 |
|
|
|
|
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 GJM
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.
 |
|
|
|
If the kid is old enough to pronounce the word "milk" properly, he's too old to breast feed.
This is from Wikipedia: "Duration of breastfeeding:
The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the baby's first 6 months of life, and continued breastfeeding complemented with appropriate foods up to two years old and beyond.[9][10]
In many Western countries, however, breastfeeding beyond the age of 1 year old is considered "extended breastfeeding".
These movements in the West towards earlier weaning, however, are recent. Breastfeeding beyond the age of 1 year old was at one time a very common practice worldwide.[113] Dr. Martin Stein wrote in Parental Concerns about Extended Breastfeeding in a Toddler that “The discussion about extended nursing is similar to that of co-sleeping. They are both characteristics of child rearing that are closely linked to time and place. In most cultures before the 20th century, both practices were the norm. Changes in social, economic, and sexual expectations altered our views of the meaning of breastfeeding and bed sharing.” Extended breastfeeding was encouraged in Ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Muslim cultures. The Koran, the Talmud, and the writings of Aristotle all recommend breastfeeding for 2 to 3 years.[114] In Breastfeeding Beyond 6 Months: Mothers' Perceptions of the Negative and Positive Consequences, Dr. S. B. Reamer states that "Over the past 100 years of American history, the acceptance of unrestricted nursing decreased and the age acceptable for weaning dropped dramatically, until the average weaning age was 3 months in the 1970s."
In reaction to the move in the West towards earlier weaning, several organizations have been founded in Western countries to support mothers who practice extended breastfeeding. These organizations include the International Childbirth Education Association and La Leche League International.[115]"
Enough already! This trend toward allowing a child to decide when it's ready to wean, potty train, go to school, etc. is disgusting at best. Feed your kids FOOD. Teach them to use the toilet prior to kindergarten. PARENT, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!
patty: I allowed my daughter to choose all of those things, mainly because it was going to be impossible to force them upon her and I didn't want her to have negative associations with them. Allowing something to be a child's choice (though you may do a lot of subtle suggestion in the meantime, which is where the "parenting" comes in, along with supporting them when they're ready) is actually really important in allowing them to grow up to be independent, confident adults. By the way, my daughter weaned at 17 months and potty trained at two and a half years – the latter all of a sudden; we just put her in underwear after she asked, and there were no accidents. Sometimes you have to push a little, but it does ultimately have to be the child's decision – or at least they need to think it is.
You full blown whack job of a, I hate to use the word "lady". Your picture looks comedic like Jim Carrey sucking on the lady's breast in "Me, Myself and Irene". Do you see lady, you have now made an, unfortunately, very sick, lewd/lacivious joke out of breastfeeding. I hope to the heavens above that karma nabs your sad life in the sickest of ways.
YOU are making a sick observation of someone else's business.
Someone else's business? This is the cover of Time magazine we are talking about, in case you forgot.
I love all these suggestions about "oh, the mother knows best" or "the mother would never do anything to harm her son" ... so, is it a fact that there are no mothers out there who don't know best or who actually do things to harm their children? Yeah, I don't think so. Read the news and you'll find that mothers don't always know best (the octomom is a prime example).
I'm not interested in weighing in on how old is too old to continue breastfeeding, but I must say that I think the magazine cover is somewhat provocative and sexual. As a criminal defense attorney, I have seen people prosecuted for sex crimes for taking and possessing more benign looking photographs.
As a woman, I'd swat a kid that size away like a mosquito.
Hope we don't see a picture of a father in a bubble bath with his 8 year old daughter just to make sure she stayed clean everyday.
Just plain dumb!
