Why do people think it is child abuse to breastfeed you child until 4 years of age?

Question

It disturbs ME to see it once the child is past a certain age. I do think it borders on incest or abuse after awhile. At a past job, I walked into the bathroom where my co-worker was breastfeeding her son. I was horrified, but I covered my reaction and asked gently, "How old is your son?" The boy stopped sucking, looked at me and said, "I'm six!", and went back to it. If they can walk up to their "meal" and just stand their to receive it, something's wrong. Especially if they already have all of their childhood teeth and are in school.

Answer 1

it is great for women to breastfeed their INFANT CHILDREN. The doctors say it's the best thing for a baby, both nutritionally and psychologically.

But it's possible to have "too much of a good thing" and, frankly, once a kid is old enough to eat baby food, it's time to cut the breast feeding out.

And, once the kid is at all conscious of his mother sexually (and that happens a lot earlier than you might think!) it becomes creepy - and, quite frankly, if the child is male, it's a form of sexual abuse!

A six year old boy, who is fully conscious of what women's breasts are and their meaning in our society, is going to get really screwed up if he's sucking on his mom's bare breasts several times a day!

That boy is going to grow up with some seriously warped ideas about women and sex (and will spend years in therapy) as a result.

That mom is sick for breastfeeding that kid when he's SIX YEARS OLD - she should have stopped when he reached one year or 18 months - two years old at the latest!

Hopefully, she doesn't do other inapropriate stuff with her son, like sleeping in the same bed, or touching his private parts on the excuse of "bathing" him or "helping him pee" or "wiping his butt"

You'd be amazed how much unreported sexual abuse of sons by mothers happens in this society because moms have legitimiate sounding excuses for being innapropriate with their sons - like this sick chick who has her 6 year old sucking her breasts in public!

You should have called Administration for Childrens Services on that woman! - she has serious issues!

Incidentally, that's why a lot of female kindergarten and first grade teachers do not EVER wear button down blouses to work - you'd be amazed how many kids (especially little boys) will walk right up to the teacher, unbutton her blouse, pull her bra out of the way and start 'nursing' - there are a lot of sick moms out there who don't know when to give the breastfeeding thing a rest!

Answer 2

It bonds the mother and child. I was breastfed until I was two, but even that was considered too old. It is natural I suppose, but would be embarrassing to the 6 year old child in front of his friends. I think it is a bit sick. I was walking in the park one day, when a man in his 40's was being breastfed by a woman of the same age. They must have been drunk or on drugs, or it must be some sort of erotic game. I was horrified. It was sick.

Answer 3

Anybody that says breastfeeding a newborn baby is child abuse should look around. It's the natural way to feed a young child. Infants in the ancient times were called "sucklings" for a reason. It's just the way things were made. Dogs breastfeed, cats breastfeed, cows breastfeed, etc. It's just the natural way. Now I can understand if there are medical reasons for a mother not being able to, but breastmilk is the best nutrition for an infant.
Now, like you said, if a child actually walks up to it's mom and starts asking to be breastfed, or if they just start undoing their shirt (I know a kid that did this) it's time to pull the plug. ESPECIALLY if they are in school, have teeth, and can answer your questions logically. lol!

Answer 4

Welll I tend to lean towards the thought that when your child is old enough to generally understand what breasts are and can walk up to their mother and ask for milk... it's just wrong. I am not sure its abuse or incest, but it is disturbing that the mother still lets the son breastfeed... I think it's one of those legal "grey" areas... but still just plain old WRONG.

Answer 5

Six months is the "norm"- one year is still acceptable, over that, unless you live in a third world country and couldnt afford food for your child, I'm with you, totally unacceptable-- there is something mentally wrong with the mother who is brainwashing herself that it is acceptable- yea, she did lose her baby weight fast, and yea, she is still getting skinnier, but better yet, WHERE IS THE FATHER/HUSBAND? How does he feel about the neverending smorgasboard/wife??

I am sooooo with you--- it is sick, and I would love to know a psychiatrists point of view on the subject as to what type of "hangups" the kids will have-----oh, one more thing, have you noticed it is always a MALE child?

Answer 6

It's not abuse since the child is not being hurt. It may be considered a type of neglect though but I'm not sure. I think any woman doing that with a child that age has some issues and needs some help.

Answer 7

That's disgusting. At the age where a child can have conversations with his mother while breastfeeding, that's considered pedophilia.

Six years old. How does she even keep her milk that long? Is that even possible? Ugh.

That boy is going to have some major issues when he gets older.

Answer 8

YES I agree, I breast fed my children, and I do believe that it is the best thing you can do for your child, UP TO A CERTAIN AGE !!!

I think a year is MORE than enough

In my opinion, When the child is old enough to invite a friend over for lunch IT"S TIME TO STOP!!!

Answer 9

there was a case on tv where the kid was nine years old and the law forced the mom to stop nursing! i think its gross because the kid does not benefit from it after age 1! something is wrong with the mom!

Answer 10

My basic philosophy is that if the child is old enough to verbalize they want milk, they are old enough to get it elsewhere! That being said, that's a very caucasian-culture view...in other cultures, children are breast-fed for as long as possible.