Guest Post: Breastfeeding adults

Some of you will know Liam. If not, he was the best man at my wedding and we shared an office at our home church doing youth and children's ministry.

A few weeks ago we were having a chat which, in part, opened the door to this guest post. If you dare, you can track down the Little Britain skit on YouTube. BE WARNED! NSFW.

Thanks Liam!

There is one word that I can say to my wife that will cause instant repulsion. Her face will cringe, her arms will cross, and her brow furrow at this word. I will be told to not say it again, and that if I do, that I can sleep on the couch. ‘What is this abomination that causes desolation?’, I hear you ask. Well here it is …

‘Bitty’

Not so bad, hey? Unless you’ve seen the Little Britain skit from which it comes. In case you haven’t seen it, the skit starts off with a man, in his thirties, taking his new girlfriend to meet his parents for the first time. Everything is going swimmingly, and the family is very upright and proper. Until … the son (remember, clearly a man in his 30s) says to his mother ‘bitty, bitty, I want bitty.’ At which point, the mother, to the shock of the girlfriend (and the viewer) proceeds to breastfeed here fully grown son. Total gag-fest. Gross to the max. Defs totes disgusting.

Yep, mentioning that skit totally repulses my wife and gets me in a lot of trouble. And fair enough. There is something very abnormal and just-not-right about a man that is still totally babied by his parents. But, the babying of young Christians happens way too often in our churches, and nobody bats an eyelid. They just accept it as normal. Thankfully, it’s nothing like the Little Britain skit, but it is still a matter of concern. What does it look like though?

Well, it’s much more subtle. Kids who grow up in a Christian home tend to take on the faith of their parents in the early years. They go to their parent’s church, mimic their parents prayers, and generally believe whatever their parents tell them. This is cool, but it’s not meant to last forever, and one way or another it won’t. Christian parents need to be, as early as possible, I believe, giving their kids the chance to develop their own faith and trust in Jesus. One family that I know, actually encourage their kids to go and find their own church as soon as they turn 13. Huge move for the kids, but it gets them thinking about finding a church that they can grow in and contribute to.

Unfortunately, I don’t see too many Christian parents empowering their kids to develop a thriving faith in Jesus. More often than not, I see parents who make their kids go to church every Sunday morning until the age of 18. They never really have a choice in the matter, and it feels like something to do to keep mum and dad happy. 18 comes along, and then they disappear.

This should be as upsetting as seeing a grown man breastfeeding.