If a child is still nursing at four, how to end this without trauma?

Question

He is perfectly "normal" [[whatever that means]] in all other repects. Happy and articulate and active and healthy. We think Mom somehow got committed to this and now doesn'tknow what to do.

Answer 1

well i guess let it run its course shell stop. as soon as he BITES her. that happened to my bros fiancee. i told her to stop but she didnt listen until she almost lost a nipple.(lol) shell find out. or you can tell her its time to switch him to a sippy cup. hes a big boy now.

Answer 2

Lots of people do this and Child Protective Services arent going to take a child away because of that. Its silly. Some people really do need to be educated about this subject Im not talking about you, just some of the comments above... The actuall average age worldwide is 3 to 4 years of age. www.babycenter.com
Anyways, just tell her to reduce the feedings every day. Take a time away and do something else with him at that moment. Instead of nursing, take him out to play, or some other kind of activity she can do.Do this for a couple of weeks. If she cant stop , then once he gets into Kinder, he will forget about this and be busy with other things and away from mom alot more often.

Answer 3

You haven't said how many feeds per day he is still having. There are many older children in Australia breastfeeding although mainly first thing in the morning and last thing at nihgt. If child and mother are both happy enjoying breastfeeding, why stop a good thing. Breastfeeding is not just about milk, it's comfort, security and a safe place to return to from exploring the world. If the mother wants to wean then drop feeds slowly, wear clothes that make the breast difficult to access and replace feeds with other foods. Probably not a good idea to introduce a bottle of milk as it will make it difficult to wean off the bottle. Good luck and congratulations on your extended breastfeeding experience. Your son will grow up to be a strong and independant man, with no negative effects from breastfeeding as a 4 yr old. (that is all taboo anyway)

Answer 4

That is way too old and going into the "sickening" point. I am sorry, but a preK age child should not even be drinking from a sippy cup anymore. If the child were on bottle, they would have been off of it by 1 1/2 and off of formula by age 2. I child at that age can remember things into adulthood. They should not be able to remember breastfeeding. That is damaging the child.

This is definately on the mother's behalf. She needs help.

Answer 5

Slowly over a period of a few days reduce the number of feedings the child gets to one. Possibly introduce mothers milk in a bottle.
Many third world countries nurse even older children.

Answer 6

Ya might want her to know that if Child Services finds out they may take the child. There was a case like this in Central Illinois a couple of years ago. Child was quickly taken from the mother. I would get the kid off as soon as possible!

Answer 7

There's nothing wrong with nursing until age 4. It's a bit unorthodox, in our society, but it's completely acceptable in other parts of the world. Do a little research on the subject.

Answer 8

Breastfeeding at four!? there was a woman put in jail for brestfeeding her son till he was 5. Stop, that is not normal or healthy. Children should only be breastfed till 1.

Answer 9

You should have started at 1 year, if they have teeth, walking, talking they need to be off of the nipple.
Cut the feedings down everyday until there are no more feedings.

Answer 10

4 and still on the boob... are you worried about the trauma to mom or the kid? geesh! I hope its just once or twice a day... at most

tell him that the milk is all gone, he drank it all.