What I find disturbing about the cover is "is that it is staged" It is NOT a natural comfortable way to be breastfeeding. Since it looks staged, it seems to be more disturbing than if it had been a natural photo of it happening instead of the staged one..also people are saying it isn't sexual in nature, and at the same time if it wasn't for those breast being used sexually, there would be no little 3 or 4 year old at all suckling her. Sex is the sole purpose of pleasure while procreating, just because a woman breast feeds does not mean the breast are not also a sexual part of procreating. The breast is for pleasures as well..so it does hold a ca-notation of sexual stimuli for many. Any way..so it goes.
Well said. My thoughts exactly...
I am not a fan of breast feeding but, then again, it is not my business as to what a mother does with her child. HOwever, I think breast feeding after a year old is only enabling the child and raising it to be selfish. It is an ongoing trend. Soon these parents will be taking their children to the supermarket and allowing them to eat food to keep them quiet and handing empty wrappers to the cashier(I see it way too much). I don't care if you INTEND to pay for it, you didn't, ergo you stole. I'm 36 and I never "munch" until AFTER i have paid for my products. That is how I was raised. Then these spoiled toddlers become teens who expect everything without "earning" it via a part-time job. Then they grow up to be adults who expect the perfect job, otherwise they won't work. They'll say, "to Hell with blue-collar work, I'll just collect welfare." This country is filled with too many of these children, teens and adults.
Do you actually know people like this? Or are you making "Fox News" assumptions about "those people"?
Ummm I think your comment goes beyond breast feeding, this isn't a therapy group to let go of your uptight problems, take a chill pill and stop stereotyping. I really want to know how you figured that every kid in the supermarket that was eating food prior to the parents paying for was breast fed. And for your information I was breast fed up until the age of almost four, why because I was highly allergic to everything else and no my parents never gave me food to stay quiet in the supermarket. Get your facts straight!
Attachment parenting is a fraud and will destroy your child's mental health. The Sears' know absolutely nothing about developmental psychology, the fact that he is a pediatrician and his wife is a nurse is completely irrelevant because neither of them have appropriate training and their claims are not backed by any evidence or research. Co-sleeping is dangerous, infants die all the time because they are accidentally smothered in the bedding or even crushed by their sleeping parents. Extended breastfeeding is also horrible for your child's maxillofacial development and can lead to impacted teeth, weakened tooth enamel and roots, and damage to the lower jaw.
Where on earth did you get those "facts?' I breastfed three of my children to the age of 3 and they are now in their 30's and have never had any of the problems you suggest. None of them was a thumb sucker and we did employ the family bed for years. Each child had his own bed separately and could/would sleep where ever he wanted. There are no hard and fast rules on what is right. Each child is different and finds his own comfort zone for nursing and/or sleeping. I find the cover of Time unnecessarily provocative and really distorts the actual act of nursing a 3 year old. I remember being so grateful for being able to nurse during the difficult twos (which is done far less frequently as the child gets older). None of my children have allergies either, which I attribute to their never having cow's milk. They went from breast milk to juice.
Opinions are great to have but it would be nice if people like you would stop to think for a moment before speaking. There is no backing to your claims that attachment parenting is a fraud and distroys the child's mental health.
Attachment parenting is more than just sleeping with your baby. There are several ways to co-sleep with the baby not laying directly next to you. Dr. Sears is a huge supporter of products that encourage parents to have the baby next to the bed rather than in it. Just an FYI – Infants die in cribs too!
Where do you get your proof that "extended" breastfeeding is horrible for the child? Nursing promotes facial structure development, enhanced speech, straighter teeth and enhances vision. Breastmilk remains the one and only natural, complete and complex nutrition for human infants. It is nature's formula for ensuring the health and quality of life for infants, as well as on through childhood to adult life.
Grumet said that sleeping with her baby does not affect intimacy with her husband.
I wonder what her husband has to say about that!!!!
My daughter slept with us until she was two, and people often asked me about that as well. Since we had always preferred the kitchen table or the living room floor, she was sleeping in a most convenient location- our bedroom, where we really only sleep. Now that she's older she sleeps in her own room but can wander out anytime, and our love life has gotten much less fun. 🙁
Well I AM a Husband ... my little one best fed for a loooooooooooooooooong time. We actually did not think it would last that long but she was well past 3.
