A professional has said that parents should ask their babies for permission before changing their diapers to create a culture of consent.
Being a parent can be hard work, and even if there are a lot of laughs and love, there are also a lot of dirty diapers to deal with.
That part of the job isn’t very glamorous, but it’s necessary, because we were all babies once. However, newborns can’t talk.
People are therefore raising their eyes when an expert suggests that parents should ask their children’s consent before modifying them.
From an early age, Deanne Carson, who identifies as a s**uality educator, speaker, and author, has initiated a discussion on the topic of consent culture.
Carson talked about how to create a culture of consent in early childhood on ABC Sunrise in 2018. She usually talks to kids three and older about concerns connected to consent, but she stressed how important it is to teach these ideas even younger.
It’s clear that babies can’t talk back, but Carson stressed how important it is to communicate without words, especially through eye contact, to show that a child’s response is important.
She said in a part on consent laws, “We work with kids who are three years old and older.” We help parents from the time their child is born.
Because of this unusual method, a reporter asked, “From birth?”
Carson firmly said, “Yes, just how to make a culture of consent in their homes so ‘I’m going to change your nappy now, is that okay?'”
She said that expecting a baby to talk back was silly and added with a laugh, “Of course, a baby isn’t going to say, ‘Yes, mom, that’s great, I’d love to have my nappy changed.'”
Carson went into more detail on the practice, saying that parents may show their babies that their reactions matter by letting them wait for a little time and look for nonverbal clues and eye contact.
It’s safe to assume that this claim had a lot of people talking online, with many wondering why someone would ask a kid for consent when they don’t actually realize what’s going on.
Someone asked, “What do you do if the baby says no?” Do it anyway? Whoa, now that’s the actual issue.
Another person said, “Either she has never wrestled a toddler during a change, or worse, she just left hers in a dirty diaper until it was ready to agree.”
Another individual said, “For the sake of your sanity, change the baby’s diaper if it needs to be changed.” The baby is not in charge of you; you are the adult and in charge of the baby. Even though it seems like it sometimes.
It gets even stranger: a weekly parenting columnist for the Omaha World-Herald once advised that parents shouldn’t high-five their kids.
John Rosemond says that parents who give high-fives are less likely to be respected by their kids when they grow up.
“I would not slap the upraised palm of someone who is not my peer,” Rosemond wrote. Someone who is above 21, emancipated, employed, and self-sufficient is considered a peer. He also noted that a youngster who is allowed to high-five an adult has permission to talk to that adult as if they are peers.
He said that the high-five doesn’t go together with respect.
Who would have thought that being a parent was so complicated?