Parents should ask babies for consent before changing their diapers, suggests expert

Many people have expressed their confusion on the subject

To promote the culture of consent, an expert has recently stated that parents should ask their child's permission before changing their diapers, reported The Independent.

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The expert, Deanne Carson, suggested the idea during an ABC News segment to educate children about consent. Many viewers have expressed their confusion on the subject.

PHOTO: EVERYDAY FAMILY

Carson stated that the habits needs to start at birth. In order to do so, parents should ask their infants, "I am going to change your nappy. Is that okay?"

Since the idea tends to involve babies, Carson realises that they would not respond verbally. However, she said, "If you leave a space and wait for body language and wait to make eye contact then you are letting that child know that their response matters."

Carson works with children aged three years and above. She informed that parents need to introduce such ideas early. But since the segment aired, people on social media have been criticising her suggestions.

PHOTO: ZEALOUS GOOD BLOG

One Twitter user said, "Sorry but if a child has a dirty nappy then their parents should change it because that’s part of caring for your child properly - not because their child granted them permission."

Another wrote, "Can you imagine showing up at the doctors with your baby because, due to a lack of permission that you couldn’t change its nappy for days and now your baby has a skin condition?"

Carson responded to the backlash she received with a lengthy post defending her stance. She wrote, "Sadly, some people have chosen to ridicule me - maybe because I have pink hair? - and the notion of giving infants bodily autonomy."

PHOTO: PARENTS MAGAZINE

She then attached statistics of sexual assault against children and stated, "The work we do with children, teachers and parents is the international best practice in abuse prevention."

Carson concluded with a warning for the people who slammed her. She said that their "actions are harmful to sexual assault survivors and negate the voices of sexual abuse survivors."

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Despite Carson's clarification, many are still mocking the idea proposed by her. One Twitter user joked, "Good news! My three-month-old baby has never given me permission to change his nappy, so I haven’t! Much less work this way!"

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