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Weaning After the Age of 2

Tips for Weaning Your Toddler

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

Mara Berkley, a freelance writer and mother from Bristol, Rhode Island, developed her own method of telling her son they were weaning. "With the support of La Leche League and their guidelines, weaning went very smoothly," Berkely says. "I picked a memorable day, Memorial Day that was a month away, and told him that at that time the milk would dry up. We talked about it nightly. With reassurance and comfort, he did not experience any complications."

Rachel also used a special day to end nursing. After cutting back to two short nursings a day over the course of a year, she asked her son to choose a day to nurse for the last time. He chose his fourth birthday, which was at that point several months away. As the day drew near, they discussed it frequently. "It went better for him than for me," she says. "I was a wreck. But I held him to his decision."

Weaning an older child from the breast can be an adventure. However, with a little creativity, planning, comfort and reassurance, it can go smoothly for both the child and the mother. "Taking the time to listen as well as learn from what your child is telling you will offer wonderful clues to how weaning should be accomplished," says Prachniak. "A child this age can be very verbal about what they want or don't want. But, they are also old enough to listen and understand if it is explained in their language: love."