Tamara Ecclestone divided public opinion last week when she posted a photograph on Instagram showing her breastfeeding her daughter Sophia, who will be three on 17 March. It reignited a debate across the nation as to whether there is a right time to stop nursing your child, and on Monday Tamara appeared on Good Morning Britain to explain her decision to share the image. "I gave it so much thought, and thought that it was something so important," she told hosts Kate Garraway and Charlotte Hawkins. "I want mums in the future – and my daughter one day – to not have so much negativity or people questioning breastfeeding or making such a big deal out of it."
STORY: Tamara Ecclestone shares candid breastfeeding picture of daughter Sophia
She continued: "I really feel that my decision to let her wean herself and breastfeed until she no longer wants it is the right choice for me and for her. There are so many children that still have bottles, dummies, comforters and no-one questions that and I wouldn't dream of it. If someone wants to give their baby a bottle at night then that's entirely their decision so I just don't understand, when you are trying to do the best for your baby, why people are just trying to pick holes in it and look for the bad.
Tamara Ecclestone shared this picture, by photographer Ivette Ivans, of Sophia breastfeeding on Instagram last week
"She is not at my breast all day everyday, but at the same time I'm not prepared to take it away from her when clearly she still wants it because it's her choice. I personally don't believe in taking anything away. I didn't potty train her before I felt she was ready. Everything we've done, every stage of her development has been very much on her terms, when she is ready and I really feel that that has worked for us. I really feel that I am doing the best for her. It's really hard when everyone has an opinion and sometimes you just don't need to hear those opinions."
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Tamara and her husband Jay Rutland have been married since June 2013
The 32-year-old heiress again emphasised that the decision to stop breastfeeding would be Sophia's. "I will never feel uncomfortable about such a natural act and about nourishing and building up her immune system and giving her in a way, it's also comfort, and I do want to meet all her needs," she said. "And I know that she's such a smart girl, when she is done it will really be the right time for her and that will be the right time for us. She's not going to go to university and be still on my nipple so they all at some point are done and the natural age of weaning apparently is about the age of four and half, she may be done before that she may be done around that time but whenever is right for her is the only time that is right for me."
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