Yes, I've heard of sugar tits, and you see them in movies and read about
them in books, but I'm not sure if anyone's ever done a study to see how
common they were really used.  I've also heard of something similar done
with whiskey or brandy on it to lull baby to sleep.  Of course, I've also
heard of modern low-lifes in the US doing something similar with cocaine  :(

I can't recall *anything* though, from all the ethnographies I've read, of
children being given something else to suck besides their mother's breast or
someone else's breast.  Certainly in a number of cultures the grandmother
lets the baby suck at her breast when mom is busy, even if it has been
decades since she had any milk.

In several ethnographic films that show moms busy at work, the old
grand*father* is shown holding the baby (about 8-12 months) and entertaining
it, usually with singing and finger/hand games ("Seasons of the Navajo" and
"Drums of Winter" about the Inuit come to mind).   In Mali, young infants
are nursed at every whimper, though a mother may terminate the nursing
session after a short time and tie the baby on her back or hand it to
someone else if she has to do something or go somewhere.  Babies seem pretty
flexible about doing this, but then, they've just gotten some milk, and know
they will again soon, since they never go for very long without nursing.





Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University