Posted on 07/10/2002 5:53:23 AM PDT by chance33_98
How Old is Too Old to Breast Feed Your Child?
How Old is Too Old to Breast Feed Your Child? How old is too old to be breast feeding your child? A controversial case out of Illinois has re-ignited the debate. A young mother there is still breast feeding her eight-year-old. Should she be forced to stop?
Lynne Stuckey said she has been unfairly persecuted for doing something that is perfectly natural: breast feeding her son. But there's a twist - her son is now eight-years-old.
"I did nothing wrong with nursing my child. Kyle is my only son and I'm going to continue nursing him as long as he needs that and until he weens himself."
But child protection authorities did not agree. Her son Kyle was removed from her home for nearly six months and placed in foster care. Lynne and Kyle have undergone counseling and are reunited. Tuesday on Good Morning, America , she showed her face for the first time, saying accusations that the breast feeding was some kind of molestation are absurd.
"You don't nurse your child for yourself when that's something they are needing for comfort. When you do that, you're putting your child first."
An expert on Tuesday morning's show basically agreed, saying it's normal in some cultures for children to breast feed until they are five or six. But it may time for Kyle to be weened.
"There reaches an age when you have to help your child find more mature ways to comfort themselves," said the expert.
"This is a normal thing and people need to know that, and Kyle is a wonderful child," Stuckey said.
By speaking out, Lynne Stuckey said she fears the state may again move to take her child away. The American Academy of Pediatrics said roughly 20% of children are weened by age one, and the vast majority of toddlers are weened by age two.
What would be the medical reason? The woman appears to be healthy, and I assume the kid is, since, if he wasn't, I'm sure that info would be right up front. 
Eight years is extreme, to say the least.
OK, at what point does it become child abuse?
When the boy is 10, 12, 14?
When would YOU step in, (providing you could do it legaly)?
Or would you just ignore it?
Tough call, but obviously at some point something must be done (15, 17?)
Not me. In my opinion she's continuing to breastfeed for HER sake rather than her son's. While I don't believe her son should be taken away, I *do* believe this woman needs some guidance...breastfeeding at age 8 is considered incestuous, imho.
Think that what she is doing is acceptable? (I am not referring to 'legally permissable.')
One last thing before I get back to work; my Dad was born ('34) with 12 teeth and my Grandmother fed him for at least a year. Being this was during the Depression in West Texas, do you think that she could afford the bottle stuff?
Interesting. I wonder why my *non* breastfed daughter, at age 12, is doing 9th grade schoolwork. Interesting.
Dairy allergies for one. Plus God only knows what else is in dairy products that small children cannot process well.
No, that's the current recommendation. He just didn't bother to read beyond the sentance that supported his statement. The AAP recommendation goes on to say, "It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired.104 "
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