Meet Mother who still breastfeeds her sons aged five and six before and after school
Sheryl Wynne, a mother who still breastfeeds her two boys, aged five and six, has said she won’t stop until they decide they are ready, despite one son claiming he wants to be nursed until he is 10.
Sheryl Wynne, 39, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, says that breastfeeding her school-aged sons is ‘completely normal’ as it has cemented a lifelong bond between them and made them ‘closer’.
The mother-of-two breastfeeds both Riley, six, and Mylo, five, before school, in the evening and throughout the night – and has even fed them in the pre-school playground.
Sheryl argues that ‘mummy milk’ is the ‘ultimate parenting tool’ as it helps calm the children and comforts them when they’re upset or ill.
However Sheryl Wynne says she does receive negative comments from strangers and even family members, who question if the ‘way her children behave’ is down to them still being breastfed – but Sheryl argues that ‘that’s children’.
Although she originally planned to stop breastfeeding the boys when Riley was three, she wants them to be part of the decision – and he has said he won’t stop until he’s ten.
Sheryl, a hypnobirthing teacher and doula, said: ‘I think about when I’ll stop all of the time.‘It’s never felt right to end it unnecessarily. It’s what they’re asking for and it’s biologically normal even if it’s not in society.
We started the conversation when Riley was three when they would stop having mummy milk and Riley said when he’s ten and I told him there’s no chance.
‘The choice isn’t just mine, it’s a relationship because it’s something we do together.
‘It’s not like I don’t have a choice, a lot of the time they ask for it and I’ll tell them to get off. I do wonder if they’d just stay on there all night.
‘It’s made us closer. It’s the fact they know they can come to me and be comforted any time.’
Sheryl Wynne continued: ‘We can do that without breastfeeding, a lot of people who aren’t breastfeeding will still respond to that but it’s part of my toolbox.
‘It’s formed part of our relationship and that’s my main drive for continuing breastfeeding.’
Despite negative comments from family and friends, Sheryl sees breastfeeding as a way to connect with her sons, even using it to comfort them in the school playground.
Sheryl Wynne said: ‘It’s about comfort. If they’re ill, that’s where they want to be to help them calm down but we don’t live in a society that’s supportive of that after infancy which is why we don’t see it.
‘They want to be with me and snuggle with me even when they aren’t breastfeeding.
‘I’ve been pretty lucky in that I haven’t had negative comments from strangers but family members and people I know have asked if I think I should stop.
‘They question whether the way my children behave is anything to do with them being breastfed. They’re hard work but that’s children.
‘People think they’re experts in other people’s children but I’m not doing it blind even though I am following my instincts in many ways’.
