I think this has not so much to do with the act of being breastfed as with the way these two groups children were raised. Families who choose to breastfeed for longer than the cultural accepted 2 months and the parenting style that is commonly chosen by LLL families is what builds these characters. And don't forget: sharing vs competition starts with attending LLL meetings with lots of other kids on the floor.
Warmly,
Gonneke, IBCLC, LLLL, MOM in southern Netherlands
--- On Sun, 3/15/09, sheila stubbs <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: sheila stubbs <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [LACTNET] telling which 5 yr olds were breastfed
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 4:24 AM
For what its worth, I can share a story of two groups of children and the
difference in their behaviour. Whether attributable to breastfeeding in
particular or parenting in general, I can only guess.
The first group consisted of La Leche League members, their husbands and
children. I had planned a treasure hunt for the children. Together they ran
around the yard hunting for clues, each clue leading them to the next clue,
working together until the treasure chest (buried in the sandbox) was
discovered. The children waited excitedly while the older ones distributed all
the treasures: toys and candy, enough for all. Everyone said how much fun it was
and that it was the favorite part of the picnic.
It worked so beautifully I decided to repeat the Treasure Hunt for a similar
group a month later. This time the guests were members of my husbands sports
team, with their wives and children.
These children attempted to solve the puzzle secretly, as indiviuals. Even
after I had to explain a second time that it was a group activity with a reward
for the entire group, they continued to act alone, hiding the clues from each
other, or destroying them to prevent others from competing in the game. It only
frustrated everyone involveduntil I finally had to tell them where the treasure
was buried, reminding them there was enough for everyone equally. To my
surprise, rather than sharing and distributing the treasure, the children
reached into the box, grabbed as much as they could, and ran!
A boy had grabbed 3 pink hairbands, was disappointed and destroyed them. A girl
got two toy cars and threw them away because she was angry she didn't get a
hairband. Some got handfuls of candy but no toy. The little ones, pushed out of
the way, got nothing and they were crying. The mothers were unhappy about my
stupid game that had the children fighting and crying. What a fiasco!
Can I conclude from my non-scientific behavioural study that the breastfed
children were more co-operative? Or that those who spent their early years in
daycare had learned to be more aggressive?
Sheila Stubbs
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