Intimacy? Did not affect things ONE BIT. Once the kids were asleep and as the commercials say 'the time was right' stuff just happened.
Once your wife has a baby or 3 it should NOT throw a monkey wrench in your getting it on ...
What affects intimacy is the laziness and comfort that spouses sometimes allow to seem in – not doing special stuff for the wifey like you did when you were pursuing her in the dating days – and the wife not putting in the extra effort on her end to purty herself up ...
In the end kids are fun and they are your legacy. If you have ever met a 70 or 80 year old at an old folks home who has no kids and no one comes to visit them at all, then you will have a VERY different perspective towards your children because one day they will change YOUR DIAPERS ... believe it ...
"Does not affect intimacy with husband" probably means that intimacy is nothing more than cuddling anyway, since they're too exhausted taking care of the kids to do anything else. And with cuddling, the more the merrier!
To heck with the kid latched on to the teet.....
......what do people think of the placement of the Question Mark?!!?
I was breastfed until the age of 14. No problems here.
Money says Junior is going to have mommy filling out his college applications for him.
Child molester.
So do you think this sets this kid up for to be bullyed later in life? These pics will haunt him forever and can you see him running for office someday?
Get away kid! I want a pull off of that!!!!!!! Hahahahahaha
Good on her, only the stupid Federal Government would turn a breast into a sex organ. If the kid gets bullied about it he can respond with "eat your heart out!"
I think breastfeeding a 3 year old is ridiculous. I'm all for breastfeeding..........I breastfed my two boys, one until 14 months, one until 20 months. My youngest just turned 3 and I can't imagine him on my breast. It just wouldn't feel natural at all. Even at 20 months he started to seem big for it. Once they are talking in sentences, chewing on steak, etc...it is time to let it go. I admit it was a little sad for me knowing it was over, but that is no means any reason why I would continue to make myself feel better. Saying bye to stages of your growing child can be sad, but then I remember all the other exciting stages to look forward to. At that age the child has had more than enough nutrition of the breast milk............at this point a child can give mom a nice big hug for comfort, not hang on her breast!
Grace – It is not ridiculous. It is just that culturally many Americans think Breast Feeding is Yucky. It is not – The World Health Organization encourages it. It also encourages Mothers to eat HEALTHY so they can give good milk to their kids.
My daughter breastfed for a long time. My wife and I did not anticipate that. What is she like now?
Well she is very healthy. She does not get sick ... she is very very smart ... she is reading and she can do math really well and she is still in pre-school. She is a little too smart (she absorbs everything).
Breastfeeding is okay ... Even up till 3 years old ... We have another friend whose son breastfed up till 5 years old! The kid is fine. She and her husband are as romantic as ever ...
Don't be squeamish or prudish and don't think this is some hippy junk ... no it's just fine ... no big deal. What is weird is pumping our kids with manufactured baby food that looks like a Chemistry kit.
-
I'm with you, it's weird, co-dependent and unnecessary. People take a good thing and have to make it extreme and nuts!
I have a friend who practices this, her daughter is almost 5 now and still nurses and does the whole 'sleep with her mom' thing, she has never had her own room, etc. This girl is TOTALLY dependent on her mother for everything. Pre-school was out of the question as she insisted her mommy go with her, home-schooling is the path her parents have decided on. To my mind, there is nothing good that will come of this. Personally, I consider it child abuse and it has affected my friendship to the point I broke off all but the most cursory relationship over a year ago. Women like this are just screwed up in the head, no two ways about it.
You cannot EXTRAPOLATE one data point over an entire set – That is just mathematically backward. So your conclusion is that breastfeeding is the cause of this woman's problems?
Listen to what all the people in the video said – You have to set BOUNDARIES. All parents have to do that whether you are having kids suckle or not.
According the the American Academy of Pediatrics consensus statement, "Ewwwwww."
