A woman named Jan Hunt runs The Natural Child Project
(http://www.naturalchild.org).  In a pair of articles, she argues that when
children are abused in such a way, it is beneficial to intervene on behalf of the
child, because even if the parent's behavior is not changed by your single
comment, the child will have heard the important message that other people don't
think they deserve that treatment.

As related to breastfeeding, I also find it important to comment on publicly
nursing women, either secretively with a wink & smile, or a little "thumbs up"
sign to her personally.  I always found this pleasant back when I was nursing.

If I see someone looking on in a disapproving "oh yuck" way, I make it a point to
comment "Isn't that the most beautiful thing you ever saw?"  Such communication
affirms the nursing mother, and also lets others know that their disapproval
isn't shared by all.  The anti-breastfeeding people don't need any more
confidence in their right to interfere than they already have!

Debbie McCallister
Louisville, KY (USA)

Automatic digest processor wrote:

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> ------------------------------
>
> Thinking about the case in Canada reminded me of shopping at the local
> grocery store yesterday, when a mother was loudly, nastily, verbally abusing
> her two young sons, aisle after aisle after aisle.  It was all I could do
> not to ask the manager to ask her to leave.  The kids were probably 6 and 9
> years of age, not toddlers.  My 10 year old son and my 81 year old mother
> were both cringing about it as well.  We eventually skipped over several
> aisles to avoid this woman, but then we ended up behind her at the checkout
> and she was saying to the checker "I can't wait for school to start next
> week.  I'm about to kill these kids."  Right in front of the kids.  :(
>
> And yet people complain when someone is breastfeeding in public.
>
> Kathy Dettwyler

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