Mayim Bialik Defends Choice To Breastfeed Her Son Until He Was 4 Years Old

Mayim Bialik is again speaking out in defense of her "attachment parenting" style.

“People laughed and sneered but it wasn’t wrong,” Bialik told InTouch of the critiques she received regarding her decision to breastfeed her son, Fred, until he was 4 years old and self-weaned. “Just because you do something your way doesn’t mean you can judge people who don’t. ... I don’t think I’m a better mom and my kids aren’t necessarily better off than yours.”

She told InTouch the criticism "made her cry."

“The way that I parent is the way thousands of women parent all over the world, but I get flak for it," she said. "People say really mean things!”

The "Big Bang Theory" star has long been a vocal proponent of attachment parenting, a phrase coined by Dr. William Sears, denoting a style of child-rearing that includes breastfeeding and co-sleeping. Bialik breastfed her two sons, Miles, 8, and Fred, now 5, until they were toddlers.

Last February, she blogged about Fred self-weaning and called out those who doubted her choice to adopt extended breastfeeding. From her blog entry:

Well, nay-sayers, prepare to be proven wrong. All of you snarky mamas who glared at me nursing my 3 1/2-year-old on the NYC subway, prepare to be amazed. And to all of my family and friends who wanted to chastise me about nursing a walking, talking, thinking, laughing little man named Fred, thanks for holding your tongues. Because we did it. Fred isn’t going to nurse on his way down the wedding aisle or at his high school graduation. I didn’t need to break him of a “habit” and teach him “who’s in charge.” I didn’t need to set boundaries you thought I should have set when I didn’t want to set them.

Bialik is one of multiple celebrity parents who has promoted attachment parenting. Alicia Silverstone shares her attachment parenting philosophies in her new book, The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning. The book has since made headlines for its more controversial points, including anti-vaccine and anti-diaper sections.