Barbara all I can say to your post is AMEN.  You said what I am constantly
thinking.  We often times forget that even children are sexual beings and
while we can't put breastfeeding in the realm of sexuality for political
reasons, we also forget that children do things that feel good.  To them
feeling good is also in the same category as comfort.  It is in their nature
to do what feels good, natural and comfortable to them.  If our American
society wasn't so hung up on sex in general we wouldn't have this problem.

I remember when I was about 8 years old some German friends of my parents
sent their 17 year old daughter and her boyfriend to the US to tour our
"great" nation.  I remember the discussion that my parents had after the
first night they had spent in the states.  The friend's daughter and her
boyfriend not only spent nude, but together nude, but they weren't
necessarily having sex.   She was raised with a much healthier attitude
toward sex.  Now PLEASE do not think that means I think pre-marital sex is
ok, because I personally think it's a sin, but obviously there had been
enough talk about sex in her own house that it wasn't viewed as taboo as it
is in our culture.  I often joke with people that my four year old son knows
more about anatomy (male and female) than most teens do.  I see relatives
cringe when my son refers to his member as a penis and when he calls my
breasts either breasts or "mom's boobs" unlike his father who  often refers
to them as "the milk bar".  He gave the grocery bagger at the store the
other day a lesson about where the baby comes out and what it does when it's
born (it snuggles with it's mommy and has boob).  The bagger turned about
four shades of red.

On another note, my husband and I were joking about the gallons of frozen
breastmilk I have in the freezer and he said I should make some cheese and
enter it in our state fair.... he followed that sentence with "you would
probably be arrested for assault if they found out".  Now what kind of world
do we live in when we put breastmilk in the category of assault?

I have often felt motherly pride in the fact that my children are as well
educated about the human animal as they are, and saddened when they DO know
more the a 16 year old grocery clerk.  There are so many things we have
mixed up.

Melisa
~*~*~*~*~
Did you hear? Breast is Best!
Certified Lactation Counselor
Student Midwife
Alternative Medicine Counselor in Training
Childbirth Educator
www.nurturingmama.com

Mom to Harry who changed my life,
Jacob who changed my spirit, and
Elleanor who changed my soul.

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