Age to leave babyhood behind?

Breastfeeding is not a fad. What I consider a fad is extreme bf until long after necessary.

I don't think it's fair to compare breastfeeding to fads though Grammaretto.

One of my sons took his teddy to university with him. He took more back with him after Christmas! I think the young women liked them. 🙄

Iam64

NotSpaghetti

I do still have my baby Teddy from my babyhood. Maybe I haven't "left babyhood behind"

I went to a wonderful exhibition at a local art gallery today. Transitional objects, rabbits, teddies and other soft toys featured large. It reminded me of the importance to infants/children of soft toys, especially the favourite attachment soft toy we sleep with.
We do children no good if we deny key stages, or tell them - you’re too old for rabbit/Teddy now

As for toilet training - I was a mid 80’s mum, our advice was leave them to 2 1/2years, be consistent, Pants not nappies and they’ll be dry in a week or so. They were

DS won't take his Teddy with him but won't let me give him away 🐻
Girls don't seem to have such an attachment to teddies (although mine is somewhere in the attic and needs to go to The Repair Shop).

I’m a nursery teacher and soon my four year olds will be starting to leave in July for school. Good luck to the reception teachers that’s all I say I have some still eating with their fingers some still in nappies and don’t start me on dummies. No it’s nit the norm we have definitely gone backwards lazy parenting!

You do make me laugh MissA .

Americans go in for fads it's true. We had American visitors to our community cafe about 20 years ago who were into babywearing and had no nappies at all for their newborn.
I've often pondered how long that lasted.
Probably until they had to return to work!

My friend fed her children for ages.
It was like a dairy when she came to visit

Her jumper was up and down like a fiddlers elbow, and there would be dribbles of milk around where she had been sitting. .

Actually there's a lot of extended breastfeeding in America (used to be anywsy). It was common even in the early 80s to find women breastfeeding in the shopping malls in small groups.

We lived there at the time and found the openness to breastfeeding refreshing.
Maybe things have changed though since then? It was a shock to come back to the UK and find women having to fight to breastfeed in public and being sent to the toilets in cafés!

Oh pour wee things, You're too old for teddy. Pick up a pencil and write an essay.

NotSpaghetti

I do still have my baby Teddy from my babyhood. Maybe I haven't "left babyhood behind"

I went to a wonderful exhibition at a local art gallery today. Transitional objects, rabbits, teddies and other soft toys featured large. It reminded me of the importance to infants/children of soft toys, especially the favourite attachment soft toy we sleep with.
We do children no good if we deny key stages, or tell them - you’re too old for rabbit/Teddy now

As for toilet training - I was a mid 80’s mum, our advice was leave them to 2 1/2years, be consistent, Pants not nappies and they’ll be dry in a week or so. They were

Louella12

I can't remember how old mine were when they dropped the bottle.

However, my husband's nephew was still running around with his bottle hanging out of his mouth when he was about 5.

No harm done , he's a barrister now.

I hope he doesn't take his bottle to the Bar! 🤣😂

I can't remember how old mine were when they dropped the bottle.

However, my husband's nephew was still running around with his bottle hanging out of his mouth when he was about 5.

No harm done , he's a barrister now.

I don't like to see big children treated like babies.

I guess what he’s having in his bottle is also an issue? I’m sure there’s evidence that constantly using a bottle isn’t good for teeth.

In my daughters reception class it’s only the addition needs children still wearing nappies, but many many of the others need lots of help on the loo still at 4 & 5.

Yes NotSpaghetti peculiar to us and USA probably.

Did you see that beautiful French documentary Babies?
It ought to be compulsory viewing. IMO
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB36k0hGxDM

My oldest son was born in 1991 and was very difficult to potty train - he was dry day and night all of a sudden around his third birthday. I was horrified, but I didn’t know at the time that he was autistic. In the nineties, the general consensus was that girls were clean and dry in the day somewhere near their second birthday and boys around 2 1/2. My younger son and daughter conformed to this although my son was not reliably dry at night until he was five. My daughter was dry at night before she was 2 1/2. I couldn’t breastfeed my oldest child, despite Herculean efforts but he was off the bottle completely by around a year. The younger two were breastfed and went straight onto a cup. I agree with the majority here that the modern trend for such late potty training for children without additional needs is deplorable and lazy. Also, older children become quite stubborn and it can, ironically, make it harder. As for the bottle, this is a health hazard as it can cause serious harm to the teeth. It really needs to go.

NotSpaghetti

Weaning infants seems very peculiar in the UK too Grammaretto - a mad rush into solids and off the breast (if ever they were on it).

The rules keep changing!

Even between my oldest and youngest the rules changed and woe betide you if the Health Visitor thought you were ignoring them.
Of course, the Grannies had other ideas too.

Weaning infants seems very peculiar in the UK too Grammaretto - a mad rush into solids and off the breast (if ever they were on it).

Ilovecheese

Why the rush to leave babyhood behind. Is there the same rush to leave childhood behind? If not, why not?

As an aside, I still feel sad many years later about my darling little chubby faced boy. Just turned 4 , he couldn't understand why he couldn't be with his friends all day long. The whole idea of groups and activities and lining up for things was way too much too soon.

Have you spoken to the parents about your concern? It’s best to get some insight before we start questioning their parenting. Every child is different and everyone parents differently.

Why the rush to leave babyhood behind. Is there the same rush to leave childhood behind? If not, why not?

I did that with my son at around 18months. Let him run around with a bare bottom, he soon got the hang of the potty. It's easier to do that with an 18 month old than a 4 year old though.

Back in my DC day 1970s and 80s there were always the proud mums SAHMs who potted their babies after every feed and "caught" the inevitable poo or pee.

I was not sure that was a good idea as
I had read about later problems with constipation and retention so thought it better to wait until they were 18months and it was summer when you could let then run around bare bottomed.
It must have worked but it was a fairly stressful process apart from DS2 who trained himself. He was so eager to watch his big brother he was out of nappies night and day by 18 months. He sucked his thumb though until he was a teenager and then took up smoking.

If we breastfed until aged 2 we didn't boast about it as some older women could be disapproving.

My son wouldn’t have been allowed to attend nursery school in the late 80s if he wasn’t potty trained. That was the rule in that little school. Why not now?