How old is too old to be breastfeeding?

Question

Someone said that the ages for a child to stop breast feeding is between 3 to 7 yrs old the absolute maximum being 8 yrs old. I don't know if it's because I didn't breastfeed or if I'm just ignorant but doesn't it seem a little weird to still be breastfeeding a child that can walk and talk as good as you can? Just wondering.

Answer 1

Anything over 12 months is repulsive in my honest opinion. I went to school with a boy that drank breast milk (in his oatmeal, on cereal, etc) until he was 17!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

In my opinion 12-18 months is a good time to start, I didnt want a child running up to me and wanting to nurse.. i found it weird. So I stopped at 15 months with my first son.

Answer 3

I think If they're like 2 it is time to stop. But then again I'm not a mother. I just think it is creepy if they can eat solid food and drinking breast milk.

Answer 4

I think that 3-5 is the max, but thats justme. 2 years is healthy

Answer 5

The 3-7 years idea comes from research done by Kathryn Dettwyler, an anthropology professor at Texas A&M University who has headed several studies on long-term breastfeeding.  

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/dettwyler....

She believes breastfeeding for several years is a biological norm for humans, even if our cultural values are otherwise.  In many places around the world, people do routinely breastfeed this long.  The World Health Organization reports the worldwide average for breastfeeding as 4.2 years.

Answer 6

I plan on breastfeeding until at least a year, now I have contemplated pumping after that but that all depends on how my child reacts to milk. Some children can not drink cow's milk.

I see no reason why a mother shouldn't express her milk if the child prefers it, but I do not agree with allowing the child to actually breastfeed when they are over the age of 2. In this country it is not the norm and children pick up on that and it may embarrass them. I say that b/c I use to work at a daycare during the summer where a mother would come in once a day and breastfeed her son, he was 5 and he did not like it. Sometimes he would tell her "no mama I don't want milk", but she would still insist.  

Answer 7

i stopped with my son at 16 months, 2 yrs old i would think should be the max. my daughter i stopped at 9 mos.  

Answer 8

2 of my kids had weaned them selves by 15 months, the other had to be forcebly removed at 18 months....  

Answer 9

Yes I would stop around 1 year.

Answer 10

when they can walk up and say feed me and lift up ur shirt, ive seen that and its nasty!

Answer 11

Personally, I would say 2 is the limit.  After that, they just don't seem like babies anymore.  

Answer 12

I think you should stop at age 2 or 3! Because anytime after that is  too old! One time i kid you not i saw this 6 year old girl get in her moms lap and pull her breast out and start sucking on it! I think she was 2 dam big to be doing that!!! So i suggest 2 or 3!!

Answer 13

I really think it's a personal decision for each family to make. The World Health Organization as well as many others suggest breastfeeding for at least 2yrs. I know that I don't want my son having any formula so I will be breastfeeding for at least a year then take it from there.

Answer 14

i personally think that once they are over a year and a half they should be weened. i agree that it seems weird for older children to still be breastfeeding.

Answer 15

"Too old" is when either mother or baby want to stop.  

Walking and talking are NOT reasons to stop breastfeeding. Just because a child can walk and talk (most can do so by 12-18 months) doens't mean he can't benefit from the nutrition, immuniites and bonding that comes from breastfeeding.

In contemporary western society, it's quite uncommon for children to nurse much past 18-24 months, and VERY rare to nurse much past 3 or 4.  In other societies and other times, practices were (and still are) different, and children may breastfeed until 5 or 6, or even older, and nobody thinks anything of it.  Neither pattern is 'wrong' -- they're just different.

Most reliable sources say that 12-24 months is the MINIMUM time a child should be breastfed (if possible), and there is no harm to nursing longer if mother and child wish it. Of course older children also get other foods and drinks -- they don't exist solely on breastmilk.

Families do what works for them, and as long as no-one is being harmed, it's none of anyone else's business.

EDIT:  Some sources state that the 'world wide average' is 4.2 years -- but that appears to be an urban myth.  I've searched (oh how I've searched ...) for years for the primary source of that figure, and have never found it.  It MAY come from a misreading of Dettwyler's research, but every source I've seen that quotes it cites (if they cite at all) another secondary source.

EDIT #2:  Of course you are entitled to your opinion, and opinions are not wrong or right.   Just be clear about what is opinion and what is fact.   "It seems weird to me for a 4 year old to be breastfeeding" is a legimate opinion.  "4 years should not breastfeed because it's sick and perverted,"  (which I know you didn't say, but others have...) is NOT an opinion, but is a non-factual statement.  (And, "I think it's sick and perverted to breastfeed a 4 year old", while an 'opinion' .. is an unnecessarily inflammatory opinion.)  I would not be comfortable breastfeeding a child that age myself.  But I recognize that other people feel differently, and since I know that it isn't a bad thing to do  -- not my affair.

Answer 16

well I think there is a difference between actually breastfeeding, and giving breast milk. I know it is healthy, so if you want to pump and put it in a cup or something to drink at an older age, ok. But to have them latch on and suck it from you??? I think it is a little inappropriate personally.