Comments on: Boys playing mommy

By: Erika

Erika — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:36:25 +0000

I don’t have children……yet, but I find it wonderful to think that little boys feel the desire to “nurture an infant” by playing at breastfeeding. It’s a sad reality that there are a lot of single parents, both moms and dads, as well as co-parents, and archaic gender roles need to be redefined in order to raise healthy new generations. We would never chastise a little girl for NOT pretending to breastfeed her dollies, so why should we think it unnatural for a boy to want to? He’ll figure out eventually that he doesn’t have the “right equpment”, but we need to encourage his nurturing heart……it’s what great dads are made of!

By: Sarah E. Ludwig

Sarah E. Ludwig — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:09:22 +0000

I completely agree, Kathy. Thanks for your comment!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:49:33 +0000

Oh, good grief!! Children imitate what they see, for good or for bad. Just about every child — male or female — that I’ve seen who has a younger breastfed sibling will “breastfeed” a doll, stuffed animal, etc. This is perfectly normal, and may even be better for these children, because they are imprinting normal, successful breastfeeding into their young minds, which will pay off in huge benefits as they become nursing mothers and fathers. And one of the little boys I saw who “breastfed” his teddy bear at 3 years of age is now 17 years old and judging by his facebook account, is much more of a “ladies’ man” than a “girlie man.”
Kathy´s last blog ..Win a copy of Breastfeeding with Comfort and Joy