Hi everyone! I'm back from speaking at a breastfeeding conference in Winnipeg. I just want to publically thank the organizers, Shirley Phillips and Pat Martens, for organizing a WONDERFUL conference. The meeting rooms were great, the AV equipment all worked, all the speakers began and ended right on time (a major feat), even the food was excellent. Intersting themes emerged from the conference speakers' presentation, even though we didn't coordinate them in advance, including: be skeptical of research and always read critically, and don't be prescriptive to mothers. I managed to shake a few people up with my presentation on "A Time to Wean" which is always a good thing, and to lend support to women who are themselves nursing children well beyond toddlerhood, or who support other women who are. One of the attendees, Rhoda Taylor, had what I thought was a brilliant suggestion -- she pointed out that it was difficult for mothers of young children who are nursing them long-term to speak out about it, for fear of censure or even of having their children taken away from them by overzealous social workers, but that those whose children are now grown up and who have turned out just fine, have nothing to lose (no one's going to "take away" their 25 year old) and should be more vocal about telling people that this child is the result of attachment parenting, including nursing past toddlerhood, co-sleeping, etc. So I challenge all those of you who have grown children to be more outspoken about it! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D. email: [log in to unmask] Anthropology Department phone: (409) 845-5256 Texas A&M University fax: (409) 845-4070 College Station, TX 77843-4352