# Oldest nursling you've ever seen NIP **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751 "2010-09-14T18:40:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/1 "2010-09-14T18:40:04Z")
How old is the oldest child you’ve ever witnessed nursing in public? I’ve twice seen toddler (about 2 years old) Once as a teen, at me PT’s waiting room. More recently at the “Y”. The woman at the PT “whipped it out”. The woman at the “Y” covered up, oddly, more obvious what she was doing. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/2 "2010-09-14T19:09:19Z")
I know I’ve seen three year olds nursing, and maybe a four year old. I’ve seen a lot of toddlers nursing. I nursed my older son until he was 22 months, and I’m still nursing my 19 month old. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/3 "2010-09-14T19:09:50Z")
Haven’t seen her personally, but there’s [this nutjob](http://www.dollymix.tv/2008/05/breastfeeding_an_8yearold_the.html). ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/4 "2010-09-14T19:13:42Z")
I’m glad we got the “whipped it out” out of the way in the very first post. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/5 "2010-09-14T19:19:12Z")
I didn’t see it, but Mr. HP swears up and down that he saw a kid around 10 years old (he was about 12 at the time) nursing on a sidewalk in Rota, Spain, as his mother begged. A short time later, this same kid was around the corner smoking a cigarette. This would have been in the early 60s. I think that all children should be weaned, be it from breast or bottle, by the age of one. No offense to anyone, JMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/6 "2010-09-14T19:25:29Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a child older than six months being breastfed in public; but then I’m not very observant of what people around me are doing. I’m pregnant with my first child right now and am working through my own feelings about weaning ages. I think that somewhere between one and two years sounds about right; at the moment my own comfort level makes me prefer it happen sooner rather than later, but it seems like many women decide they’d like to do it for closer to two years, once they have the baby. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/7 "2010-09-14T19:54:49Z")
I don’t know if it’s still the case, but according to my mother, who lived in Japan for a couple of years in the early 1950s, it wasn’t unusual to see kids up to four or five years of age nursing in the subway. They were big enough to do it standing as their mothers sat. FWIW in the wild, great ape mothers generally wean their young between three and six years of age, depending on the species, so it’s not surprising that some human cultures have followed suit. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/8 "2010-09-14T20:26:41Z")
> [@Rasa](#): > > I’m glad we got the “whipped it out” out of the way in the very first post. Sigh. Oh, there is a difference. I always tell the story of the young woman at the SCA dance meeting, who opened her shirt entirely, all the way down, exposing both breasts, to nurse her app. 2 YO. With men and women of all ages there. And then when the baby was done, just left the shirt open for a few minutes. (I don’t know why.) Clear cry for attention, and not appropriate at all. That is “whipping it out”! ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/9 "2010-09-14T20:57:08Z")
The oldest I’ve seen is 3 years old. I’m friends with the person in question - we were either at the bookstore or in a relatively secluded booth at a restaurant. I can’t remember which. Either way, it was no big deal. I have fairly crunchy friends, so it’s not unusual to see one of them nursing an under-3-year old at a party. But I’ve yet to see anyone “whip it out.” They’re crunchy, not crude. ---
**Author:** ![Aswan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Aswan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aswan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/10 "2010-09-14T21:04:40Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > I didn’t see it, but Mr. HP swears up and down that he saw a kid around 10 years old (he was about 12 at the time) nursing on a sidewalk in Rota, Spain, as his mother begged. A short time later, this same kid was around the corner smoking a cigarette. This would have been in the early 60s. I think that all children should be weaned, be it from breast or bottle, by the age of one. No offense to anyone, JMHO. Sadly, I saw the same thing in Segovia. Main square of town. Kid was probably six or so, but it was clearly an act that had worked for a long time and was going to be hard to replace. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/11 "2010-09-14T22:48:23Z")
You know, I’m not very sympathetic to the arguments to “stop when he’s old enough to ask for it,” etc., but I think even I draw the line when he’s old enough to smoke a cigarette afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/12 "2010-09-15T02:41:01Z")
Mine stopped nursing a few months after she turned three so \*me \*I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/13 "2010-09-15T03:13:32Z")
