Around here, it is common to say things like, "She got her purse stolen last
night." Or breastfeeding related, "The mom's having a nursing strike."
Actually, the woman's purse was stolen, she didn't actively go out and
solicit someone to steal her purse! The baby is the one having a nursing
strike, unless the mother is actively going to the trouble of forbidding the
nursing.
Language can be so delicate, and it really matters how things are phrased.
There's a book, _Eats, Shoots and Leaves_, which points out quite a few
language issues, and how when words are phrased incorrectly it makes quite a
difference in the meaning of the message.
Oh, the troubles of the language police...
Best wishes from soon-to-be-sleeting Ohio
Sam
Taking a break from arterial blood gases...
<<
EXACTLY, Winnie. It is the child who is breastfeeding, not the mom; that
concept has been discussed on LACTNET before. Whenever I am speaking about
breastfeeding; I have to use a lot of effort to remember that. I also have
to concentrate hard to use the word "child" instead of baby or infant; that
will also help change the view that breastfeeding is okay as long as we are
talking only about babies. We need to normalize that toddlers and older
children breastfeed; IMO, we can do that by constantly referring to
"children" breastfeeding. Every once in awhile, I slip and use the old
concepts; but as I concentrate on those ideas, it becomes more automatic to
say "the CHILD is breastfeeding" and not the mom or the baby/infant.
Warm regards,
Lee Galasso, MS, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC>>
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