1997–that it was much more accepting of this natural behavior by 1997, though not totally comfortable. However, I was never one who breastfed in public and was always fully covered, even in the ladies room. I have no problem with this woman breastfeeding a 3-year-old. I do have a problem with this photograph. However,to suggest that this natural behavior is immoral seems puzzling. Should we only use female breasts to sell beer?
So you are qualified to judge: Is your son more emotionally stable, socialized, and more successful than your daughter? Or was the difference between your breastfeeding of your son and daughter more about how you felt?
I was breastfed until I was 15, and it never did me any harm. For more information on the subject, write to me in care of:
Inmate #48876-C
Levonia State Prison for the Criminally Insane
19 State Highway 43
Kennisaw, Alabama 43312
LOL! Pithy and right on point!
LOL!! I am dying over here!
Cradling a 3-year–old who still nurses for comfort, would've been such a non-controversial photo instead of this. -Member of La Leche League-
Yes juge...I thought the same thing. The a La Leche club's main goal is to increase awareness the qualities of breastfeeding your baby. This kinda knocks the La Leche Club back a few strides, even though they have nothing to do with this photo or the ludicrous article that goes with it.
I hope to breastfeed my son at least until he is 2. He has teeth, he can walk, he is adventurous and growing and totally a toddler at 15 months. He also needs milk- and mine was made specifically for him. Do I love nursing? To be perfectly honest- not really. Everyday I wake up and tell myself that I could have him weaned in just a couple of weeks and be done with it all. I'd love to have my body back- and I don't mean to get into shape (I already am) or to be closed off from my son (how could I be distant from that beautiful boy?)
But to stop having to monitor everything I eat and drink? Good god, that would be glorious. I could have tea again (caffiene messes my son's sleep schedule up), I could drink a glass of wine and not worry about when he next had to nurse. I could stop the occasional biting, pinching, whacking, etc. It would be grand.
But he needs my breast milk. He is allergic to cow, sheep and goat products. His breathing gets labored when we've tried them. So I breastfeed. Until he is ready to stop.
@MC Ghislin- yes, boobies are for beer (or shortly thereafter.) Your comment implies that you do not know this. I could teach you, but I'd have to charge.
TO DANISH: Keep Allah out of it! This is about feeding a child, and no matter what some think I personally think that this is too old. Imagine what the conversation is going to be when the boy brings home the girlfriend and we dig out the scrapbook..........
Well ofcourse everyone is free to do whatever they want. I am noone to enforce anything, but as everyone is here giving opiniong based on their experiences or thinking, i provided the readers with my opinion and the source of my opinion. But you will see that many here will agree to what Allah has said regarding this limit of 2 years.
However, it shouldn't be done in public like this woman has done, even if her son was 3 days old.
way to set your kid up for years of taunting. Both the mom and the Time editor who chose that photo should be sued on the kid's behalf. He's gonna need a LOT of therapy when his friends find that photo in HS. Why do extreme breastfeeding moms feel the need to get in everyones face about it? If you want to breast feed your kid for years and years, have at it. Stop trying to prove to me that it's the "Right" or "Best" way to do things? It's just YOUR way. keep it to yourself.
@CSMythe
That's what wrong with this country. Live by studies and not common sense. Could be genetics might have something to do with a healthy person and an unhealthy one. Just my opinion.
the mom is smokin hot though.
I wish she was in her lingerie during the breastfeeding but this will do 🙂
The point is that the Broad is an exhibitionist. NO modesty. The subject is fine but it's the ego of that woman that is revolting. Some things should remain private.
There is an extremely common overbite called a thumbsuckers which results from children who suck their thumbs or use pacifiers past the age of one. I cannot help but wonder if breastfeeding a child beyond that age is also likely to cause it. Even if it does not, children should be socializing with their peers by the time they are a year or two old. And a child who latches onto his mom's breast for lunch is bound to be ridiculed by his peers as a "big baby."
The medical benefits are no longer really there. This sort of behavior is just encouraging the sort of helicopter parenting most experts agree is harmful to children. Ween the kid and let him be a toddler, with the sippy-cup designed for toddlers.
That thumb sucking is caused because of lack of adequate nursing and use of pacifiers and bottles.
