Will You Breastfeed Your 4 Year Old?

A British mother is encouraging other women to consider breastfeeding older children by posting videos of her feeding her four-and-half-year old son.

Sophie Emma Rose, 40, is originally from Blackpool, but now lives in Chiang Mai in Thailand with partner Danny, and son, Shaye.

Ms Rose said her mission is to 'normalise breastfeeding older kids' and 'wanted to expose it until it becomes part of normal reality'.





'I want other mothers to feel confident about feeding older children', she said.
'I also want mothers to not feel shame and to feel they could do it wherever they want and have no negative comments or fear.'

'I think the work I'm doing affirms other mums who want to breastfeed older kids or babies. I feel the act of me breastfeeding without shame on YouTube sends the message out that it is OK.
'Whilst most of my friends think it's ordinary to breastfeed older kids, other people in the world think breastfeeding is crazy, exhibitionism, porn, shocking and ridiculous.
'I want to work with that schism and bring breastfeeding more into the public eye through my videos.'

She added: 'We have been conditioned in western culture to see breasts as a sexual part of the body, so you see it as sexual when really it's not sexually intimacy at all. I don't feel sexual pleasure when Shaye feeds, it's a nice sensation but not a sexual act.'

Ms Rose's YouTube channel 'Sophie's Joy Breastfeeding Mama' has amassed more than eight million views.

As well as breastfeeding Shaye on demand, the 40-year-old regularly shares a bed with him and home schools him.

She commented: 'As a child, I wasn't breastfed and was given my own room fairly early on. My parents did their best but they weren't aware of the things we're aware of now in psychology.
'Attachment parenting is about treating a child with dignity and respect and meeting their emotional needs fully. Practices like co-sleeping and breastfeeding make a child feel close and reassured.

'I'll breastfeed Shaye for as long as he wants it - that is the goal. I know that breastfeeding does end - children eventually lose the latch and are not physically able to breastfeed past the age of about seven or eight years old.

'I have no fears that I'm going to be feeding Shaye at eighteen years old when he's at university!'

Whatch video here

credits: Dailymail UK