Time’s Breastfeeding 4-Year-Old Made Famous By Attachment Parenting Has ‘Self-Weaned’ – Finally

1_1200521v1_cnnRemember when mom blogger Jamie Lynne Grumet posed for the cover of Time magazine breastfeeding her 3-and-a-half-year-old son and the Internet exploded? Good times. You probably never really want to hear about her family’s eating habits again, but I thought you’d like to know that her son has “self-weaned.” He’s four.

Her first adopted son just weaned as well. He just turned five. I personally don’t really care how long someone decides to breastfeed their child – because it’s none of my business. I do think it was an interesting decision to pose her damn near grade-school aged child, on the cover of Time magazine. The pose was bizarre, and the whole thing just reeked of an “Attachment Parenting” PR stunt. Well, whoever thought of it is genius because it worked. I had no idea what Attachment Parenting was before I saw it.

I’m an advocate of breastfeeding. Well, let me clarify – I’m an advocate of women feeding their children in whatever way they see fit, which means I clearly support breastfeeding as well. I did it with my first child. I plan on doing it with my second. My first weaned at about 9 months which was fine with me because he was getting a lot of teeth and he was a biter. Also, it was impossible to keep up with his demand because I was back to working full time.

But I digress. Back to this cover and Attachment Parenting. We pretty much all do it. Have you read the “eight principles of Attachment Parenting?” Prepare for pregnancy, feed with love and respect, respond with sensitivity, use nurturing touch – I’m pretty sure we’re all doing that. Somewhere along the lines “feeding with love and respect” turned into “breastfeeding until your child knows his times tables.” I don’t get that. What’s the point? I hate to say it, but at times it feels like these mothers are doing it to make a statement more than anything else.

Remember Mayim Bialik’s divorce? One of the first statements she made about it was to ensure the public that it had nothing to do with her Attachment Parenting practices. Um, okay. I’ll bite. I’m sure not sharing a bed with your husband since your children were born didn’t affect your relationship at all. If he’s a eunuch. If not – I call bullshit. And if I hear that bogus the average global breastfeeding weaning age is four argument again I’m going to freak. Can someone please find me a source to back up that claim?

Anyway, I’m glad her child finally weaned. He can go to first grade without crying for the boob. Success!

(photo: Time.com)

 

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