The user, @a_mothers_tale, has 31,000 followers and typically posts parenting content. @a_mothers_tale via TikTok A TikToker said she received a “shocking” amount of hate for filming herself weaning her toddler. Commenters said they thought the two-year-old was too old to be breastfed.
Health experts support extended breastfeeding, but it still often leads to backlash. A mother to a two-year-old boy shared the “shocking” amount of backlash she received after she posted a TikTok video about weaning him from breastfeeding. Emma, who only shared her first name on social media and whose TikTok username is @a_mothers_tale, said the criticism came after a video she posted on October 3 showing her sitting on a sofa while her son pulled up her shirt and tried to breastfeed.
An on-screen caption on the video read, “Week 1 of weaning got us like. . ” @a_mothers_tale First rule or wean club: NEVER sit down!!! #weaning #breastfeading ♬ Drop ‘Em Out – Wheeler Walker Jr.
The video received 2. 1 million views, and sparked criticism — comments seen by Insider said her child looked “way too old” to still want to be breastfed and said it was “improper” for a child his size to be pulling up his mother’s shirt. In a follow-up video posted October 5, the creator said she thought many of her commenters did not realize that her son, who appeared in the clip, was only two years old.
She also shared a purported screen recording of her comments section, showing people calling her actions “ridiculous” and “unnecessary,” with an on-screen caption that said, “When you post a TikTok of you weaning your two-year-old and wake up to this. The judgment was/is shocking. ” @a_mothers_tale You do you mama! But its 2022 let’s educate ourselves & NORMALISE natural term breastfeeding!!! #normalisebreastfeeding #extendedbreastfeeding #naturaltermweaning #breastfeeding ♬ Drop ‘Em Out – Wheeler Walker Jr.
She said, “My jaw was literally on the floor. Like I cannot believe the hate I have woken up to this morning,” adding, “I’ve been called disgusting. I’ve been told I’m wrong.
I’ve been told I have serious issues. And I actually had somebody message me and tell me that I should be locked up. ” The TikToker said in the video that she thought people who found her actions to be inappropriate were unnecessarily sexualizing the act of her son pulling up her shirt in the video.
“I’m sorry but 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,” she said. @a_mothers_tale His face at the end 😅😂 #breastfeeding #breastfedtoddler #breastfeedingjourney ♬ Drop ‘Em Out – Wheeler Walker Jr. The user has posted several TikToks documenting her experience with the weaning process over the past week and continues to post parenting tips on her account for her 31,000 followers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend that infants should start eating solid food at around six months, and that breastfeeding should be continued alongside that for children “up to 2 years and beyond. ” A 2019 study funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant found that breastfeeding a child after 12 months — known as “extended breastfeeding” — offers “considerable health benefits. ” This was echoed in a 2020 study by British academics for the Women and Health journal, which found that women who breastfed their child beyond infancy often felt that they played a more “central role” in their child’s health, but faced “social and cultural stigma due to a lack of public awareness of current breastfeeding recommendations.
” However, people who document their experience with extended breastfeeding often say they receive criticism for their decision from social media users. Actors Coco Austin, Mayim Balik, and Danica McKellar are among the celebrities who have spoken out against those who have criticized them for extended breastfeeding. For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider’s Digital Culture team here.
Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/tiktoker-backlash-video-breastfeeding-2-year-old-2022-10
