I don't think it's "wrong" per se, I would just be a bit concerned in a development sense. My opinion is that a child needs to be acquiring additional ways to "self-soothe" & bond with Mom.
I know an accomplished young woman who was nursed for that long. She seems fine.

I can't recall where I read this but I think a lot of First Peoples (American Indians, Inuit, Aborigines) used to traditionally breast feed well into a child's third year (In addition to solid foods after a certain age of course). 

To each her own.   Seems unusual to me to be doing so at this age - but that of course is why it was on TV, right?   What country was this in CH?   I would guess the nursing is just occuring on a very limited basis (eg at bedtime) - but nevertheless, it would pose some challenges re separations of parent & child.

US, I believe. It was on Anderson Cooper

Not my style, but I can't say I think it is wrong.  I once knew a child who was old enough to open the buttons on his mom's shirt when he wanted a drink.  To me it seemed to be a way for him to 'control' what his mom was able to do.  Everytime she got busy chatting over coffee the kd opened her shrt. I thought it would be healthier emotionally for him to play with the other kids.

It is likely another one of those 'bringing up the kids' things.  Everyone knows what other people should be doing about soothers, bedtime bottles, toilet training and temper tantrums, and thinks they should share their thoughts.

I guess I've been around for long enough to have learned that regardless of the type of child rearing practise most kids turn out ok by the time they are about 25!

It's part of the attachment parenting that's been fairly publicized over the past year or so.  Mayim Bialik is one of the proponents, for example.

It's not something I would ever do, and seems a little odd, but I agree it's probably not harmful.

I was about to say that it seems somewhat unnatural to me - but perhaps it is very natural.  At what age do primative people wean their children?  If food supply was uncertain wouldn't it be a way of ensuring that the child was nourished?  And wasn't it used as a form of birth control?

However, in today's society, where women work outside the home, and 4 year olds go to kindergarden in some provinces, it must be rather inconvenient, and I would think it would set that child apart from his peers.  My rule of thumb would be once a child is walking around outdoors, talking in sentences, and/or able to unbutton his mother's shirt, its time to wean. 

My 3 were all weaned at various times between18 amonths and 3 years.

One of my friends "overlapped" nursing her 4-She would have 2 who were nursing.

So she nursed all hers until 4 or close to it. all turned out well. (One is an engineer, 2 are in University and one is finsihing grade 9.

It's called a "nursing dyad" as it involves tow-the mother and child.

My more discreet friends gave nursing a nifty name -Like "Susy" and limited it to specific places.

So when out at public events child would say" I want Suzy" and Mom could say "Yes when we are home or alternating-Yes let's go to the car".

What suprises me more is the mothers that choose not to breastfeed.

Tabitha, I'm not surprised.  There are so many factors that influence the decision.

Time commitments (work or otherwise) where you can't feed the baby.  Supply issues, which may or may not be resolved with medications, which have side effects.  The problems of having to be careful about what is consumed, including medications.  Allergy and intolerance issues.  Infections.  Problems that makes it difficult to hold the baby.  Some babies have feeding problems.  Some moms find it painful.  Some just too overwhelming.  Sometimes other caregivers want to be able to bond by feeding.  Some moms adopt.

How well does breastfeeding work with one infant and one toddler?  I've never really looked into it, but with the little knowledge I have I would be concerned about not being able to feed the infant after feeding the toddler.

I breastfed seventy years ago when it was rare except among hippies and recent immigrants.  It was one of the most pleasurable, natural and easy things I ever did.  Cheap, too.  I weaned my first after a few months because finances made it necessary for me to go back to work.   I nursed my second longer.  Both were healthy.  Both were growing, contented, 'easy' babies.  Both would switch easily from breast to bottle and back, so Seelerman or a sitter could give them a bottle if I missed a feeding.

Gradually, they began taking either breast or bottle, or cup - and solid food - until between 12 and 18 months they were completely weaned.  

For some mothers at that time it was a point of pride to wean at a young age.  Almost no children among my acquaintances were still on the bottle or breast at two.   (ps most were toilet trained by 18 months as well.)

Chemgal - for those nursing two children of different ages - you ensure that the youngest is fed first, or gets a good head start.  The older one, who is getting most of his nourishment elsewhere, would just get what was left.   If the mother is healthy and well fed, she will keep producing as much milk as needed.  (For twins or triplets)   Demand controls the supply.

This seems to be more of a trend now. Not something I would do though.

I think it was in the book "A Tree Grows iBrooklin" that a character was a breast feeder around 6 and the mom was fed up. I remember that she painted her breast some scary red and black figure and scared the kid. Then he would only drink black coffee. So I guess at the fringes of breast feeding it has been going on a long time. That is an old book.

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Women don't breasts feed for lots of different reasons but the one we used to most hear at the hospital was the tiredness and the desire to have dad or grandma do at least half of the feedings. Personally for me it was easier, no bottles or formula to make up but many women still find it restrictive

Thanks Seeler.