I'm sorry, but breastfeeding is for the nutrients a baby needs as it develops (through 6 mos). A mom's breast milk should NOT be used as a drinking fountain! Really, people? And sleeping with your baby...I have another opinion on that as well. So, what happens to this "theory" of parenting when a baby gets killed by suffication by their own parents? Will that method of thinking change then?
Well actually the minimum recommended age is one year, so six months is not anywhere close enough to breastfeeding long enough to provide a baby the nutrients it needs.
Co-sleeping is a personal choice. There are studies that it increases SIDS, and studies that it decreases it as well, so it is not cut and dry. But a child that does die of SIDS in their parents bed rarely does so because the parents suffocated it. It is because of the blankets and pillows on the bed. Lots of people use bumpers in cribs which would present the same danger.
I did co-sleep until both my children were almost a year, and will do it again with the baby I am pregnant with. I like having them beside me so I could feel them breathing – my choice. I was never concerned about rolling over on them. Same way I'm not concerned about falling out of the bed or rolling over onto my husband. My body was aware of where the babies were. Some people don't feel comfortable and that's their choice too.
Prdparent
To compare breast feeding to forced abortions, infanticide, child brides, arranged marriages, female multilation, stonnings, etc. is nothing but drama baiting and demeans your own arguement.
Why are you so afraid to include the rest of the world in the reseach on this subject, are they not worthy people to be counted, are you so afraid of the potential results of such research?
Okay, here's the thing; breastfeeding a child until he's seven years old is freaky...period. Seven is the age when many kids start playing little league! If your kid can handle a pop-fly, he can sure as hell go get himself a drink of milk from the fridge.
I noticed that none of these moms advocate changing the diapers of a seven year old.
For those that think breasts are sex objects and should be covered. Lots of men think of legs in a sexual manner – but we don't have to keep those covered. The fact is that breasts are not sexual organs anymore than any other body part (excluding the genital area of course).
I'm torn about the picture. On one hand, I think it's good to put a controversial picture like this on the cover to generate discussion. On the other hand, I don't think it's necessarily fair to show the face of the child because he's not a consenting participant due to his age. However, we put children in parenting magazines all the time doing different activities, and the whole point of this cover is to make the argument that this too is a normal activity. So I don't know what the right answer is.
So, breasts aren't sexual organs? If that's true, an awful lot of women are having them enlarged for no reason.
HEY, isn't that Jason Acuna from Jacka$$??? Move over, bud, my turn!
If someone wants to breastfeed their kids until their older, by all means knock your socks off. Time is just going for the schock and awe which has worked out really well for them. The problem here is with this Dr Sears and the promotion of attachment parenting method. It's a free country, but they're trying to guilt others into thinking because they didn't carry their baby around 24/10 and because they made them learn to self soothe and cry them selves back to sleep as infants, that they are crap parents. I love my kids and they KNOW I am there for them if they need me. To me it's just another way of spoiling the crap out of your kids and not preparing them for the real world. There are young inexperienced moms out there that read this crap and take it to heart. Then they had to throw out a celebrity endorsement. You should NEVER let an infant lie in bed with you. I also feel really sorry for this little boy. Is this the chilhood pic his mom will send to school his senior year.
Even animals in the wild do not feed their offspring that long, and push them away to learn how to do things on their own. I find it disturbing that ..people delude themselves looking at that photo, that there is not one sexual thought that goes thru your mind..pedophiles..are right now doing things to their body looking at that photo...Delude yourselves if you want to ..but that photo should be in a pedophiles dream book..not on display for the world to see. Children never DETACH from their parents weather they are breast fed or not..even the most abused children do not detach from their parents, so this attachment parenting is something that seems unnatural at best. Bonding is how it is done..not attachment.
I don't have any problem with breast feeding where ever... however this kid does look a little old. Seems to me 1.5-2 years is plenty. Any more than that just gets weird. Anyone who thinks this image is sexual is a freak.
Well they didn't choose a 40 year old who is 200 pounds to put on their cover.
After age 2, women who continue this are not doing it for the benefit of the child. I knew a woman who would do this with her 4-year old at sporting events for her older son! Outrageous.
