Time Cover

[amanda6035]

Heli-moms, is this you?

[33girl]

I was wondering when this would make its way here.

IMO, any mom who believes they are doing the best thing for their child with "attachment parenting" would not exploit their child or themselves in such a gauche way.

[AnotherKD]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I was wondering when this would make its way here.

IMO, any mom who believes they are doing the best thing for their child with "attachment parenting" would not exploit their child or themselves in such a gauche way.

The mom is a model... and forgive me for saying so, but as a whole, models tend to have a pretty healthy dose of self esteem. I can't believe that they had the picture of the boy's face full on and didn't at least have him turn to her so his face wasn't so apparent. I echo that Google is forever and he will not appreciate it when he's older.

I don't have kids, so I don't have a dog in this fight. That being said, I know way too many people that are fans of attachment parenting. Two people I grew up with are doulas. Another sleeps with all 3 of her children (I think the oldest is around 8). Yet another still breastfeeds, and her child is 6. SIX. If they're in first grade, I don't think they still need it.

[KSUViolet06]

Do not get me started on attachment parenting or the AP crazies I met in my preschool work days.

The prevailing wisdom is that if you don't breastfeed Bobby til age 3 or co-sleep until like kindergarten, he will grow up to hotwire cars and be a delinquent.

Breastfeeding is great and there is nothing wrong with letting your kids sleep with you every now and then, but the judgement that comes out of AP and Dr. Sears fanaticism is ridiculous. Like, I've seen women say that they actually don't breastfeed or that their 18 month old sleeps in his own room full time and have other women look at them like they just said "I plan to barbecue him once we get him fat enough."

[dekeguy]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

... have other women look at them like they just said "I plan to barbecue him once we get him fat enough."

======================================

I have heard of 'roast kid' but that seems a bit extreme.

[Sciencewoman]

Well, at least she's keeping her figure trim by maintaining her high metabolism due to continued breastfeeding.

[DZTurtle11]

I find this whole thing disturbing. I know that since I'm not a parent I can't totally understand, but there is something odd about women who do this at such a late age. I keep wondering what types of issues he'll have when he gets older. Maybe he won't have any issues, but there seems to be a reason why the majority of women stop breast feeding after a certain age/period.

Even if this is healthy, is it really appropriate to put it on a magazine cover like this? Is nothing private anymore? I get it's natural, but so is going to the bathroom and I hope that isn't on the cover next week. It's all just bad taste.

[thetalady]

I have never had kids, so I might not have a full comprehension of this whole thing. My opinion, though, is that when the kid is old enough that he asks for a sandwich with his "milk", time to stop the breast feeding!

Magazine cover totally exploiting the situation and unneccessary.

[ZTAngel]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

Well, at least she's keeping her figure trim by maintaining her high metabolism due to continued breastfeeding.

Seriously. The thinnest I've ever been was while I was nursing. I also had a nice bust line to go with it. It was awesome!

I nursed my son until he was 9 months. I was working full-time also which was NOT easy to do. I would have liked to continue until he was a year, but my son got the whole family sick with the Ebola virus or something (horrible HORRIBLE stomach flu) and my milk supply tanked since I basically didn't eat for about 3 days. I was sad because I really did enjoy nursing. The benefits of breast milk are undeniable. And it's a hell of a lot cheaper than formula!!! By the age of one, toddlers are capable of absorbing nutrients from regular table foods. That's when they move onto to whole milk rather than formula since their bodies no longer need the nutrients in formula. For me personally, I've never understood nursing past the age of one. It's not really a nutritional supplement at that point since food provides it. Sure, breast milk provides antibodies but kids at age one are typically past that scary age when a little virus (like RSV) could send them to the hospital for two weeks. A lot of the AP moms say that nursing brings comfort and consolation to their children. That's what hugging and cuddling are for, IMHO. When you continue nursing well into the toddler years, I think it becomes more for the benefit of the mother rather than the child. To each their own, I guess....

That poor kid is on the cover of a national magazine breastfeeding. His classmates will never let him live it down when he gets to middle school.

[OneHeartOneWay]

I'm not an AP mom, but for the sake of adding to the conversation, The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until age 2. The American Pediatrics Association and/or other similar organizations here have lowered that to make 6 months/ 1 year the "acceptable norm" in American society. From the (limited) research I have done, in most other developed countries, the "acceptable norm" is much closer to 2 than 1. As far as why most/many moms say breastfeeding is enjoyable, it's not because of nipple stimulation or anything like that; the woman's body releases pleasure hormones (endorphines, I believe) while breastfeeding- it's nature's way of trying to help moms be okay with having a baby attached to the nipple every 2-3 hours!

Now, all that said, I breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, and then quit completely at 9 months when pumping became too much for me as a full time working mom. My plan (funny how most parenthood related plans fall by the wayside when the time comes!) was to breastfeed until 1, and continue to pump and give in a sippy cup as long as my supply lasted. I, while recognizing everything I stated above and the proven nutritional benefits, was also "grossed out" by the thought of my baby walking up to me and asking for milk. I'm pregnant again; I guess my plan will be the same as last time, and who knows how long I'll go this time.

I agree that the greater discussion here is that every parent should do what's best for them and their child(ren). I also agree that I take much great offense to the headline than the actual picture- we are ALL "mom enough." and most of all, I agree that I just feel sorry for that kid when he's older and that picture is discovered by his classmates!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by OneHeartOneWay

I'm not an AP mom, but for the sake of adding to the conversation, The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until age 2.

Since it is the WORLD Health Organization, wouldn't they take into account when making this recommendation that safe and healthy formula is really really hard to find and completely out of the price range of mothers in many parts of the world? I mean obviously if you're in the middle of an insect-ridden swamp with no running water it's probably best to breast feed as long as you can. That isn't the case here.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by OneHeartOneWay

I agree that the greater discussion here is that every parent should do what's best for them and their child(ren).

But it cannot only be about that.

Societies have what are considered normative behaviors and laws. If a mother (in societies in which breastfeeding is such a hot nipple topic) said that she breastfeeds her 12 year old child, would people say "well, that must be what works for them, as long as the child is happy and seems healthy"? I think people would challenge this notion that the child is both happy and healthy despite what the mother claims.

[DubaiSis]

I think the whole breastfeeding thing is such a bizarrely hot button issue. My sister-in-law couldn't breast feed because it just simply wasn't working. Having a new born losing weight is just not a good idea, so she had to stop. And the "planning to barbecue her thing" was what she got a lot of because she preferred to have a healthy child instead of an attached at the nipple one. If you can breast feed for a year, that's great, but once the kid can walk up to you to ask for it, nuh uh.

And sleeping in Mom and Dad's bed occasionally can be a treat for everyone, but a child should have their own space from day 1. Of course, how are you ever going to be a successful heli-parent if you let your child out of your reach for 8 hours a night? Maybe it's being 1 of 5 kids, but we just couldn't do it and I do think the independence we were given from birth probably lead the way to us being independent adults who don't have milk obsessions. I've known at least one adult who had an unhealthy attachment to milk. I would love to know if he was breast fed and for how long.

[KSUViolet06]

There was a GCer (I forget who) who posted about getting a similar reaction after having to stop breastfeeding early due to a cancer scare. That's appalling.

I do have a couple friends who are parents and they accuse Time of perpetuating "mompetition" with the headline.

[Greek_or_Geek?]

I find it hard to believe that a mother who "cares" so much about her child to continue to breast feed them so long thinks nothing of exploiting them by putting them on the cover of a magazine like this. The kid's going to grow up. Google is forever. He's not going to think this is cute in a few years.