In a message dated 3/2/00 3:00:53 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 10:04:43 -0600 From: Lucy Towbin <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Potential Research Project about Natural Weaning Time Has anyone noticed a difference in personalities among children who wean early (under a year) vs. those who wean later (four or over) or those in-between? It would be hard to eliminate confounding variables such as family stresses that may have occurred during one child's early years and not another's, but I'm just curious whether this might be a project I'd want to pursue. Any comments either on how this could be done or on trends you have noticed would be appreciated. I am, of course, referring to child led weaning. -Lucy Towbin, LCSW, IBCLC ------------------------------ Lucy, This is purely anecdotal and personal opinion, but, I find it difficult to accept that an infant, under one year, especially, will wean on her own. What I have often seen or been told when this "natural weaning" occurs is the use of bottles, a nursing strike that gets interpreted as child's desire to wean (mom doesn't entice baby back to breast and work on re-establishing BF-even with a kind of "partial" strike; one that is just a major reduction in frequncy of BF) or mom unconsciously wants to wean and follows the "don't offer, don't refuse" method. it seems to me that if children's natural age of weaning is three or four, why would weaning occur unless circumstances (environment, cultural factors, etc.) in those children's lives encourage it (even inadvertantly). I'm not judging, I just have seen so many factors, psychologically, culturally, that cause premature weaning, and the response is, "Oh, he just weaned himself," and then, when it's appropriate, questions asked reveal use of bottles, sippy cups, food, life stressors and on and on that explain the weaning as not truly "child-led." This doesn't really answer your question but may be food for thought as factors to consider should you undertake a study on weaning and personality. Having weaned my first at ten months, she certainly would have kept breastfeeding, and breastfed #2 seven years and #3 for six years, I understand the rationalization moms go thru. I "pretended" for years that #1 child was ready to wean-intro of bottles due to misunderstanding (on my part,stupidly) that I couldn't BF and work, too. As for personality differences, I find it hard to separate other factors, the impact of separation from #1, my age and personality,then, financial restrictions,etc. from simply the early weaning. Barbara (who writes this tentatively and with no judgement, just observation) Brewster, NY (my past article on separation, written for Mothering some years ago brought me an unbelievable flurry of anger thus my trepidation.) *********************************************** 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