I think it should be a personal decision as to how long any mother breastfeeds, but it certainly doesn't need to be displayed on the cover of a magazine. Shame on the mother, she must be in desparate need of attention. It's as if she's saying, "Look at me!"
While I see nothing wrong with continuing to supply a child with breast milk beyond 2 years old, there is a vast difference between allowing the child to continue to suckle from a breast and providing the nourishment in a cup. If a child is old enough to drink from a cup, there is no reason to allow the child to actively nurse from their mother's breast if they can feed themselves. Pump the milk and put it into a cup for the child. This would end the controversy.
I was weaned at the age of 1 year, but resumed suckling at the breast when I was around 16. 😉
I don't think anyone at all disagrees with breastfeeding a baby. Although they are touting this as the GRAND discussion about it..there is no discussion about breastfeeding.it is natural, and as is meant to be..so this cover is way out of line..if it were a male the swat cops would be all over them with charges.
she's smokin. I wouldn't quit, either.
I agree that whether or not someone breastfeeds their child till they are 7 days old or 7 years old is no one else's business but their own. But then why display images like this or breastfeed a 7 year old in public and make it everyone else's business?
to sell advertising?
I think breast-feeding and the length of time it is practiced is an intensely personal decision made by the parents of a child. I did not like the picture–kind of creepy–but what I found most offensive was the headline asking if you are Mom enough?
The headline implies that women who breast feed for years must be super Moms and the rest of us are just average Moms. I thought we were past the age of parenting rules and comparisons! As long as your child grows up to be a responsible, loving, law-abiding adult then the parent is Mom or Dad enough!
I admit I breast fed my dauther up until her 2nd birthday. (once she reached age 1, I never breast fed her in public.) That was my personal decision....However, this child did not get a decision when being forced to appear on the cover of Time magazine at 3 yrs of age in what I consider a very distasteful photograph. I believe this mom was thinking more of herself and the shock factor when posing for this photo instead of thinking about protecting her son from public scrutiny ......I think she's selfish for doing this to her son.
For the record, I breastfed both of my children until they were one. I really couldn't imagine breastfeeding a toddler, but this boy is DEFINITELY not a toddler. I haven't read all of the posts (mainly because they are so ridiculous), so I apologize if this has been discussed already, but would Time magazine have printed this cover picture if this child was a girl? My vote is no; they would think THAT was too controversial. They were going for provocative and controversial, which they achieved. If they wanted to cover this extremely odd culture, there were many better ways to depict it.
Every child is different. Our eldest daughter gave up breastfeeding just past her first birthday. Our son gave up breastfeeding (with a little enticement) at just past his 3rd birthday. Our youngest daughter gave it up when she was 2. They don't remember the act of nursing at later ages. However, the bond of motherhood is absolutely reinforced by nursing. There is nothing sexual or disgusting giving your child the best nutrition.
My mother recounts wanting to breasfeed me and at the time, the doctors told her that was disgusting (it was the 60's) and gave her a pill to dry up her milk. Today, scientists know they can't even come close to making anything as perfect nutritionally and with as many antibodies as breastmilk. Animals know instinctually when it's time to stop breastfeeding their young. Are human beings less instinctual? I don't think so. It's not a cultural issue, it's nature.
I honestly do not believe the writer of this article truly wanted to know what the American people thought. They wanted our Reaction to a photograph and a few choice words. One Doctor does not support make for a theory. I have seen this before 11 years ago, it's not uncommon, but it is something that's not OPENLY discussed (meaning for the entire world to see and know) by those who practice it; most will talk to you about it if you have a genuine interest, but the advocacy groups like the LaLeche League would not do something like this mother did. to supply the first source of nourishment is why we have breasts. As the child develops and is capable of self feeding, then weaning will occur naturally. The Mother who chooses to prolong breasfeeding is making a conscious decision, and we have no right to say it's wrong or right.
It's up to the mother and child. But appearing on the cover of Time, posed that way? Bad judgment. And they obviously tried to dress that 3 year old (toddler) to look older for shock value. Shame on Time. Really, it's only ever about selling magazines.
It's way better than giving the kid a Coca-Cola...
I'm more concerned about the co-sleeping. There seems to be a recent rash of infant deaths due to this.