Today for lunch, breasts that taste like vanilla ice cream, and/or how old is *too* old? “I want my nummies?” Nom, nom, nom?
Kelly O—formerly a Stranger staff photographer, music writer, Drunk of the Week columnist, and more!—finished art school and a soul-crushing internship at a corporate advertising agency in Detroit,... More by Kelly O
Okay, I’m guilty, I must sexualize breasts…because I am disturbed.
What kind of fucked-up parent puts their kid on TV talking about this? Now this clip will follow him for life.
I wonder if Mom is still changing her 12 year old’s diapers? That is just as natural, right?
20/20 has always been the “sexual panic” show. I still remember the sight of Diane Sawyer (the worst human being who ever lived) doing a horror story about “sexualized kids” that featured a bunch of 15-year-old boys giggling over a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue that SAWYER GAVE THEM, as proof that our children are being perverted by the media. The boys admitted on TV that they thought about sex — proof!
The proper function of breasts is neither nursing nor sex; they are for strapping into Grandma-style giant girdle-brassieres and never seeing the light of day.
I’m thankful, personally for two things.
1. That my mother breastfed me.
2. That I don’t remember it.
biddy
I think teeth are the cutoff. Once they have teeth, they should not be breastfeeding.
Who gives a shit how long she does it? She’s not forcing him, is she? The kid seems pretty normal.
Leave people alone to do what they want with each other, as long as no one’s being harmed.
How is this stupid show any different from Marlee “Goat Sucker” Ginter’s shame filled tirade about (gasp!) people having SEX?
@7 teeth are a good milestone, another is when junior can unbutton mom’s blouse all by himself–time for solid food!
Who fucking cares? Who is being harmed by this? Meh.
My erection is being harmed, Violet. Don’t you CARE?
@7 & 9
When junior begins using a salt shaker on the nipple then perhaps it is time for solid food.
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who realizes this isn’t a big deal. No one’s being harmed, and us freaking out about it is just as bad as the comments found on *gasp* straight mainstream websites whenever they mention homos.
Who fucking cares (10) is right. Sometimes I like to think those like myself on the left are more tolerant, but the fact that you put this up on Slog suggests otherwise. Kelly O, are you a parent who’s had to make decisions on weaning? I’m guessing no. So stop passing judgement on those who know what they are doing and shut the fuck up. You’re making it worse for folks with toddlers who breast feed.
That poor kid is screwed.
@12 – Perhaps when the toddler shows up with the bottle of chocolate syrup – time for solid food.
@16,
Or, when he orders a gin & tonic he should stop. After a while, he’ll start unbuttoning other women’s blouses.
@5 kind of raises an interesting corollary question: If you remember taking nourishment from breasts, will that affect how you interact with them come adolescence? Positively or negatively? Perhaps there will be less of the mystical wonder of the booby if it was still part of your life as nourisher once permanent memories are formed.
Someone ask Charles!
8, 10, 13, 14: Weaning is what is natural. What’s not natural is not making your offspring wean onto solid food. While it doesn’t make them physically dependent, they still feel emotionally dependent on the adult for nuturing in the form of the breast. Mommy may start pushing junior away when he’s 14, but he’ll still be living at home when he’s 30. “Nothing wrong with it,” sure, except for severe social retardation.
@7,9 Some babies are born with teeth. Getting teeth has nothing to do with weaning age. Nobody who has nursed kids would ever say something so stupid. And its not breastmilk OR solid food. You feed them both.
gross
@4 sounds sexy to me.
@19, where do you come up with this shit? I’m no world traveler, but I can tell you that outside of America a lot of people raise their babies quite differently than we do here, and they come out great. My good friend in high school was born in the US to parents from India. They nursed him and his brother until they were 6. They’re both kick ass, brilliant, successful adults. My cousin married a woman from India, and I have no idea how long she breast fed their kid, but I do know she massages their kid for 20-30 minutes every day. A lot of Americans might think that’s weird and pervy and creates a needy softy mama’s boy, but the kid (who’s now 5) is one of the most well adjusted, polite, socially comfortable kids I know. And last example, I lived in Honduras briefly, and the women there (in the village I stayed in) all breast fed their kids until the kids were 5 or 6. The kid stayed with mom all day, constantly. They also started drinking coffee at breakfast at age 3. The point is everyone does it differently, and the kids come out fine. There are infinitely many ways to fuck a kid up, and infinitely many ways to raise a kid with love and care. People love to point the finger and say what’s right and what’s fucked up, but all they’re really saying is what they consider normal. Step outside your bubble, there’s nothing wrong with breast feeding an older kid.
and if you’re going to posit that late breast feeding creates socially retarded adults, cite a fucking study dipshit.
Vanilla ice cream? Really! Breasts just became a little more sexualized for me.
I weaned mine at 4-1/2. He wasn’t ready, I was. He still has his grope-and-snuggle moments (at 6).
He’s a remarkably kind, secure, mature, and NORMAL kid—though he reads above 6th grade level. Of course, that’s all due to my bodacious boob juice.
He got teeth at 7 months. I can’t even imagine weaning a kid that young.
@24
ahhh and you cite studies in your diatribe?
Is everyone here missing the obvious… perhaps.. Dad wants his fun bag back.
It’s not a choice between milk and solid food, and there are documented health benefits of human milk even after the child learns to eat solid food. Most primates wean when the adult teeth come in – baby teeth used to be called “milk teeth”. Many people still don’t force weaning. They let it happen whenever the child is ready, just as our ancestors did for 3 million years, and magically everyone turns out just fine (except for the ones who let themselves be used as a TV freak show.)
I’m not passing judgement, just curious what cha’ all think. How ’bout 8 years old?
“I would rather have lots of breast milk than a million melons…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxv6R9fUO…
@20 – beth, whoa. You caught me, I’ve never nursed a child! But I have been bitten by small children before and I’m not super keen on getting my nipples chomped off, which is what I imagine would happen (even if that’s not the case, which I presume it isn’t, or no one would do it).
@ all militant toddler-nursing mothers (and fans) on this thread: I’m not judging, I’m just being silly. We all are. It’s human nature to poke fun at things which aren’t familiar. Feel free to educate the ignorant mob, but for goodness’ sake, calm down.
For some reason, TV does this story every six or eight months. Interesting to see they do it in Britain too. I suspect they put it on the schedule well in advance. “Time for a breast story!”
Yeah, it’s strange to hear the older girls in the British video say they’ll never stop, but the mom sounded perfectly reasonable to me – she knows they’ll eventually be done because that’s how it works. (The one who said the melon thing had weaned when she was 5, which is pretty average, species-wide.)
Hey can we talk about insane SUV sized strollers next?
@33: I suspect that’s something upon which we can all agree.
Breastfeeding a 6 year old may be normal and common in some cultures and I’m sure it has no adverse effects. The problem here is it’s not common, and that poor kid is going to get harassed at school and for the rest of his life. That might possibly outweigh the comfort he is getting now as a “toddler”.
How can you say this kid looks normal? He’s a red-head!