| You are of course entitled to your own opinion.. And it is also the opinion that breastfed children can tend to be more overly bonded than non-breastfed children. That however does not mean the child is wimpy or whatever.
And the thought of an infant being overly dependent is sort of silly.... They are completely dependent.. Now a breastfed 4 year old, yeah that is a massive problem in my opinion. That is overly dependent, that is a weird attachment sort of issue.. A child under 2, not so much. They are still babies after all. And if you are concerned that it is the comfort that breastfeeding gives, that makes a child wimpy... Well Ive got news for you, they will if not in breastfeeding, find it elsewhere. Sucking their thumb, pacifiers, a favorite stuffed animal or blanket.. Its all the same concept really..
But there are many many positives linked to breastfeeding that do not involve attachment issues. And I think it is unfair to basically that a woman who breast feeds past a year is in a sense, automatically an overbearing Mother. The two are not linked. And if you were to ask me why I plan to keep breastfeeding past a year it has absolutely nothing to do with me "giving in" to my daughters every whim, or that I want to form this weird bond, or anything hinky. It is because it is comforting to her, she feels safe and warm (which is something every parent I am sure wants for their child, to find comfort in them) and it is for the health aspect. I have a child who has barely had more than 2-3 small colds, that lasted for less than 2-3 days. Whereas I have friends who have children all around the same age as mine, and have chosen not to breastfeed, and had sick kids all last winter. From ear infections, to the flu, to RSV, and so on, that would leave their little ones sick for weeks at a time.
Ive also seen "wimpy" children and I don't always think or assume it has to do with the parents 100%. Children do very much have their own personalities that I believe for some part, they are just born with. In fact we have a niece, who has an extremely overbearing Mother, who was not breastfed at all.
All that being said... My fella would LOVE for me to stop breastfeeding at a year old... Would love love love it. Not because he thinks it is inappropriate, or gross or anything of that nature, but because he would love to have my boobs back to being his... haha.. In his words.. But he also appreciates the health aspects, and the security it gives my daughter.
But don't get me wrong, you didn't offend me with your opinion. I just don't agree with your basis that it is breastfeeding that purely and only leads to being overly dependent. There are many factors. |