My now-5.5-year-old does not remember his own nursing.  He weaned a
little bit past his third birthday.  I actually wanted him to nurse
long enough to carry memories of it.  He knows a lot about
breastfeeding by virtue of being my child :-) and having a younger
nursing sibling, and I think he relies on that knowledge in place of
personal memories when we talk about his nursing days.

He is a confident, affectionate, sociable, well-adjusted child
(pardon me, my bias is showing!) and I believe nursing him past
toddlerhood was absolutely a good thing for his development.

My mothering experience (boys only) has not given me the opportunity
to form an opinion on nursing girls vs. boys.  I find nursing
generally to be a warm and loving activity but not sexual in the
least.  I am nurturing my *child* -- it hardly matters whether it is
a boy or a girl.

That said, I won't mind a bit if my boys grow up to be "breast men."
I know they will be very aware of what breasts are *really* for!

Margaret
Longmont, Colorado

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