Breastfeeding Older Children
Ann Sinnott
2010
This groundbreaking and often provocative book documents the realities of breastfeeding beyond babyhood — into the preschool and school-aged years. Drawing on in-depth interviews, cultural research, and personal experience, Ann Sinnott explores the physical, emotional, and societal aspects of nursing older children, while challenging deeply ingrained Western taboos.
Why It’s Included:
This book gives voice to a largely invisible — and often judged — group of parents. It aligns with our philosophy of normalising natural-term breastfeeding and affirming the full range of nurturing, age-appropriate feeding experiences. It also encourages thoughtful reflection on cultural bias, stigma, and parental autonomy.
Who It’s For:
Best suited for parents currently nursing older children or considering doing so. Also valuable for professionals and peer supporters seeking to understand and support long-term breastfeeding with sensitivity and confidence.
“Though it is a niche audience, those who feel represented by this book are a far greater proportion of the population than you might expect. Allowing natural-term weaning means, for some families, breastfeeding measured by multiples of years. Children aged 3-8 (or more) are not strange or unnatural for continuing to breastfeed - their orangutan cousins also breastfeed around 8 years. This book is a wonderful resource for these families”
Further Reading:
Mothering Your Nursing Toddler – Norma Jane Bumgarner
Adventures in Tandem Nursing – Hilary Flower
To Three and Beyond - Melissa Morgan
