Having a baby is incredibly challenging , both physically and emotionally. On top of the pain of childbirth , you now have this small human who’s completely dependent on you for literally everything.
Including food, which (for the vast majority of babies) means breastfeeding several times per day. Eventually, children wean off breastmilk, but apparently when they’re supposed to do it is sparking debate online.
A mom recently went viral for posting a TikTok sharing how she’s attempting to wean her infant son.
The user, who goes by Emma ( @a_mothers_tale ) posted the video earlier this month. In it, she shows how her son, who is being weaned, lifts her shirt in an attempt to breastfeed.
The short clip racked up a lot of views.
Since its upload on October 3rd, the TikTok already has over 2.1 million views, and thousands of comments. But what was supposed to be a cute, relatable motherhood moment was met with a surprising amount of backlash.
Though there were many positive comments, others shamed Emma.
From people wondering why such an “old” kid was still breastfeeding, to others calling her disgusting or a bad parent, many commenters were being needlessly insensitive about the whole thing.
Never mind the fact that her son is 2 years old.
I’m not even a parent, and even I know that 2 is a perfectly normal age to stop breastfeeding. In fact, while it’s recommended to introduce solid foods to a baby’s diet at around 6 months , it’s also recommended to continue breastfeeding in addition to solid foods until at least 2 years old .
In other words, Emma beginning to wean her son at 2 is… perfectly normal.
In fact, many other commenters (most of whom are moms themselves) pointed out how breastfeeding is perfectly normal for children of up to 7 years of age.
Emma later posted a video in response to all the hate she’d gotten.
“When I say I was shocked when I woke up this morning, like my jaw was literally on the floor,” she said. “I cannot believe the hate I have woken up to this morning.”
Emma showed disbelief that people were hating on her for weaning a 2-year-old.
“I’ve been called disgusting, I’ve been told I’m wrong, I’ve been told I have serious issues, and I actually had someone message me and tell me I should be locked up.”
She very expertly claps back on the people who were sending her hate.
“When you post a TikTok of you weaning your two-year-old and wake up to this. The judgment was/is shocking,” she said. “If you have issues with that video, and you are sexualizing the relationship between a mother and a two-year-old child , I’m not the one with the issues, love.”
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Moms in the comment section applauded Emma for her words.
Plenty of moms showed that Emma and her son are perfectly normal, and shouldn’t have to feel ashamed by what age he began weaning.
One user wrote, “People are awful I swear! I’m so sorry! For what it’s worth, I’ve nursed all 4 of my kids until ages 2-4 years old and tandem fed two of them!”
At the end of the day, every child is different.
And no mom (or child) should ever be shamed for continuing breastfeeding past 2 years. There’s no reason to shame moms of young kids, especially if you’ve never had a baby of your own.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!