If this is the first time viewing this photo you might want to crawl out from under the rock you've been hiding under. It's been everywhere and on everything and been debated every which way on every tv and radio station. I'm imagining that maybe some of my readers have yet to see this photo or hear of this story.
Allow me to provide a brief synopsis, and by brief I mean brief.
Apparently, there is a brand of parenting out there termed "attachment parenting," which is essentially what it sounds like. Mothers choose to be with their children 24/7 which includes sleeping with their children, strapping infants to your body in a sling and extending breast feeding. To simplify - basically having the child up one's butt all the live long day. So go ahead, check out the picture. That is a 4 year old in a pair of cammo cargo pants standing on a chair suckling his mother's breast as if she were dairy cow.
Sorry, trying to stay unbiased here. Ahem.
I really wanted to give the breastfeeding mother the benefit of the doubt because like many women, I completely agree with breastfeeding. It's the reason why we have breasts. Contrary to popular belief, breasts were not invented to act as handles for men to hold on to. I know, shocker right? Boobs serve a purpose. Boobs feed babies food produced by the mother's body.
Come on! How cool is that!
We have the ability to create life, grow life, and sustain life once it's left our womb. If you ask me, that's pretty darn amazing.
I believe that breastfeeding gets people all worked up because OH MY GOD it's a boob and she's whipping it out IN PUBLIC to feed her hungry child. This sh*t freaks Americans out, but really, what's the big deal? The baby has got to eat.
On the other hand - and this is a HUGE other hand - my immediate, and I mean IMMEDIATE reaction to this photo wasn't a spoken word or a particular thought in my head. Some critics threw around negative terms like, "gross, pornographic, wrong," while other critics praised this mother with positive terms like "natural, and courageous."
My very first reaction to this photo was that it made my face crinkle in a "yuck" like formation. The same face one would make if stepping in dog poo, or taking out smelly garbage, or witnessing an overweight woman wearing daisy dukes and a crop top.....
You know the face....
I really, really, really wanted to stick up for this woman for holding strong to her convictions and doing what she thinks is right for her children but COME ON!!! The kid is four!! In my opinion if the child has teeth, then biologically the body is now prepared to chew food and breastfeeding time is over. In my opinion if the child utilizes utensils for his other meals then breastfeeding time is over. In my opinion if the child can physically pick up the chair, park it in front of his mother, climb upon it, lift her shirt and go to town.....breastfeeding time is O-VER.
Breastfeeding is for babies, and in my opinion, a four year old is no longer a baby.
I think this lady is pretty gross.
Thoughts?
Oh I have a thought. :) I fully support breastfeeding...I nursed both my kids to about a year, then I was done. If you want to nurse longer more power to you, but at a year I felt I was done. WHAT I think is really sad is that this woman thinks it is okay to exploit her child like this on the cover of Time magazine. Like this picture is never going to come back to haunt this poor child. If you decide to breastfeed your child it is a personal decision and you should not have to blast your face(boob) on the cover of time to let people know how cool of a mom you are. It is annoying.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you and Wholey World.
ReplyDeleteI'm a supporter of breastfeeding and hope one day to be able to breastfeed my future children. I have to draw the line somewhere, though. I think a child gaining independence is important and crucial to their developmental growth. I can see how deciding when to end breastfeeding is a personal choice, but I definitely think there comes a point when you just know, IT'S TIME.
I'm torn on this - I support this woman for sticking to her guns and raising her son the way she wants to without caring what others say. On the flip side, I just can't imagine doing that to your child. It's sad to say and maybe I'm wrong, but with all the problems we have with bullying going on I think the last thing a child needs to be picked on is the way in which he ate as a 4 year old.
I couldn't agree more. I also feel like the cover was used to be shocking and that the child will be damaged in his teen years. Interesting that she is so committed to being the best parent that she can be yet she hasn't considered the ridicule that he will surely face in middle/high school because of this photo. I think it's sad that this was the way that She/Time chose to address the topic.
ReplyDeleteEmily
Couldn't agree with you more. My favorite life coach - SheChanges https://www.facebook.com/pages/SheChanges/128103937200755 said yesterday on Facebook: "Wait! What? We're now eroticising nursing? Really? We're still at WAR and in the middle of a MASSIVE recession, right? Just checking... What a shame to waste our intellectual capital on this deeply personal topic. Am I alone? What are your thoughts on it?" http://ti.me/IW4Gfd
ReplyDeleteI think having teeth like you said is the tell all that something is a bit different here. I think this type of attachment can lead to raising a total weirdo. I mean . . . who is to say what is right or wrong. I mean . . . I've met grown men and I've thought, "Get off the tit buddy."
Very hot topic. I enjoyed your post. As always. <3
ANASTASIA :) I was cracking up reading the first paragraph - I'm that person living under a rock! I had not heard this story! Oh boy, and look at when you wrote the blog post! I'm REALLY under a rock. I so agree with you on this one!!!
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