Coco Austin breastfed her daughter until little Chanel was ready to stop.
As it turns out, she was no longer so little when that time came. She was six years old.
Coco knows that critics have a lot to say about that.
Well, she has a lot to say right back at them.
Coco Austin knows that her breastfeeding choices are controversial
On the Sunday, November 9 episode of Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast, Coco Austin — wife of Law & Order: SVU actor Ice-T — sat down to discuss an array of experiences.
One of those was motherhood, which included breastfeeding her daughter … until she was 6 years old.
“It wasn’t like I was feeding her because she needed a meal,” Coco clarified.
(We suspect that this is not the issue for critics)
“She was able to eat by a year, full solids,” Coco detailed of Chanel’s development.
“It was more that she wanted to be around me,” Coco recalled.
“It was mostly when she went to sleep,” she explained, adding that “she wanted me to be there.”
Coco summarized: “So it was more of a comfort thing.”
Thinking back to that time, she explained that she decided: “I’m going to let her stop when she wants to stop.”
Many parents do this with their children — with some babies weaning themselves before their parents had imagined. But, in this case, that’s not what happened for Coco and Chanel.
‘That happened around 6’
Coco Austin discussed the “bonding experience” with her now-9-year-old daughter, Chanel.
“She’s not going to be 16 on my boob,” she reasoned.
Coco recalled thinking: “:She’s eventually going to figure out that this is kinda strange or weird and stop.”
She continued: “And that happened around 6.”
Coco did acknowledge that she knows that this was “an extremely long time” to nurse.
Over the years, Coco has heard from “so many people who loved” that she unabashedly breastfed her daughter until she was 6 years old.
However, there are numerous critics. Some worry about Chanel’s social development, where others just seem squicked by the whole thing.
“In Europe, they’re doing it until 7,” Coco claimed, sounding defensive. “There, it’s nothing to them. We Americans think that’s weird. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it as long as it’s just in your home, you know?”
While there may be individuals in Europe breastfeeding to such extremes, that is no more “normal” there than in America. In Europe, one year is standard for breastfeeding, with two years considered the extreme end of normal.
Coco may be thinking of higher exclusive breastfeeding rates in some European countries (lower in the UK but higher in places like Norway) — which stems from maternity leave policies that give parents many months to bond with babies.
‘I’m loving every moment I can’
Now, Coco Austin was right to condemn those who “sexualize” breastfeeding. “It’s not a big thing,” she reasoned. “It’s a boob.”
She shared that 9-year-old Chanel remains “obsessed with boobs … to this day.”
Additionally, they still have a good rapport, cuddling even years after breastfeeding has ended.
“It’s just a really nice moment because it’s not going to be like this when they get into the teenage years,” Coco reasoned. “I’m loving every moment I can with Chanel.”
Critics are not unreasonable for recoiling at the thought of a child growing up with conscious memories of having breastfed. It is well outside of the experiences of most people on the planet. Yes, even in Europe.
But, hopefully, in this instance, it’s harmless.