i don't think that it's physically unhealthy, i think it's emotionally unhealthy.  if it's all about nutrition why doesnt she just pump and serve her kids a tall glass of it?

alot of people do things that they like to do even if it harms them, especially at age 8 you all about getting the pleasure you want when you want it.. you're not thinking "hmm how is being an eight year old that wants my moms boob in my mouth going to effect me in 10, 15, 20 etc years..?"  just because you enjoy something now doesnt mean it wont cause damage in the future.  emotionally, physically, socially..

i'm not so sure that if i hung out with this family that i wouldnt know this was happening.  the kids seem to be pretty passionate about how much they love it ("better than mangoes..")  and are definitely not shy about showing it.. other kids i know don't draw pictures of their moms breasts and nipples and discuss the names they have for them.  also, that kid was definitely not shy about breastfeeding in front of a camera crew, i dont see why a mall food court would stop her.

i'm not saying mothers shouldnt feel or enjoy being needed.  but as kids grow up parents are needed for different things.  as infants they need you for everything, but as they age they need you to teach them things so that they become strong independent human beings.  maybe she is just trying to hold on to having  a 'baby' which is selfish when what her kid really needs is to be treated like an 8 year old, not an 8 month old.

I keep re-watching the video to see if I'm just being irrational, but my opinion still stands.  I still think the co-sleeping analogy is relevant here.  Co-sleeping is a bonding activity.  When the mother and child sleep in proximity to one another, hormones like oxytocin are released (just like during breastfeeding), and they both feel a greater sense of intimacy and the child is more secure, attachment-wise.  The whole situation is very healthy, and, one could argue, provides a secure experience which cannot be replicated otherwise.  It makes the mother feel needed and, well, motherly.

BUT.  You would NOT say, "I'm gonna let my kid sleep in my bed until she decides she wants to 'wean' herself."  Even if the activity is mutually desirable, it is not healthy, emotionally, for an 8-year-old to seek emotional security by sleeping in her mother's bed.  Just because there is an unwarranted stigma around breastfeeding (and there totally is, I agree) doesn't mean that all breastfeeding gets a blanket stamp of approval.  Furthermore, I don't think breastfeeding til age 8 gets a stamp of approval simply for flying in the face of norms.  Nor should it be automatically condemned for being "abnormal."  "Normal" is irrelevant.  The appropriate question is whether it is developmentally appropriate in terms of fostering an appropriate level of emotional maturity.

Of course, we are making loads of assumptions based on anecdotal evidence from this one case from a 5 minute video. We'd need to do a formal study with a larger sample size to see exactly what the developmental effects are.  At least, I couldn't find any rigorous studies about breastfeeding at this age, only anecdotal evidence--but they may exist.  There is an abundance of positive evidence for breastfeeding beyond the "normal" age, no doubt, but we can't necessarily extrapolate that to age 8.  But I am certainly no expert here.

Yeah, I definitely agree, Meggs.  That's why I said earlier that it's totally valid to question the mother's motives here.  Larger breastfeeding issues aside (and I think we're generally on the same page in regards to breastfeeding = good), the possibility that this constitutes inappropriate contact cannot be allowed to just slide through because there are big-picture issues involving breastfeeding stigmas.  There are multiple issues here that all need to be addressed.  Like you said, entirely different topic, and it doesn't get a free pass because it's tied to a generally-great-but-controversial care-taking activity which is waging its own battle against society's hangups. 

:blankstare:

wow.

(my face has been pretty much frozen like that since that video started.)

Ditto...this is just...creepy.

What she said.

It is interesting how most of us who are mothers are not totally offended by this, but the people who have never breastfeed their children are really freaked out and going so far as to call this woman a child molester. I think it has to do with understanding the dynamics of a close mother/child relationship. From my understanding, the eldest child has been weaned, so I'm sure the 8 year old will soon be, too.

I believe I have a right to question and throw around ideas due to the facts I backed it up with.  I also agree with whomever (I believe it was KMK) that said it was harsh and difficult to base anything off of a 5 minute snippet of this person's life. I also said I would like to do a study to see if there are any long-term detrimental effects to a child who is reared this way; maybe there are positive effects- I DO NOT KNOW. I am looking at this from a forensic psychological research perspective viewpoint.

Yeah, this is how I feel too.  We really don't know long term effects.  Mothers or not; understanding of mother-child dynamics or not--none of us know the effects. 

I saw this documentary about 2 years ago...I'm guessing it was about an hour long???  Anyway...the eldest was weened before this was filmed.  When she was talking about the milk was sweet, better than mangoes, she was looking back fondly at her memory.  I'm not wigged or freaked out by this.  My MIL (she's from Ethiopia) has talked to me about friends that breast fed until their kids were 5 or so.  I personally don't want to breastfeed until my child is 8.  I like not having leaky breasts when I have sex with my husband.  :D

Good points to note:
1. We DID only see a snippet into the entire story (even an hour is only a snippet, but what we saw was even less).
2. This is a cultural issue, to a certain extent.

Thanks for the info, tulipchick!

If you thought that the 8 year old breast feeding was weird, later on in the documentary there was another girl I think she was 11 or 12 (Can't remember the age for sure.) she was still breast feeding.  I think it was at night, as she was settling off to sleep.  They blurred out her face so she wouldn't be recognized.  She and her mom were chit chatting while she fed.  I don't want to say that it's weird, because the only reason why I would think it's weird is that's taught in my culture. 

Are you saying that (because I don't want to misrepresent your words here) it's taught in your culture that it's weird to breastfeed a child that is 11 years old?

I concur. I want to say that, as I posted a link earlier relating to this, not only is it culturally-bound, but there are sanctions against this-- the mother of a 10 year old who still breastfed "on occasion" was taken away from her more than once by authorities.  This is where part of my argument comes in. Again, to make it clear, I am not calling any of these people "sex offenders/abusers"-- I'm just saying that, by the way the law has handled this particular (10 year old's) case, and from the things I've been learning in school, one has to wonder and/or question-- that's all I'm doing-- questioning, wondering, hypothesizing.

I think that in my culture it's considered weird to still be breast feeding a child at 8.  I personally don't know anyone IRL that would support me if I was to say that I wanted to breast feed my child until they were 8. 

Meggs- If you thought that I was directing my last post towards you, I wasn't.  I just meant anyone that thought that breast feeding an 8 year old was weird.  If I ruffled any feathers it wasn't my intention. (Ooops, was that not vegan?)

Oh no, I just wanted to make sure I was understanding what you were saying, which is why I asked for a clarification. I didn't think anything was directed toward me.  I agree with you.  I also think it's strange, but I guess I need to remember that maybe in some cultures, it's "normal"?  I don't know of any, but I'm sure there are some out there, ya know?  I (and I venture to say "we", but I try not to speak for others) am quite ethno-centric a lot of the time and need to remember that what is a "norm" to me is not necessarily a "norm" everywhere.