Breastfeeding....how do you explain to small children?

Question

First off. let me make clear that I am very much a breastfeeding advocate. I breastfed both of my children well into toddlerhood. I read a lot of the breastfeeding posts on here just to get a general idea what people's opinions are. A recurrent thing that I see is people posting " I don't want my 5 year old seeing THAT" ( in reference to breastfeeding in public ) When my kids were small, a very simple explaination was sufficient when we ran into a nursing mother....so I guess, what I'm asking is....exactly what is the big deal?

Answer 1

I'm with ya, I'm disturbed by the number of people (particularly mothers) who have issues with children seeing a woman breastfeeding their baby. I've had a friend's 4yr old boy ask before, and it's such a simply reply. 'That's how babies eat'. He wasn't upset by seeing this, or uneasy, simply curious as he'd never seen a baby being breastfed before. Now he'll grow up being a normal, adjusted person as opposed to some overly conservative, repressed fanatic of 'modesty'.

Answer 2

If my kids see a mother breastfeeding a baby, their general response is "how cute the bubba's having booby". Thats if they notice at all, because it IS normal to them so they dont really pay attention to it. They are 6 and 4 years old.

They respond this way because they were both breastfed well into toddlerhood and still remember nursing. They also know that breastfeeding is how babies are fed.

The people that have a problem with their children seeing someone breastfeed are just so so sad. And they are perpetuating the idea that breastfeeding is a dirty somehow sexual perversion.
If kids were raised knowing that breastfeeding is normal and natural, and actually witnessing the beauty of it, then alot of these issues around breastfeeding and public breastfeeding would not be issues anymore. Its just very sad to think that these parents are wanting to 'protect' their child from something that is so natural and normal.

Answer 3

It's not a big deal if you aren't weirded out by breastfeeding. I am a breastfeeding advocate also. My daughter was 3 when my son was born and she completely understood and loved the whole breastfeeding idea. We talked about why puppies have nipples, what cows have udders for and why mommy feeds Jack with her nipples. But I am also of the mentality that a vagina is a vagina and a penis is a penis. And teaching your kids anything different is just silly.

Don't get me wrong, I blushed just as much as the cashier at the grocery store did when Abigail told her all about how I feed her baby brother with my big brown nipples. But at the same time I am glad that she isn't' embarrassed about natural bodily functions.

Answer 4

I don't see much of a big deal, although I think it should be covered up or at least partly, or turned around so they have some privacy, but of course, if I was the mother I wouldn't not feed my baby because of people around, the baby is top priority, especially to the mother and everyone else can just suck it up (not literally), 5 year olds that don't see that kind of thing will grow up thinking it is weird, so.. really 5 year olds should... maybe not see the breast feeding, but at least be taught about what the mother is doing, the child will probably assume the mother is doing something weird like a hug or a punishment

Answer 5

I don't know what the big idea is. If you want to breastfeed your kids until whatever age they are, then that is your business and good for you.
If my 5 year old saw someone breastfeeding, I would simple explain that the mommy is feeding her baby...exactly what she is doing, completely natural.

Answer 6

I never had to "explain". I nursed my son til he was 18months old. As he became older, he has seen other moms nurse, I just stated that that's how many Moms feed their babies. Totally accepted it, as did my daughter (who I couldn't nurse b/c she was born with a cleft lip/palate), and they never asked any more.

It's not a big deal. :) I was never one to say anything like "I don't want my 5 year old seeing THAT" because there is nothing wrong with "seeing THAT". There's nothing to see. :) People who make it such a big deal are rather pathetic. Adults need to grow up.

Answer 7

i don't see it as a big deal at all. i nursed my second son in front of my 2 yr old son. he asked what the baby was doing and i told him. all he said was "oh. okay" and went on his merry way. when my third was born, the others were 9 and 11. they still didn't have a problem with it. of course i was more discreet about it b/c of their ages but it never bothered them. my sister had a problem with it though. i wasn't allowed to nurse in front of her husband. she didn't have kids though so i think it made her uncomfortable. i think to many people correlate breast feeding with sex. weird huh? since they were originally made for food.

Answer 8

There are two types of people. First, there are those who understand that the human breast is designed to provide nutrition to babies, and we understand that babies get hungry regardless of where they are. Those folks would do well to explain to their small children that the baby is feeding, and that the mother is happy to provide food for her child.

The other kinds of people are those small minded wierdos who think a nipple in public is the dawning of hellfire and that surely there will be buttcheeks and who-knows-what if we let nipples be seen. Those folks are mental midgets, and belong to a group I fondly refer to as born-again-stupid.

Answer 9

It's only a big deal because breasts have become sexual objects. People sem to have forgotten they are to feed a baby and not just a play thing for men.

Answer 10

It's not a big deal to me - my son and I would sing

'Boobin' boobin' boobin'
Keep that baby boobin'
Keep that baby boobin'
Chub him up!
Chub him up, chub him down
Chub him all around
Chub him up!'

Sung to the tune of "Rawhide". :) Silly, I know...but my son was very interested in his little brother being fed, so we made it fun.

He knew (at 3) that Mommy's breasts made milk for the baby, and that was how the baby ate, got stronger and grew and grew! (but it was very hard for him to say breasts, as he can't say Rs and can't do complex combinations with his consonants, so we called them boobs...easier)