Whats with the arbitrary weaning?

Question

I am curious as to what the rationale is behind these two statements; (paraphrased from different sources)
"babies should be weaned when they get teeth"
"if they can ask for it they are too old to breastfeed."

I seriously don't understand how anyone can actually logically defend these statements. (They were not presented as opinion, but as stone-cold facts.)

Can anyone explain the reasoning behind such ideas?

Okay Dizzcat... What's the REASONING behind that thought?

Answer 1

There is no reasoning behind these statments - they are opinions, pure and simple. You can wean whenever you want to (though the World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, and to continue for two years). There will be nothing PHYSICALLY wrong with a baby who feeds longer than the age they get teeth, or can talk. There are opinions out there about the psychological health of mothers and children who continue to breastfeed til the age of, say, nine years.
I suppose the above statements were said by people who were afraid of teeth near their boobs (which is understandable common) or just felt a bit wierd breastfeeding their verbal child. In my experience, I personally think the whole "wierd" feeling is primarily responsible for the less then ideal rates of breastfeeding and the premature weaning that exists in the "western world".
Encourage whoever made these statements to get their facts right.
An after thought: Decades ago, these kind of statments used to be "facts" provided by medical/nursing/early childhood professionals, and so tend to get passed from generation to generation without ever being questioned.

Answer 2

I can explain the reasoning and I am not by any means stating that I agree. I think the reasoning behind "babies should be weaned when they get teeth" is because it hurts when they bite, coming as a mom who almost had her nipple bit off by my 1st born (still nursed for 6 months after though), and also that when babies begin to get teeth they are more capable of eating solid and more adult foods, and many parents hurry this along. I do find it a little strange when I see a 4 or 5 year old nursing, however it is not my child, nor my chest so if it works for that family who am I to judge? I am sure that the statement was derived from a disturbed, judgemental person who did not appreciate the fact that an older child was nursing. I can see both sides of it though, I have nursed all 3 of my children and at times it is inconvienent and almost annoying, but the bonding and love that it creates are very much worth it, not to mention the health benefits to the child. To each her own though and as long as the baby and mommy are happy and healthy that is all that matters.

Answer 3

Breastfeeding actually helps to develop the jaw, so the "it messes up thier teeth" thing doesn't work.

Does anyone else notice how common it is for women to wean around 8 months? I guess the rationale is to have them completely weaned by 12 months... but it just seems so cruel!

It's completely illogical to me. I mean, i started off thinking i'd wean by 12 months... but after actually being there, i couldnt imagine it. I really don't know how some women do it.

Answer 4

I can explain this backward reasoning in one word: marketing. It's all about formula companies making money, and they publish skewed research and cleverly disguised educational material designed to sabotage breastfeeding. Then, when we try to point out the fallacies and inconsistencies, we're accused of being special interest groups and Nazis. What kind of benefit is there for us? It doesn't matter to me if you breastfeed your baby until she can drive a car or if you stuff her full of artificial food. The formula companies have a special interest, however. It's time that we stopped coddling the women who know that breast is best but are too lazy or selfish to learn how to do it. We need to reach the women who truly believe this bad advertising (comfort proteins? please . . .). The poor, uneducated women who believe that bottle feeding is better or the women who think that they will be tied down by breastfeeding. We need to teach them that they will be liberated by breastfeeding, and their babies will thank them someday.

Answer 5

I have no idea. I've wondered the same thing. By that rationalizaion I suppose when a baby starts saying ba-ba they are too old for a bottle too?

*rolls eyes* Some people

Answer 6

The reasoning behind the weaning when they get teeth is so that they don't do damage to the teeth, by decaying and/or altering the position of the teeth. True, they're baby teeth and going to fall out anyways, but a baby being on the bottle too long can alter the palatte of the mouth and that CAN do damage to the permenent teeth.

The reasoning behind being too old for the breast if they can ask for it, I believe, is partly because people don't want to view breasts as functional parts of the body....they want to view them as sexual, therefore, if your baby can ask for it, it 'doesn't look right.'

Answer 7

I don't agree with either....
As far as teeth, yeah, it can hurt (sorry to hear about yours, one poster!) but if a child were poking themselves in the tongue with a fork and hurting themselves, would you take away the fork and never give it to them again, or would you teach them to use it right?
As far as asking for it, if it's just like "I wanna nurse" or "I wanna feed" or something, that's ok.
I personally don't think it's cool when a kid (4+?) will go up to the mom and just pull up her shirt and go digging for the breast to eat, or be grabbing at the breasts whining about wanting to nurse. That's not as bad as the whole stop because of teeth, though.

Answer 8

i agree with Belinda

i have seen and heard those statements those statements posed here and they disgust me

i just cannot cannot cannot understand how mothers can be so flippant about something so important

Answer 9

If the child can drink from a cup then it is time to stop breast feeding!