OK, I was staying quiet, but now I'll chime in too.
Don't offer, don't refuse can work with any age child.
Just a word of caution here. We should always encourage families to
choose what works for them. It is imperative for good lay counselors,
and IBCLCs, etc to remember that weaning is a very personal and
individual process. None of us should be recommending starting
weaning at any particular age or stage (except of course for medical
or other truly extenuating circumstances).
If we recommend weaning at a specific, and somewhat arbitrary, age, we
are truly showing our biases as products of our culture.
Enjoying the fascinating discussion,
Kym,
who since the overwhelmingly positive response to the NYTimes article,
has begun nursing her 4 1/2 year old (Carlie) at the YMCA, upon request
--
Kym Smythe, MEd, IBCLC
Bear, DE, USA
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|