healthy for who? certainly breast milk is still healthy to ingest and the mother and child are apparently getting some bonding benefits from extending breast feeding this long or they would have stopped. at four years old the child is really not getting his main nutrition from breast feeding so i suspect there is a strong psychological component -- they are doing this because they like it. while this private nighttime ritual may seem odd to you and your generation i would just let the mother make the decisions here without any comments or criticisms. there is really nothing you can do. this will eventually stop. great answers. i know this woman who said she breastfed her kids until they were in their teens. it started out that the oldest child felt left out when baby sis came along. he was 7 at the time and want mother's attention. she let him feed on one breast while daughter fed on the the other. this went on for each new baby and all of the kids wanted mother's milk. strange? each to their own. many cultures breast feed to older ages some beyond 7 years. breast milk from a human is meant for human children. although at this age it is not the main source of nutrition the child can still benefit from the antibodies in his mother's milk. additionally this is a choice your daughter in law has made. there is nothing unnatural or perverted about a mother feeding her child. showing contempt for her decision will only damage your relationship unnecessarily.
is it healthy to breastfeed a four year old? . my daughter-in-law is still breastfeeding her four year old at night; is this healthy?