They say there are ton of health benefits that come with breastfeeding your baby. But one mom from the U.K. has taken that boast a tad bit too far. Denise Sumpter still breastfeeds her 6-year-old daughter, Belle, and has no plans of stopping unless Belle decides to. Anyone else find that kind of odd? According to Sumpter, breastfeeding her daughter this long has been a great decision. She claims she's healthier, smarter and–get this–more independent! I don't know about you, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around that. How could this be emotionally healthy for either one of them?
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"I'll feed Belle as long as she asks," Sumpter told the Daily Mail. She claims that she's literally leaving it up to her daughter to decide when to call it quits. Are you kidding me? As for the frequency, Belle asks to be fed anywhere from once a week to sometimes twice a day. She likes being breastfed when she's tired, sick or just wants to bond with her mother.
"I don't think there's anything weird about it. I feed both children on demand, whenever they want it," Sumpter adds. The 44-year-old mom and Ph.D. student credits breastfeeding for both her kids' good health and Belle's good grades. "My children have hardly been ill. Beau [her 18-month-old son] came down with something the other day and because I nursed him through it he was better in 24 hours. I've had similar with Belle. If they're upset it calms them. It helps them sleep."
Okay, so even if it does come with a ton of health benefits, isn't breastfeeding your child until she's 6 harmful for the child's self-esteem? Imagine the kind of dependency she'll develop to her mom. Well, Sumpter swears that's not the case.
"People think by feeding Belle this long I will stunt her confidence. But she is extremely independent," she said. "Her teachers say she is mature for her age." Here's what has me even more concerned: According to Sumpter, breastfeeding feels so natural to Belle she even pretends to breastfeed her dolls. And Beau has no clue what a bottle is and yet Sumpter says she's "proud of that." Sorry lady, but it's about time you do both these two kids a favor and get them off the boob. They'll thank you when they're older!
Image via Thinkstock
