Weaning A Four-Year-Old

Dear parent,

Belief is not a good ground from which to make decisions. Believing me or anyone else can only take you away from your own wisdom. You must act from inside of you, trusting yourself and doing what is most kind in your reality. You are your own child too. Love yourself and take your needs into account while observing lovingly to see the value of breastfeeding for your child.

Search inside for your own wisdom by asking yourself a few questions. Do you think your child needs to breastfeed? (I could only tell you if I saw the two of you.) Is the nutrition crucial for her? Is she getting nutritious whole foods? Is the emotional connection through this physical experience nurturing to her? Ask yourself what you want for her and for yourself. Would you like to continue breastfeeding? Would you like to wean her? Would you like to reduce the amount of breastfeeding? Is she breastfeeding so much out of boredom? Jealous of a younger sibling? Feeling insecure about your love? Unable to get your attention in other ways?

A four-year-old is not a toddler. I cannot know specifically about your daughter’s needs. In most situations, a four-year-old could continue breastfeeding but it is not crucial for her physical or emotional well-being (unless circumstances cause it to be important.) Can you create changes in the areas that cause her to be so focused on breastfeeding? Is it the only or best way for her to get your attention? Can you give her care and attention in other ways? Can you provide more opportunities for her to get excited about, activities, arts, friends? Could she be bored? Lonely?

Be kind to yourself, and know that at age four, you can easily reduce breastfeeding down to sleep time and morning or even wean her. Bring other activities and joys into your child’s day and make sure there are no anxieties or other emotional needs driving her intense occupation with breastfeeding.

If you would like to discuss it will me in more detail, I can assist you in figuring out what is best for your child. In a phone session, we can discover the reason behind her preoccupation with breastfeeding and I can guide you toward a natural weaning that is as much of her interest as it is yours. To book a phone session: http://authenticparent.com/guidance.html

Warmly, Naomi Aldort http://authenticparent.com/