Breastfeeding Kids Scare Prudes

JeanneSager — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:32:00 GMT

OK, let me break it down for you folks, because apparently there are still some folks out there who don't get it.

Breastfeeding is not a sexual act.

So if toddlers are doing it to their dolls, do we REALLY give two hoots (or hooters?). A group of Brits with their granny panties in a bunch apparently do.

Staff at a hospital in Manchester, England hung a poster that shows a little girl "breastfeeding" her doll. It's something I know a lot of moms say their kids have done. Because, well, they saw a Mom (maybe theirs, maybe someone else's) doing it and they want to be just like her. That, they've decided is part of mothering their "baby" doll. It's actually pretty sweet if you think about it.

The staff were trying to make that point exactly - kids copy what they see, so why not give them a positive example? Except a grandmother visiting her grandson called the papers to complain because, she says, "The picture is shocking and it isn't normal. Children copy their parents but I don't think any little girls should be breastfeeding their dolls."

Why is it shocking? Because a little kid is playing mommy? Excuse me, should we send that message out to the hundreds of dolls marketed for giving kids ability to pretend to be "just like mom?" How about the toy strollers and little Mommy and Me outfits?

Of course, if she was holding a bottle to the baby's mouth, we can only assume Gram would be just fine with this picture, and everything would be right with the world. Er, OK, why? Because it didn't involve a boobie? Bingo! Because we're just parading back to the fact that breasts are not to be used for such nonsense as what nature intended.

What really bugs me about this story, however, isn't Gram. She might just be written off as old-fashioned and set in her ways (although at thirty-nine . . . ). But the healthcare worker quoted in the article calling the photo "offensive," is of even greater concern here. Because if someone working IN a hospital setting is freaked out by this picture, it's no wonder moms are still getting poor breastfeeding starts at many hospitals.

So let's get back to the beginning. Breastfeeding does not equal sex. Three-year-old pretending to feed their dolly breastmilk does not equal kinky perversion. Now, want to go tell your son or daughter they're doing something freaky? Didn't think so.

Image:Manchester Evening News

Return of the son of stuff YUPPIE parents like

Brett Singer — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Because too much is never enough. And besides, didn't you want to see this photo at least one more time?

1. Organic everything: from a commenter. I've succumbed to some of this, partly because, living in Manhattan, the cost difference isn't as great as it used to be, and sometimes the quality is better. I also admit that I feel less guilt giving my kids "organic" pre-packaged crap than I do giving them "chemical-laden" pre-packaged crap. It's still crap, but it's ORGANIC crap.

2. Classes and activities: yes, from the same commenter. She said, "mommy and me classes" but in my experience it's much more than that. Around here, it seems like everyone has their kids doing something all flippin' day. A parent once told me that she didn't understand why Kindergarten went until 3pm; she wished it ended at noon so her kid could take advantage of everything Manhattan had to offer. I replied that I thought Kindergarten should go until 8pm. We don't talk much anymore.

3. Kids' music that parents can enjoy: All parents have benefited from the boom in kiddie rock. While I am of course very glad that children's music has evolved beyond Raffi (who really isn't that bad) and Kidz Bop (which is), sometimes this preciousness can go a little too far. Sure, anything by Dan Zanes or The Dirty Sock Funtime Band is better than Barney's Greatest Hits, but a little James Taylor, Peter Paul and Mary, The Beatles – lots of great "adult" music out there that kids might like.

4. Taking their children to live rock 'n' roll shows: "Alternadad" Neal Pollack brought his little one to see The Hives, a rather loud quasi-punk act. I spotted two sets of parents who had dragged their children to see Yaz at the Beacon theater (I myself was dragged by my wife, but that's another story). When commenters on Gawker are giving good parenting advice ("Neil [sic], seriously--ear plugs"), you know something is out of whack in the universe.

5. Anything that isn't made of granite. At least after we found out about the radiation.

For more, click here.

image: nostalgiacentral.com

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