Coco Austin has defended her decision to still breastfeed her 5-year-old daughter Chanel and has hit back at those critiquing her decision in an interview with Us Weekly.
“Chanel still likes my boobs,” the forty-two-year-old said. “It’s a big bonding moment for a mother and your child.”
Speaking with the outlet, she revealed that although she still breastfeeds Chanel as she “likes a little snack every now and then,” she does also “eat steak and hamburgers.”
“Why take that away from her? … If she doesn’t want it, all right, that’s where you stop it. But I’m not just going to say no.”
Breastfeeding past a certain age can be a controversial choice, which is why Austin has previously defended her decision on numerous other occasions.
In 2019, Austin spoke with InTouch where she revealed to the outlet that she expects Chanel to know when it’s time to stop. “When she doesn’t want me, she’s going to not want me,” she said.
“Believe me, she’s not going to be like sixteen and be like, ‘Mom, can I have the boob? and then a car.’ She’s going to go through a time in her life where she’s like, ‘Okay, I got this Mom, I don’t need you.’ And right now she still wants me so I’m just going to accept it.”
In 2020, Austin also had to explain that Chanel was mainly nursing at that point “just for comfort.”
Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “Believe me, the girl loves meat so it’s not like she isn’t eating real food. Thank you to all that understand my view. I see most of you are so eager to side with me and I too root for you in your journey as well. Us moms are connected.”
In her interview with Us Weekly, Austin also opened up about her daughter’s bedtime routine as she explained that she and her partner, Ice-T, “don’t mind” letting their daughter stay up late.
“We’re more of night entertainment. People have to understand, we have different times. Sometimes, I work until 2 in the morning. When [Ice-T’s] on tour, he’s doing a show at twelve at night… So we transfer it a different way. Chanel gets up at eleven in the morning.”
Austin also revealed that she lets her daughter decided where she sleeps, with her sometimes choosing to sleep in bed with her parents.
What do you think about Austin’s decision to continue breastfeeding?