On this same note...I have a 15 yr old ninth grade boy. In his honors
english class (in which there is a total of 2 boys), they evidently had
what sounded like a fairly sophisticated discussion regarding "wet
nurses" and breastfeeding. During the discussion one participant said
that they didn't think that it was right for someone to breastfeed a
baby that was not their baby because it was not the mother's own
milk......Another child then responded that "we drink cow's milk and we
are not cows!"
And yet another piped in that "yes, but we don't suck the milk from the
cow's teet" lol
From the dialogue that my son shared with me, the conversation became
quite in depth and many of the points presented by these 14 and 15 year
old kids were incredibly insightful!
Most adults seem to have some sort of opinion on breastfeeding...even if
they are not aware of it, which is the culmination of several years of
biases, judgments and life experiences on all levels. Maybe the kids
are the ones that we should be exposing to the benefits and natural
design of breastfeeding. Their minds are open, ready to absorb
information and free of most of the biases of society. Our children are
obviously able to accept the information and assimilate, organize and
discuss it in a very open and intelligent way.
And, as the appropriate ending to this insightful, intelligent
discussion.....my 15 year old son very proudly announced that his mom
is "on the breast team"! ....at the local hospital.
These posts are evidence that there is hope for our future!
Susan CPNP
MomtoLJ wrote:
> This sounds wonderful.
>
> I have to give myself a kudos on this same vein. I teach 6th grade,
> English, in an inner-city school. Breastfeeding is either viewed as
> normal (from those kids who are 1st generation) or sick, but I talk
> about it very naturally, and it just works its way into the
> conversation. This week we were talking about propaganda, persuasion
> techniques, and evidence needed when writing, etc. including the idea
> that evidence needs to be adequate, appropriate and accurate, and that
> when viewing evidence one must consider the source. My 1st example
> was the tobacco industry--would we go to a tobacco company website for
> information on how to not smoke or how to quit smoking. The kids got
> it right away. My 2nd example was formula companies who produce baby
> care books/magazines, and include information regarding
> breastfeeding. How accurate, appropriate or adequate would
> information be given by formula companies in regards to
> breastfeeding. These 6th graders got it, and we discussed
> breastfeeding with only a few snickers. I can't help but think that a
> few of these students will remember this example, not to mention the
> idea that I'm talking about breasts and their real use to these
> preteens. Oh, the kids then brought up themselves the idea of the
> dairy industry promoting milk as producing strong bones, including the
> commercial where the man looses his arms because he doesn't drink
> milk. And some discussed the idea that they can't drink milk without
> getting sick (many African American kids said this). It was a very
> interesting conversation in regards to species specific milk, and why
> cow's milk might not be our best source of nutrients.
>
> Joylyn
>
> Karen Meade wrote:
>
>> I overheard something today at my local YMCA that made me feel
>> there's hope here in the United States that breastfeeding really will
>> begin to be seen as the normal way to feed babies...
>>
>> I was sitting poolside just beind the lifeguard stand nursing my
>> toddler (as I do there several times a week without anyone so much as
>> raising an eyebrow) as my older two children played in the pool. The
>> teenage female guard in the chair called loudly across the pool to
>> another teenage female guard asking where the aquatics director was.
>> "Is B- in her office." The reply, "No. She went to pump." It was
>> stated matter of factly and received the same way. A few minutes
>> later, a teenage male guard came out to relieve the guard in the
>> chair. He also informed the guard coming out of the chair that the
>> aquatics director had gone to pump as he listed the location of the
>> on-duty guards. How pleasant it was to see these young people
>> discussing the fact that their boss was pumping her breastmilk as if
>> it were just something someone does as a matter of course when they
>> return to work after having a baby. I'm so glad the aquatics director
>> is being so open about pumping. Her staff is very young. Hopefully
>> they'll internalize the message that breastfeeding and/or pumping is
>> the normal thing to do. The baby in question is 7 weeks old and mom
>> just returned to work last week. She's pumping b/c sadly the Y said
>> no to her baby staying on site in the short-term baby-sitting room
>> since baby would be there more than 2 hours in a row. Mom told me she
>> really wishes she could just go nurse the baby instead of pumping,
>> but the daycare center is too far away.
>>
>> Karen Meade
>> LLL Leader
>> Suburban Philadelphia, PA, USA
>>
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>
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