ABC/Supplied
Look, I’m a writer. I won’t shy away from a crude headline, but last night as I scrolled through my Facebook feed I was absolutely baffled by one that read “‘Sexuality expert’ Deanne Carson claims parents need baby’s consent when changing nappies.”
Now before I get hot and heavy into this, I am by no means a mother. I am a 28-year-old singleton who enjoys babysitting my nieces and nephews from time to time, so I’m no “parenting expert”, but seriously WTF.
This expert claims parents need children to consent before they change their nappies. So I assume parents must ask their consent before they choose to feed them baby formula or mothers ought to politely consult their babies before they pop our breasts into their mouth to feed them, too?
Come off it. I’m trying REALLY hard not to peg a dirty nappy at my TV screen. Especially before Mother’s Day. The last thing parent’s need is judgement. This is radical and ridiculous.
Now, I do appreciate that Deanne believes the notion behind her campaign is to push kids to feel apart of “a culture of consent.” Which is important, because in a day and age when paedophilia is of great concern – it’s important to make sure your children feel safe and aware of safety practices surrounding all adults.
According to the expert, who spoke to ABC News about teaching consent to young children, a culture of consent needs to begin at birth.
Now, she explained parents should consider asking their infants questions such as: “I’m going to change your nappy now, is that okay?”
Because she is referring to babies, Carson admitted that they will not verbally respond.
She said: “Of course a baby is not going to respond ‘yes mum, that is awesome, I’d love to have my nappy changed.’
“But 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,” she continued.
Okay, so the idea behind the process is thoughtful but irrelevant. A baby as she so eloquently put it, cannot bloody respond. And to be honest, once they can respond they’re usually toddlers.
So, Ms. Carson, please calm your farm. You may have over exaggerated with this example.
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