Breastfeeding a six year old?

I’m just going to come out and say it: that this mom is still breastfeeding her six year old is not normal. If this family lived in a Third World nation in which there was virtually no food supply and breastfeeding was the only food source, I would completely understand the mom’s instinct to feed her child. But to breastfeed a six year old child simply for the purpose “soothing” him is bizarre. What’s wrong with a hug or a cuddle? What’s wrong with encouraging a kindergartener to use his own faculties to deal with frustration? The fact that this mom is encouraging him to use her breasts as his only comfort mechanism tells me she’s got some issues with letting her kids grow up and become independent from her. This goes way beyond breastfeeding an infant.  This has entered the realm of psychological maladjustment.

From what I understand, there aren’t any studies that measure the long term impact of long term breastfeeding but logic tells us these kids will probably have issues. For example, when the 12 year old – she’s almost a teenager, for Pete’s sake – still wishes she could still suckle at her mom’s breasts, there’s a problem here.

I feel sorry for the kids’ future spouses because the kids are being taught to rely someone else to comfort them when they have a problem or frustration.  Think about it. When a mom continues to clean her kids’ rooms or do their laundry when they’re old enough to do it themselves, she’s training her kids to treat their future spouses like maids. What do you think breastfeeding to sooth a six year old when he should be able to sooth himself will do?

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