I remember it well. My dd was around 4. It created such a stir in another parenting forum (elsewhere on the net) that mothers were weaning their toddlers because of the fear that it created<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad">. Trolls came out of the woodwork to tell us how sick we were. It was something unheard of before it happened, so the public reacted in strange ways. I'm thankful that respondentmother let the world know that breastfeeding a school-age child does happen, especially since she faced it without any amount of humility or regret (which resonated with me), but I am deeply saddened by the fear that it created in mothers.<br><br>
You can either see her experience as positive or negative. You can let it scare you into weaning your child before he is ready, or you can take strength from it and let it help you fight ignorance eye-to-eye. She didn't let anyone bully her into changing what she knew was right.<br><br>
My guess is that there are far more mothers than we know who breastfeed their school-age children. This is only ONE case. This one case is the exception to the rule, not the rule. Just like anything in life, there are risks that go along with anything, especially if you deviate from the "norm" (which changes with time as we all know), but that shouldn't scare anyone into conforming.<br><br>
I admired her strength, and I took strength and courage from her situation. It did make me more cautious when before I was clueless (how could they do that?!), but most of all it gave me courage and strength knowing that I was not alone and that breastfeeding (and co-sleeping) is worth standing up for. I feel sorrow for the people who think that breastfeeding and sleeping with a child (at any age) is wrong. They obviously never got to feel that kind of comfort and love as a child or parent. It is a sad society we live in when parents are expected to make their children as detached as possible from themselves, then expect them to grow up as secure confident loving adults.<br><br><br>
BTW, if my Mom said things like that to me, especially with dd around, I would tell her that it was none of her business, that <b>I</b> am my child's mother (not her), and that she needs to stop. <i>You don't have to take it</i>. Hopefully her love for you will outweigh her ignorance, and maybe she will even want to learn, but you don't have to take anyone's criticism or threats. Breastfeeding is a relationship between you and your child, nobody else.