No matter which part of the world one is in, little kids and babies are often the centers of affection and attention in various families. But the grim reality of child sexual assault in our society is making parents step up and teach their kids about the importance of consent and to be able to say ‘No’ to others when they don’t feel comfortable.
A mother from Melbourne, Australia named Britanny Baxter raised a similar concern when it comes to her 2-year-old daughter. She stressed the importance of teaching consent to her baby, and the kind of reactions she gets from others around her, News18 reports. Take a look:
Aussie mum refuses to let family touch baby daughter unless she gives consent first
An Aussie mum has gone viral on social media after revealing that her two-year old daughter must give consent before family members can hug or kiss her.
More on this story: https://7news.link/3vk99qo
Posted by Sunrise on Sunday, 25 April 2021
She starts off by saying, “As a parent, I practice consent with my daughter and something’s really been bothering me, so I thought why not take it to TikTok so we can talk about it. Can we please start normalizing the fact that kids do not have to kiss in front of adults?“
Britanny wanted her daughter to grasp the concept of consent completely, and hence started teaching her even at a tender age. Before any physical contact like hugging or kissing, her relatives and other family members have to ask her daughter for permission first. She expressed her concerns when some adults were not keen on accepting this decision.
She explained, “My daughter’s almost two years old and I’ve been in the process of teaching her consent basically since the day that she’s been born, and I find it really f**king unhelpful when the adults in her life are like ‘What?! We have to ask for a kiss and a hug?’, even though I’ve explained why multiple times. And then when she says no, they’re like ‘Oh she doesn’t love me my feelings are so hurt’ and then they proceed to overstep her body boundaries anyway.”
The mum added that her daughter’s body doesn’t exist to make others feel more comfortable, and that the older generation should not ignore the consent of babies. She said, “My daughter and her body do not exist to make anyone feel more comfortable and to make anyone feel more loved, it is not her fault and it’s not my fault that the older generation haven’t taken the time throughout their entire lives to learn how to regulate their emotions so consent doesn’t continue to be overlooked.
“No one’s feelings are ever going to be more important than my daughter’s right to her own body and I’m sure as s**t not going to allow her to grow up in an environment where 1. She doesn’t know how to say no, and 2. She doesn’t know what it looks like for her no to be respected,” she continued.
She concluded by saying, “Grandparents do better.”
What are your thoughts on her parenting style? Tell us in the comments section below.
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