http://www.nypost.com/seven/08232007/entertainment/for_coddled_tots__ta
ps_never_r.htm

FOR CODDLED TOTS, TAPS NEVER RUN DRY
By MANDY STADTMILLER
C-O-D-D-L-E-D: Gwen Stefani still nurses her 15-month-old son.I love when 
stars breast feed their children, it's really entertaining...
posted by nyClick here to commentAugust 23, 2007 -- ‘ONE of my friends’ 
sons pulled on his mother’s skirt at a party with friends while she was in mid-
conversation, pointed at her breast and said, ‘Milk, mama, I want milk,’ ” 
recalls Darran, a 37-year-old in Manhattan. 

“Another friend of a friend breastfed her daughter until the age of 6,” he 
continues. “No joke!” 

We’re not laughing. These little New Yorkers are only part of what some 
consider overcoddling - Peter Pan syndrome in embryo. Gwen Stefani just 
revealed that she’s still nursing her 15-month-old son, Kingston, and Kate 
Hudson is regularly snapped wheeling around her tyke, Ryder, in a stroller. He’s 
almost 4 years old. 

When are these children going to grow up? 

“I was at a Gristede’s in Midtown,” reports Steve, 34, from Manhattan. “There 
was a lady with an older toddler in a stroller shopping. The kid was clutching 
his ‘woobie,’ sucking on a pacifier. Then he got up from the stroller, the 
woman placed her shopping bags into it, and the kid pushed the stroller out of 
the store.” 

Not everyone, however, gets so worked up about it, pointing out that the 
longer you breastfeed, the better it may be for the child - and strollers can 
keep kids safe from cars, bikes and other urban dangers. 

“It’s unfair to presume that mothers who breastfeed for extended periods of 
time are ‘coddling,’ ” says Jacqueline, 30, from Brooklyn. “For one thing, the 
American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends breastfeeding for two 
years, if possible. As for Kate Hudson, even a big child’s legs are lot shorter 
than an adult’s. Since when does early childhood have to be boot camp?” 

We’re not looking to draft the little ones just yet, but surely a bit of self-
reliance is a good thing? Krissy, a 26-year-old nanny in Brooklyn Heights, once 
had a 6-year-old approach her with, “Wipe my butt,” and then followed this 
request with: “I like it better when someone does it for me.” 

Of course, it does help to have a sense of humor. 

“In our circle of friends with kids, the general rule is that if your toddler can 
say the word ‘breast,’ they are too old to be breastfed,” says Jim, 39, of 
Manhattan. “That rule has been overridden by one of my male friends. At a 
party recently, he revealed that this strategy is a win-win for all, since the kid 
gets extra vitamin D and he gets double-D’s.” 

Overall, advises iVillage parenting expert Michele Borba, “There’s a real 
difference between mothering and smothering. 

“Follow the commandment: Never do for your child what the child can do for 
him- or herself. Because then you are robbing the child of the ‘I can do it’ 
feeling.” 

Not to mention creeping out the rest of us. 



This is what I sent to the editor:
To whom it May Concern:

I am sure this will not be the only letter you receive regarding this, but I just 
want to express my disappointment in the article, FOR CODDLED TOTS, TAPS 
NEVER RUN DRY, By MANDY STADTMILLER.
On a day when any article you print about breastfeeding should have been on 
the fact that yesterday, Elliot Spitzer signed into law legislation protecting the 
rights of mothers in the workplace, instead it is an article riddled with passive 
aggressive humor at mothers who choose to breastfeed beyond what our 
society sees as a normal age.
I would like to point out that this new law protects a mother for three years 
after she gives birth, so then they must have taken into consideration the 
benefits of extended breastfeeding. 
I have heard this statement so many times by people who like to think they 
are funny, the statement along the lines that once a baby can say breasts, 
its time to wean, does not make it so. First off, due to the fact that numerous 
reliable studies have shown that breastfed children have higher IQ's, we must 
take into consideration that they may speak sooner than others. So we should 
wean them because they are smart? 
Also the person who is uncomfortable with seeing the natural process of a 
woman breastfeeding her child should remove himself or herself the situation. 
Then maybe look within to identify what issues they have that something so 
trivial and natural would cause them such angst.

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