How to Stop Breastfeeding for Children

It's time to wean your child but you can't stop breastfeeding. Relax, mum! You're not the only mum who feels this way. Many mothers feel the same way. But calm down, because there are ways for children to stop breastfeeding that can be done to overcome the problem of difficult weaning.

What are the ways to stop breastfeeding a child that mothers who have difficulty weaning can do? On this occasion, we will share complete and interesting information for you!

How to Stop Breastfeeding Your Child - Weaning Solutions

Regarding the right time to wean, there is actually no specific benchmark time when breastfeeding needs to end, and the child is weaned. However, WHO (World Health Organization) recommends that children stop breastfeeding at the age of 2 years.

Here are the stages that WHO recommends for weaning a child:

Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (EIBF) or also referred to as early breastfeeding initiation (IMD) is given 1 hour after delivery.
Exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age.
Introduction of complementary foods (MP-ASI) when the baby is 6 months to over 2 years old.
When the child reaches the age of 2 years, parents can gradually reduce breastfeeding slowly until the child is completely weaned or stops breastfeeding completely.

In order for all stages of breastfeeding as recommended by WHO to work, parents must actively monitor the child's development.

As the child approaches 2 years of age, parents should give a concise understanding in a language that is easy for the child to understand about how he/she should part with breast milk. So, what if the child has difficulty stopping breastfeeding, what are the solutions that can be done?

There are several solutions that can be done as a way for children to stop breastfeeding for mothers who have difficulty weaning children, some of them are as follows:

1. Give understanding to the child

Understanding is the main thing that parents must convey to their children that now they cannot drink breast milk anymore. Explain about it with simple sentences, for example:

"Dear, now that you have grown up to be a big, smart child, and soon have to go to school, mum can no longer give you breast milk. Drinking breast milk is only for small children, while you have grown up. So, you must drink water diligently."

Such explanatory sentences can make the child understand the reason why parents do not breastfeed anymore.

2. Change your child's eating habits

Changing children's eating habits is one way that can be done to wean children. For example, when going to bed, children usually breastfeed, mothers can give children healthy snacks first to make their stomachs filled and full so that before going to bed they will not look for breast milk.

Similarly, after sleep, if your child asks for breast milk, you can give him fruit as a healthy snack or you can give him a glass of water if he feels thirsty.

3. Wear different clothes

If you often use the same clothes when breastfeeding your child, then start using different clothes. Using clothes that do not have buttons on the front will make your child less eager to breastfeed.

Also, avoid undressing in front of the child, especially when the breast is visible, so that the child can forget his desire to breastfeed over time.

4. Wean gradually

How children stop breastfeeding that mothers need to do is to be patient with all the long process. Mothers must understand that weaning is a transition period from fulfilling nutrition through breast milk to fulfilling nutrition through MP-ASI.

Therefore, the weaning process should also be done gradually, not suddenly and should be pursued with approaches first according to the child's readiness.

5. Shorten breastfeeding time and skip

If the child usually feeds for 10 minutes, then shorten the schedule to 5 minutes. If the child is able to breastfeed for 5 minutes, over time you can eliminate the breastfeeding schedule.

If your child starts to feel hungry, switch to a healthy snack. If your child starts to feel thirsty, switch to water or growing-up milk instead.

6. Introduce drinking from a glass

Another way to wean a child from breast milk is to introduce the child to how to drink with a glass. By introducing children to how to drink using a glass, the weaning process will become easier.

After going through all the stages of how children stop breastfeeding, children who are difficult to wean will usually slowly begin to accept that they can no longer get breast milk. Finally, the weaning process is successful.

Hopefully, the information we shared above will be inspiring and useful, especially for mothers who have difficulty weaning.

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