Is Extended Breastfeeding a Problem or Solution?
"Time" magazine's new issue explores a trend in attachment parenting, including breastfeeding beyond babyhood, but a pediatrician at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore warns against creating codependencies in both parent and child.
Time magazine has glommed onto a trend called attachment parenting, which includes "extended breastfeeding," when a mother breastfeeds her child past infancy, babyhood, and into toddlerdom and older. The cover of its May 21 issue features a controversial photo of a mother who has one breast partially exposed as she breastfeeds her toddler. And the cover article focuses on Dr. Bill Sears who, along with his wife, Martha, wrote The Baby Book that has spawned a trend in attachment parenting. The trend includes co-sleeping and "baby wearing"—wearing your baby on your body in a sling, according to a "Behind the Cover" article by Karen Pickert in Time. "Some parents subscribe to his theory that attachment parenting ... is the best way to raise …
Becky D, RN
4:46 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
I couldn't have said it better! Well done! I for one am sick of hearing about extended breastfeeding. It is just what it is, extended past what is recommended. Parenting is about setting limits and boundaries. How backwards to let the child decide. Shame on you TIME for exploiting breastfeeding like this! Breast milk is for babies. NOT children.! more ›