Long-term feeding is only good for the baby's health. However, it causes a strong psychological dependence in a child, which can be quite difficult to get rid of.
The benefits of feeding up to a year
After six months, breast milk ceases to be the only food for the child, a variety of complementary foods and juices are introduced into his diet. The baby grows up, the number of attachments to the breast decreases, and the concentration of antibodies in breast milk increases. This means that babies who feed on their mother's milk for more than 6 months receive strong immune support. It is very cool if breastfeeding lasts up to a year, because it is at this age that the baby makes his first attempts to walk, which means that he is most susceptible to various diseases.
Benefits of feeding up to two to three years
In the third year of lactation, milk does not lose its beneficial properties and is a valuable source of fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. It contains special enzymes that help to assimilate food, as well as biologically active substances and tissue growth factors that are not found in adult food or in adapted baby food.
Babies who receive breast milk for more than three years perform well at five years old on speech development tests.
The benefits of feeding up to four years of age
It would seem that a four-year-old child no longer needs breast milk at all. However, it is not. It contains lactoferrin, which stops the growth of the main culprit of tooth decay, the streptococcal bacteria. Moreover, with the help of breast milk, the tooth enamel is saturated with phosphorus and calcium, thereby strengthening the teeth. A four-year-old toddler running to his mother's breast after every child's quarrel looks like a "mama's boy" compared to those who cope with emotions on their own. In fact, it is more likely that the first one, who has not lost the connection with mom ahead of time, will learn to cope with stress faster. Such a child feels a secure rear, is more open to the world and acts more confidently in it.
According to New Zealand scientists, the longer the baby breastfeeds, the better it adapts to society at the age of six or eight.
Harm of feeding up to four years
Long-term feeding is only good for the baby's health. However, it is best to wean at two or three years of age, because often because of the failed psychological separation of the baby from the mother, who simply does not want to “let him go,” the child becomes dependent, which in the future can adversely affect his development. Such a baby is often subject to ridicule from other children, is withdrawn, shy. Yes, and a woman herself will feel uncomfortable if a fairly adult child on the street will be hysterical and demand mother's milk. It should be noted that the longer a woman will postpone the moment of completion of lactation, the harder it will be for the child to adapt to it.