I have no reason to believe or deny there are benefits to a child being breast fed – what I do not and find offensive, is the need to "shock" some, the need to make such a personal choice so public – this cover is not going to draw the attention to the theory that babies benefit from being breast fed but the image of a child who is probably older than the norm re breast feeding, pushed so front and public in to the media. Did his mother never think what this sort of publicity for her son will bring about – perhaps his kindergarten companions will not understand the whole notion, but just imagine what some of the other mothers may think and react!
This publicity seeking stunt, which is exactly what it is for this mother, has done nothing but cause exactly what she and the publishers of Time wanted. TO SELL THE MAGAZINE!
Shame on all of you! And I feel sorry for the three year old! He may benefit by being breast fed but no child should be subject to such publicity! At least she could have suggested turning his face away from the camera! Of course, the photographer, art director, executive art director, editor, publisher, make up artist, etc. etc. – no one ever thought of doing that?
We do live in the 21st century, but this is a bit rich. I am a photographer, work with major pharmaceutical/drug companies and have been in the business over thirty years, successfully I might add. I would never put a child in such a position. What's next TIME magazine?
In Africa Women breastfeed and sling the babies on their backs. In North Africa, Asia, Latin America they do this. In Europe it is done. Here we think babies come out of some glass jar.
Take two of these and cuddle me in the morning 🙂
pathetic!
If you child can come up to you and ask to suck on your boob, then it's time to cut the cord. Creepy!
Seems that there's a benefit besides mother-child bonding. When the child is a boy, there can be some serious father-son bonding in sharing an activity.
I work with an all female staff and wouldn't be caught dead with this article in my possession. I noticed this add on the TV while on the elliptical at planet fitness and felt compelled to look away. Like someone said above…people have gotten into more trouble from less then this cover given their environments or history and I don’t think it should have been allowed.
I totally agree. I believe there is pressure pushing from popular culture and media to totally do away with any of moral codes in our society. This is, I believe, the issue here. Mothers have fed their babies natural way since time begun, but now we see it being flaunted and cheapened on the front cover of this magazine. There is something very wrong with that picture! !
They will continually invent new ways to push their a-moral agenda, using subtle ways to do it, even if they go to length of demeaning and desecrating what in times of the past has been valued as sacred.
But alas, nothing is sacred in this sick world any longer! So much for th advancement of human kind!
"Mom, can I have a friend over for dinner?"
Yes. But only one.
Also this is an example of "Lucky Son" Drinking fat free milk for source its totally healthy
As a medical professional, I recommend breastfeeding to all moms of babies. It is definitely best for the baby, and can be an important bonding opportunity. That said, there are medical, social and emotional reasons why it doesn't work for everyone. I don't judge moms who give formula, nor do I judge my patients who breastfeed until their children are 5 years old. There is nothing wrong with either situation. To suggest that there is anything sexual about breastfeeding suggests a complete misunderstanding of human physiology and maternal-child psychology.
Love the courage. Thanks for educating people
There is something very wrong with that picture, and it is absolutely wrong to put it on the front cover of magazine. They all are gone to the dogs!
What bothers me about this is not the fact that she nurses her son, that's nobody's but her own business. What does bother me (along with other "viewers") is the way she presents herself. Nothing sexual? Get real, lady! She discredits all the moms who take breastfeeding serious by putting on such a display. Another question: how will her son live that picture down once he's in high school? Did she ever consider that? He will be terrified by then. That photo will follow him around forever!
are you one of the left overs in garden of eden?
Why would he have to live it down? There'll be plenty of guys asking to meet his mom.
@ Franziska
I totaly agre with you!
I'm surprised at all of the negative comments posted in this forum. Really? I'm sure her child will be just fine. Glad I was able to breast feed my kids.
i'm here to tell you none of you need to care about this.
My daughter breastfed till she was well past 3 ... How will it affect the child? Man ... kids are kids ... people are having a cow over this!!!
