The cover of Time magazine has everyone talking. By now, everyone has at least heard about the cover of the woman nursing her toddler as he is standing on a chair to reach her breast. Some were outraged wit the cover. It was called provocative, unnecessary, misrepresentation or attachment parenting, and a ploy to sell magazines. There is no doubt the cover will become one of Time magazine’s most controversial covers. As it exploded all over Facebook and Twitter, I watched as moms were hurt, disgusted, and insulted by the cover and other moms with extreme opinions. The eruption was by design. Time magazine knew exactly the impact it would have the public. Yet, did they do attachment parenting a disservice? Did they make moms who breastfeed beyond a year look wacky or those who do not look like weak moms?
The sad thing to me is that whenever a conversation on extended breastfeeding or attachment parenting comes up that image will be in everyone’s heads. The image that evokes such emotion and conviction will be associated with two aspects of parenthood that are private and beautiful.
Moms who breastfeed over a year came under fire unfairly. I think if a mom wants to breastfeed her toddler she certainly should. I do not think it makes her a better mom. It makes her a mom who made a different choice. Moms need not argue over such decisions. Being a mom is more than breastfeeding and co-sleeping. If only it were that easy.
The idea that the picture was sexual in nature is sickening. The act of feeding a child is not sexy. I am baffled that anyone can look at the picture and walk away feeling anything in the sexual realm. The picture misrepresented the true nature of extended breastfeeding. It is not some “in your face” defiant act by a mom to shock the world. The look on the model’s facet that dared you to tell her she is wrong would have been better in a more tasteful picture.
Let’s not allow a picture to cause more dissension among moms when it comes to the hot parent topics like breastfeeding, co-sleeping, potty training, and crying it out. Moms need to support one another not rip each other apart based on Time’s ploy to sell magazines. I wish the model would have made a better choice and represented extended breastfeeding in a more natural and loving light. So do we need to be mom enough? Yes, we need to be mom enough to not judge the parenting decisions of others. Being mom enough has to do with a confident and loving spirit not your parenting choice on breastfeeding.