This is one of those articles which tells us more about people when you read the comments. Someone told the mum to ‘get some help for the sake of your son’.
Quite a few people are saying that he will get teased at school but in reality how many mums are going to tell their kids about it? And how many 6 year olds read the Star? What do you think?
The link is here – http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Breast-still-best-for-son.6657744.jp?CommentPage=2&CommentPageLength=10#comments
Breast still best for son aged six, says mum
Although the feeds Amanda Hurst give to son Jonathan are now only an occasional treat, she says she is happy to continue to breastfeed him in tandem with his little brother William, five months.
When Jonathan was three Amanda, from Hemingfield, Barnsley, decided he was too old to be breastfed but she found it hard to turn her son away, and says his interest was reignited when his little brother came along earlier this year.
Amanda, aged 29, said: “I know some people think it’s strange, but I think it’s perfectly natural. Jonathan is doing it less and less and it’s only a morning thing. I’m feeding William, Daddy’s gone to work and it’s cold, so I don’t want to get out of bed.
“But I’ve only tandem-fed them five or six times as it’s difficult. Jonathan has to lie alongside me and prop himself up.”
Amanda’s initial decision to breastfeed was based on simple economics, as she and husband Roy could not afford formula milk along with all the other costs of parenthood.
“I thought I would only do it for four months, then it was six months, and then he was a year, but he was still enjoying it, and I was too, so I just carried on,” she said.
She said she did try to stop when Jonathan turned three but he took the news badly and, after discussing it with Roy, they decided to continue, albeit no longer in public.
Amanda said she was not worried about any impact it could have on her son, insisting he is a confident, independent little boy and ‘lellow’ is only an occasional treat rather than a dependency.
She said she did not think the continuing desire for breastfeeding represented jealousy between him and his little brother – rather that William’s arrival had served as a reminder of what he was missing.
She said: “If you’d not had cake for three years and someone put a slice in front of you, you might want to have a bit.”
She revealed her own parents are among those who disagree with her approach. “There are people who find it hard to understand, including my mum and dad, but they respect me for standing up and being counted.
“It’s parenting, there is no manual, I don’t think there is a ‘right way’. I wouldn’t say to someone I think breast is best unless they asked me why I was breastfeeding. Everyone has the right to make decisions for themselves.”
Roy said: “I think it’s a subject that can be over-analysed. We hear the Government giving out advice on this and that, saying this is good, this is bad. People lose sight of making decisions for themselves.”
Amanda said: “My opinion is that you should carry on until the child doesn’t want it any more, within reason.
“I would like him to grow out of it.”
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