I come from a family of all formula fed and it is true they just don’t know. They are victims of a system that failed them and led them to believe that formula is the same as breastmilk. I even believed this until my third trimester. However, I just breastfed my daughter and they knew that was my decision. I didn’t have to explain myself, and through it being naturally around them, they’ve come to organically gain knowledge and ask their own curiosities.

I cringe when I go to comment sections and see wars from a middle age woman simply asking “what is the harm in using a little cover at the top of the exposed breast?” This is likely a woman that just doesn’t know! She’s asking, just like your child does, for guidance and understanding. Most likely she wasn’t breastfed, didn’t see it, and didn’t breastfeed her children. To yell at her “then don’t look!!!!” Or “YOU eat with a blanket over your head!” Are not constructive replies. There is a huge missed opportunity here. Her interest is clearly piqued and mind open for an answer, so give her one! Explain that it is only in recent history, through sexualization of the breast, that feeding a child has been misrepresented as something that needs to be hidden. Show one of many examples of historic paintings or photos from Biblical times to the 1800s with women feeding. Use it as a chance to show her it is a natural act, instead of silencing her. She’s going to walk away from that exchange either with more education on the subject, or a bad taste in her mouth about angry breastfeeding mothers. I’d rather it be the first!