In public - 18 months or two. In private - I’ve had friends nurse until around four, and acquaintances until six - although in that case it was a younger (three) sibling and “its only fair.” When the baby weaned at four, the older sib stopped too. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/14 "2010-09-15T11:12:32Z")
[The WHO recommendation is to offer breastmilk until 2 years or beyond.](http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/) One of the mums in my mums group is still feeding her 3 year old (she has a 10 month old as well) - although I’ve never met the older child. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/15 "2010-09-15T11:50:00Z")
Although the WHO recommendation is based partly on there being little access to clean water in much of the world. Its much less critical for a first world woman, who can turn on the tap and get water that isn’t muddy or carrying disease than it is for much of the world. There isn’t any PROBLEM with breastfeeding until two - or for that matter six except for the “ick” factor. But the benefits in the first world are significantly less than the third world. Although given that in the U.S. we often don’t replace breast milk with water or milk, but instead with apple juice, grape juice and diet coke and instead of healthy solids, fruit snacks. goldfish crackers and McDonald’s happy meals - maybe we should breastfeed until college. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/16 "2010-09-15T14:18:37Z")
Y’all knew I would show up here eventually, right? In \*public \*public, I guess I’ve seen children approaching 2yo nursing (I know for sure I’ve seen one - real up close like). At LLL functions, I’ve seen 4 year olds nursing. Similarly, I’ve never seen someone “whip it out” amongst the general public, but at LLL stuff people will sometimes just pull down one side of a tank top or something. > [@Anaamika](#): > > Oh, there is a difference. I always tell the story of the young woman at the SCA dance meeting, who opened her shirt entirely, all the way down, exposing both breasts, to nurse her app. 2 YO. With men and women of all ages there. And then when the baby was done, just left the shirt open for a few minutes. (I don’t know why.) Clear cry for attention, and not appropriate at all. That is “whipping it out”! It is my hope that someday comments along these lines will seem just as weird as someone saying, “There was this lady at the mall, and she just reached into her diaper bag and pulled out a _bottle_, in full view, and popped it in her baby’s mouth, without trying to drape a blanket over it or anything. And there were teenage boys and children there!” As for a biologically normal age for weaning, I believe [Kathy Dettwyler](http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html)has done the most research, and concluded that 2-7 is the range for humans. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/17 "2010-09-15T14:32:22Z")
I have no children and/or real opinion on when is too old to breastfeed but I have never, ever, ever seen a discussion on breastfeeding that didn’t use the phrase “whipped it out” when referring to breastfeeding in general, not just in the extreme like **Anaamika** saw. Which I agree is obnoxious and I don’t at all doubt happened/happens. I have personally never seen a breastfeeding woman conspicuously breastfeed. I just don’t like the casual judgment implied in the term. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/18 "2010-09-15T15:02:22Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > I didn’t see it, but Mr. HP swears up and down that he saw a kid around 10 years old (he was about 12 at the time) nursing on a sidewalk in Rota, Spain, as his mother begged. Ah, thank you for the reminder. Non-beggar children, I haven’t seen any kids old enough to sit on their own being nursed in public (I don’t count a bathroom or changing room as being “in public”). Beggars who use children as props are likely to stick a nipple in the kid’s mouth to make it seem as if it’s nursing, even if the kid looks to be 2-3 years old. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those actually suckle, though, they always seem to be completely spaced off (which I reckon to be at least part of the reason why beggars have a reputation of drugging their “prop” children). ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/19 "2010-09-15T15:37:23Z")
It’s not really in public, because it happened at our house, but our friends’ six-year-old daughter came running over to her mother one day and demanded the breast. Her mother tried to dissuade her, but she was adamant and her mother gave in saying, “It helps calm her down when she’s upset.” They went into a bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751/20 "2010-09-15T16:00:47Z")
I’ve seen a five year old nurse, though it wasn’t really in public. Other than that, probably somewhere between 1 and 2. My own son got cut off in public somewhere around 2-ish, maybe? Can’t entirely remember. He didn’t nurse in public very much for at least a year previous to that, for that matter, not because I thought there was anything wrong with it or even (at that younger age) because I thought other people would, but because he was too much on and off all the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-nursling-youve-ever-seen-nip/553751.md?page=2)