I don't get it...

Extended nursing! I am a little discusted by this. I hear of more and more women nursing toddlers and beyond, and I am really having a hard time with it. I mean, I don't critisize other mothers often, but this is hard for me to turn away from. When a child is old enough to ask for a boob, it is time to be done with nursing. I think nursing is so great for BABIES. Breast milk is better for your baby, but there are no studies saying that a child needs it longer than 6 months. I am all for kids nursing for at least a year. I also understand that many women have problems nursing, or have to go back to work, but if you can nurse, you should. It is when I see a 3,4, or 5 year old nursing that I get a little judgemental. I think that the mother is fulfilling some wierd need in herself, and not thinking about the child. I don't think it will do massive amounts of damage to a child to nurse for an extended period of time, but I think there is potential for some emotional issues. A child needs to be able to become an independant person, to some extent, and extended nursing hinders that. A child needs to be able to make choices and be able to self soothe, and I think extended nursing hinders that big time. It can cause speech problems as well. When a baby is born, they swallow differently than you and I do. At 1 year old, they should be off of a bottle and learning to drink from a sippy cup so that they develop this matured way of swallowing. (not that my kids were weaned off of a bottle at 1 year old, but I started to inroduce sippy cups then) If a child does not learn how to swallow correctly, it will delay their speech. I have read blogs about this, and I have heard women having conversations with their child about breast feeding and it seems way inappropriate to me. I am in no way saying that I am against nursing, it is the complete opposite. I think nursing is something God intended women to do, and therefore, if we can, we should. Just my thoughts.