Woman breastfeeds her six-year-old daughter because ‘she wants to’

A woman explained on the parenting forum Mumsnet that she breastfed her daughter until she was six years old.

With username @needmoresleepnow, the mum-of-one said that she decided to keep going because her daughter “wanted to” and “I was happy to”.

She opined that breastfeeding when kids are older has “masses of health benefits” and in her case, it “helped get her to sleep for years”.

The woman admitted that she would do it “in front of everyone” until her daughter was four but after that, it became a more private thing.

After the age of four, she would only nurse her “morning and bedtime ” and after five, “just at bedtime”.

The mum explained that when her daughter turned six, “it naturally came to an end” although during all that time, “it worked for us”.

“She benefitted health-wise and emotionally from it. It has helped create a wonderful bond between us. She wanted to…”

The woman added that towards the end, her jaw was changing with her teeth falling out and new adult teeth coming through, and “it wasn’t as comfortable for me”.

The mother and daughter then “had a chat and she understood it was coming to an end”.

She added: “As she got older it was easier to discuss with her why I wanted to stop and she was getting to the same point. She would have carried on longer but knew I needed to stop.”

Other mums took to the comments section to share their thoughts with divided opinions.

One, @Pollydidntputthekettleon, opined that breastfeeding at six is a “bit pointless” as they “don’t need breast milk at six, they aren’t babies”.

Another one supported her decision and explained that she nursed her youngest child until she was four years old.

She explained: “I found it really useful throughout toddler tantrum years.”