When you're not a mom, you tend to hear only the problems with breast feeding.  I know someone who has triplets.  After issues with her first child, she wasn't even planning on trying feeding them breastmilk.  One of them was having problems though, so she pumped whatever she could get for that one triplet.  It was nowhere near to close enough, but she could supplement the formula a little bit and the newborn did a bit better because of it.  Hearing things like that make me wonder how someone could feed an infant and a toddler!

The woman on Anderson Cooper Live explained, as best as she was allowed IMO, that her daughter only breast fed at bedtime.
It appeared to me that the response, heading in, was that it was "too old" and they really did not allow her to speak much on it.
 

I try not to distinguish between breast and bottle. Most times, it is an extremely personal choice and IMO one that is only theirs to make. I do not believe in shaming those who choose not to breastfeed. I do not believe in making breastfeeding something other than feeding a baby and do not think washrooms and such are acceptable places for feeding.

I am also aware that sometimes it is not a choice, some women can breast feed and some cannot. For some, the time is limited on their preferred choice. Some would prefer something else that is not feasible or possible. We tend to think of those who do not have the ability to breastfeed, but there are also those who would prefer to bottle feed and can't because of costs or location, etc.

If I think on a four year old who drinks out of a sippy cup or regular cup during the day and relies on the comfort of a bottle at bedtime only... I do not talk about "weaning". I see them as "off the bottle, with one exception".  I do not get irate or judgmental.  I do not get an ick factor. I do not insist it is "too old". If I do then, when it is the same child and the only difference is breastfeeding, I believe I need to ask myself why.

Again, I only speak for myself.

SG, I agree with most of that.  lol I'm sure there is quite a bit of things I would find a little odd if I spent 24 hours with the mom of a toddler.  Odd doesn't mean wrong.

I will admit I do judge the moms who pose for a magazine breastfeeding their 4 year old though.  Some of the poses are chosen to look as odd as possible I think.  That does seem like it could be harmful to the child.  They will be recognizable and opens them up to potential problems at school.  It's something that I think should be a little more private.

One of the young moms in my family tried and tried to breastfeed.  The baby seemed contented and suckled away.  Unfortunately the baby wasn't growing, in fact he was losing weight.  She was advised to put him on the bottle instead.  Same thing with the next one.

How sad, Kaythecurler. It may be that this young mom needed better nutrition & more rest & more fluids . . . . Rather than advice to switch to bottles.

Yes P3 - it was sad.  She really wanted to breastfeed.  She was eating a healthy, nutritious diet.  She was getting plenty of rest. She was well hydrated. She had encouraged the child to suckle and had made use of a breast pump to encourage her breasts to produce. She had breastfeeding moms come over to visit and encourage her, to show her how it worked for them. It wasn't working for her.  Without nutrition the baby was suffering.  She quit on the advice of her doctor who was very much in favor of breastfeeding but confessed that sometimes we just don't know why some breasts just don't produce.  

This may seem like a cop out but I try not to be friends with people with young children. They are not available to go out to things. They seem to pawn babysitting on me.

So whatever their parenting decisions I'm not involved.

If I had children they'd be weaned by the time they were one year. But that's my choice not everyone is obligated to share that opinion.

As long as they are not starving, verbally, or mentally abusing the children it is none of my business how parents raise their children

Kaythecurler,

There are situations where women have given up too quickly, but this doesn't seem to be the case for the young mom in your family.

Parents often make decisions that might not be in the very best interests for the child.  Both parents may work, they may move away from grandparents, even with one parent working they may work long hours, they move to an area that doesn't have the optimal school for the child, I'm sure I could come up with a broader example of things if I wasn't so tired.

For the most part, it isn't commented that it's sad the parents decided to do those things, or at least not as often.  Why is breastfeeding different?  Most parents usually do their best.  No one can make the best option work for the child all of the time.

chemgal,

I think that we can make assumptions based on things (our beliefs maybe) and that can or will be our default.  If we think A is best, sometimes anything other than A we think is not best...

It may be about numbers propping it up. If the % is that most are heterosexual, we can assume the person we just met will be.

A very large number of women are capable of breastfeeding. We can then forget or ignore those that the physiological change does not happen for. We can be unaware of how the thyroid relates to lactation or polycystic ovary, etc. We can forget some medications can mean breastfeeding is not recommended. We can forget about surgery or radiation damaging milk ducts.

Some would need milk bank milk.

Sometimes it has nothing to do with the mom or her breasts or choices.

It may be the baby.

A friend had to pump breastmilk because her son has a cleft. Babies with a cleft can be difficult to feed even with a bottle. Babies with galactosemia cannot breastfeed.

It may be that mother and child are not even together.

Our eldest refused to nurse effectively.  PErsonaly I don't think she wante to work that hard for food.  So she was bottle fed.  THe 2nd and 3rd also went on bottle very soon.  Because nursing just wasn't happening.

THe only one who really nursed at all was our youngest, and even then she was supplemented.

ANd it does families who end up nursing absolutely no favours when people run down bottle feeding as if it is somehow deficient or lazy or not making a choice in the best interest of the child.  In the case of our eldest (and the third) it was that or end up with her in NICU because whe lost too much weight