Coco Austin Breastfeeds Her 5-Year-Old: 'Why Take It Away From Her?'

Coco Austin opens up about breastfeeding her 5-year-old. “I don’t want to deprive her of something she wants”

Society sure does love to weigh in on a mom’s choices, amiright? Everything is fair game when it comes to the mom-shaming crowd who love to dissect decisions mothers make about everything from screen time to vaccines. Above all, folks love to pick apart a woman’s choice to breastfeed or formula feed — or to breastfeed for too long or not long enough. Basically, a mom should just follow her gut when it comes to what’s right for her and her child, which is exactly what Coco Austin is doing when it comes to continuing to nurse her five-year-old daughter.

Austin explains to US Weekly why she’s still breastfeeding Chanel, who turns six in November.

“Chanel still likes my boobs,” she tells the publication exclusively while discussing her parenting dos and don’ts. “It’s a big bonding moment for a mother and your child.”

Austin shares that although Chanel is happy to “eat steak and hamburgers,” the child still “likes a little snack every now and then.” She says, “Why take that away from her? … If Chanel doesn’t want it, all right, that’s where you stop it. But I’m not just going to say no boob.”

Coco says at age five, it’s not really about nutrition as much as comfort. “She loves on it and it’s not like she’s getting milk from it, but she’s getting her little snack and it’s kind of soothing her to sleep,” Austin says.

Bottom line, the mom and wife to rapper and actor Ice-T isn’t really caring what the rest of the world thinks when it comes to how she parents her daughter. “I don’t want to deprive her of something she wants just because society says you need to stop after two,” she says.

Austin shares that she’s had “numerous arguments on Instagram” when it comes to her feelings on breastfeeding past the toddler stage, but she’s (rightly) unapologetic. “I have one child and one child only and I’m gonna do the damn thing when it comes to her,” she shares.

Chanel even made a little cameo during the interview gleefully sharing, “You know what? The boo boo makes me sleep.”

I mean, valid. Also? It’s literally no one’s business but Coco’s and her little girl’s when they decide to stop breastfeeding. Momma’s happy, kiddo’s happy, case closed. Of course, the mom-shamers of the internet (and the grocery store, school pick-up line, Barnes & Noble, doctor’s office waiting room, the community pool, etc) are going to keep up their judgy nonsense, but at the end of the day, what they think doesn’t matter when it comes to the happiness of parents and their kids. Sounds like Coco has that all figured out.