My daughter weaned herself ... and that was that ... no big deal! Don't prudish.
-
I'm 23 and I would suck on her breasts...
Any chance she's adopting????
I'm 62. I still like to nibble on a boob or 2 once in awhile. U know the old saying though. "anymore than a mouthful is a waste
But you, like pre-toddlers, don't have teeth.
Mayim Bialik aslo has a PhD in Neuroscience. How many of you have one?
all of us... daaaaa
She's an ugly ......
Im 200. I know for fact that nothing is wrong with healthy meal.
if this was a black woman and her black child this would not even be an issue i guarantee it even if the child was 15...im telling ya...
Time magazine had poor judgment in posting this pic...bad enough if it was inside the mag but out on news stands where other kids and Peres can see it...not wise. Secondly, the kid in the pic is young enough that he trusts his mother's judgment on heat is correct and acceptable, however when this kid hits school and is old enough to be taunted for this pic, he will be bullied to the nth degree. I teach middle school and though there is more awareness of stopping taunting and bullying it is not going to go away, and this kid will be marked if word gets out when he is older that this is his pic. Some parents who think they are so cool and have such renaissance thinking need to get their heads out out of their...well you know...and get back to reality and stop dragging their kids down with them.
But they'll see their first increase in sales in 20 years.
Sorry....my spellcheck auto changed pervs at the top of the paragraph to Peres...haha yah and in response to the increase of sales that is a sick way to make a buck, but it's done now
"Too much" is about right... So what happens when the child never wants to stop breast feeding and sleeping with mama? It seems more gratification driven and self serving on mama's part than for the developmental needs of the child. Our two sons were eating solid food at just after a year. They are both righteously healthy (at 4&6 yrs now), independent behaving, emotionally and affectionately balanced and above all- free of domestic dysfunction. The media can sell whatever they want to whoever- but I'm not going for this either.
I don't only think woman should be allowed to breast feed their children in public, I believe that it should be mandatory.
It's the single best thing anyone can do for their child.
Yuck! wow! Yummy! Lickity! Sick! I'm so confused!
Sweet & Sour
Black & White
Oil & Vinegar
Sensual & Revolting
Sometimes opposites result in something strangely intriguing.
I am a mother of two children and breastfed both of them until they were nine months old. I believe in the importance of passing along a mother's immunity and the peace of mind of knowing what your baby is actually consuming within the first few months of life. How soon we forget about the recalls that happened back in 2008, when a few of the most popular formulas were yanked off the shelves for containing toxins that were used to increase the protein levels to meet nutritional requirements thereby increasing the profit margin. What has this world come to?
As for the cover, I think it is a poor representation of a beautiful and natural act.
When I talk about haboobs to my sons, they know I am referring to massive dust storms. It seems to work best like that.
Breastfeeding your kid until they are three or four or sixteen or whatever means you are RICH and have NO JOB. Poor people ween and potty train their kids as QUICKLY as possible to save on diapers and time spent breast feeding. "but formula costs money" I here you saying- well it costs a lot more money to be at your child's beck and call with breast milk all the time, if it means you can't work.
Not necessarily. One breastfeds a two or three year old much less frequently and they are able to eat regular food as well. I hear what you are saying about rushing things for economic reasons, but that is making a decision based on what is best for the parent, not the child. Potting training started too soon and not on the child's timetable is often disasterous. Children naturally potty train themselves by three. It all goes together: weaning, potty training, independence. Its a natural progression.
ONly sick people think there is anything wrong with this breast feeding example. It's a mother feeding her child as nature intended.
That kid is old enough to eat corn on the cob and still breast feeding. That is pretty disturbing.
And when this kid reaches about age 10 or 11, all of the school kids will be passing around this cover, that they downloaded from the internet, and tease him. I can hear it now: "You look sad. Did you not get to suck on your mom's teet yet today? You must be hungry." Poor kid...