In a message dated 5/28/01 8:32:26 AM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: > http://www.onebox.com/p/n4GfJcQKA32i83blIOWaEAAGAAEACQAACdk@/ Thanks Betsy for your comments! While working with La Leche League and the Mississippi WIC Breastfeeding Program, I had several opportunities to question my own preference to nurse my older "babies" (3 years and over) in private. (They would happily nurse ANYWHERE!) I finally reached the personal conclusion, that it is not always necessary to actually do the nursing in public. It is however, sometimes appropriate to mention that I am still nursing. How is a mother to know that this is a legitimate option if she is unaware that it is being done? So, my personal decision was to mention, [especially to mothers who indicated that their baby (1yr, 18 months, 20 months) still really needed to nurse] that many children continue to nurse to 3, 4 or even 5 years. That this option is OK, as long as the mother is comfortable with it. That as a child matures, his need to nurse can be only a nip a day ... and that all children do wean. I agree that being too blatant with public nursing of older children can turn some mothers away. I have seen this happen in La Leche League. Mothers who attend meetings pregnant, who state a desire to breastfeed, then change their mind when they see a 3 year old still nursing. It seems some mothers do not "get it" that they can Breasted and make their own decisions about weaning their child, or letting the child wean himself. Laura Wright Jackson, MS *********************************************** 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