Infamous off-grid mum confesses she breastfed kids until age SIX and has been doing it for the last 10 years
OFF-GRID mum Adele Allen told how she is STILL breastfeeding ten years after first starting - and will happily whip out her 'boob' in public.
The controversial mum, who found fame when her daughter peed live on This Morning, spoke about her unusual decision to extend breastfeeding on a parenting podcast - adding people who criticised her for it probably weren't breastfed themselves.
Adele, husband Matt and three children Ulysses, nine, Ostara, four, and Kai, 18 months, live in Brighton, East Sussex, and follow an 'off grid' way of parenting.
Adele, who previously told Fabulous how she didn't really follow lockdown with trips to the park and seaside, hanging around outside and sprawling in the sunshine, has now revealed she fed her oldest son until he was six.
She told podcast - hosted by Natalie Rees - how she didn't believe in formula or breast milk substitute but initially struggled with feeding Ulysses and for the first two days he didn't take.
But thanks to her "grit" she refused to give up, she said - and since then hasn't stopped.
"It was painful at first," she said. "It took probably a week to really get used to it. It was really my grit and determination that I will not go onto formula milk or any substitute but I just persevered and nearly 10 years on I am still breastfeeding."
Adele explained how she had been criticised after revealing in 2016, when he was then five, that he was still being breastfed.
But she is fine with the criticisms, believing those who mocked her probably hadn't been breastfed themselves.
"The best thing we do as breastfeeding mothers is doing it unashamed in public," she said.
"You can't post [on online forums and in comments] that he [her son] will grow up and be so angry [that he has been breastfed].
"The kind of people who say that are the kind of people who weren't breast fed. They grow up and remember it fondly."
Adele said she breastfed "not with a delicate cover over".
"Have your boob out and be doing it," she said. "It's totally natural. The boobs were not designed as a sexual object. They were designed as a tool to feed babies.
"Even when people are criticising us too, continue to do it and don't be ashamed."
She also told how for the first few days of her eldest son's life she wasn't concerned when he didn't feed.
"He looked fine to me, his lips were hydrated and everything about him looked very peaceful," she told - explaining his very first days.
"I decided I was going to step back and not give him formula - I don't believe in formula.
You can't post that he will grow up and be so angry. The kind of people who say that are the kind of people who weren't breast fed. They grow up and remember it fondly.
Adele Allen
"Then, on the second day, the milk did come through."
Previously husband Matt, 36, has come under fire after he told how he wouldn't work as it wasn't in his 'psyche' - but admitted he was happy to rely on state handouts.
"It takes all of our money pretty much," he explained, revealing how they had recently moved into a three-bed council house after falling out with their previous neighbours and being forced to move into emergency accommodation for around a year.
"It's mostly benefit but we claim the very bottom line, just housing benefit and child tax credit which everyone gets anyway. That's it, which I think if I check in on it is £190 a week."
But Matt was adamant he and Adele were not abusing the system, with him working so few hours.
"I really honestly don't think we are," he said. "We have a minimalist impact on society in many respects
"Adele didn't have births at hospitals so we saved money on that. It is what it is."
And he refused to work a more traditional job for longer hours. "It's simple, I have no intention of spending 45 to 50 hours a week working. It is not in my psyche," he said.
Adele and Matt let the kids decide everything from what time they go to bed (usually around 9pm for Ostara but often as late as midnight for Ulysses), whether they brush their teeth (occasionally) and if they are going to go to school (no, never).
The kids, despite their young ages, are treated like adults - dictating if, when and what they eat.
She has not vaccinated any of her children, going so far as to say even if they were to visit a malaria-hit region they would not get the necessary jabs.
She wouldn’t get any future coronavirus vaccination. “I just don’t think it’s necessary,” she said. “The body has its own immune system and I trust in that.
It took probably a week to really get used to it. It was really my grit and determination that I will not go onto formula milk or any substitute but I just persevered and nearly 10 years on I am still breastfeeding.
Adele Allen
"In fact, the coronavirus vaccine is the least likely vaccine I would consider as it has been rushed through development and missed important stages of safety testing.
"My family are not big pharma’s guinea pigs and neither should anyone else’s be.",
Asked whether she'd take her kids to hospital if they were struck down with coronavirus, she said she'd only do so in the case of an emergency - but doesn't rule out going during the pandemic.
Adele said: "I would only take my kids to hospital in the event of an emergency which I felt I could not handle myself.
"It is very unlikely that I would not take my kids into hospital for flu-like symptoms."
And while lockdown as at its most stringent Adele’s tried to stick to as normal a way of life for her and her family as possible.
Adele was entirely anti the lockdown measures, thought it was an overreaction and feared it was the government’s way of controlling the UK population.
It was on this basis Adele publicly announced she would reduce her council tax payments.
Writing on Instagram, she said: “We are so fortunate to be blessed with a lovely garden where we can create our own play park.
"As for all public parks being closed, the council can expect my council tax contribution to be reduced accordingly whilst this episode of the hunger games continues…
"Enjoy the sunshine everyone!"
She told how she would reduce the amount she paid, despite receiving a three-bed council house.
What are the recommendations around breastfeeding?
The recommends breastfeeding your baby exclusively (feeding them breast milk only) for the first six months, but it's completely up to you to decide when you want to bring it to an end - and there's really no right or wrong way to do it.
The NHS says weaning often happens gradually as your baby begins to eat more solid foods.
They note that solid food shouldn't replace breast milk, as there is evidence to suggest breast milk helps a baby's digestive system when processing solid food for the first time.
"Once they are eating solids, your baby will still need to have breast milk or formula as their main drink up to at least their first birthday," recommends the NHS.
"Cows' milk isn't suitable as a main drink for babies under one, although it can be added to foods, such as mashed potatoes."
You can also combine breastfeeding with formula, too and the NHS says "phasing out" of breastfeeding is often the easiest way.
For example, dropping one feed in the day or at night time.
After around a week, you can begin to think about dropping another.
"If your baby is younger than one year, you'll need to replace the dropped breastfeed with a formula feed from a bottle or (if they are over six months) a cup or beaker, instead," they say.
You can breastfeed for as long as you want, and while the NHS recommends breastfeeding your baby exclusively for the first six months, you shouldn't feel like you cannot continue for longer.
says: "Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond."
The family’s argument is they don’t use many of the public facilities other people use. Adele had a home birth, the children don’t go to school and they never go to the doctors or hospital.
“I’d go to hospital in an emergency - if it was life or death - but that’s it,” said Adele.
“So I think we should get the house on benefits and I think we should be entitled to pay less council tax when facilities are taken away.
“There are no play parks, no libraries - what are we paying for?”
Asked about how she felt seeing sick people in hospital - and knowing medics were putting their lives on the line during the coronavirus pandemic, Adele said: “People still need to be out in nature.
Listen to the full podcast on .
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The family are known for their "off-grid" style of parenting, where they let the child decide what to do, and made headlines when their daughter Ostara weed live on This Morning when she was one, leading viewers to brand their kids "feral".
And Adele stunned people previously - when she revealed she fed her dog breast milk when it was poorly.