A sexuality expert says parents should ask their child’s permission before changing their nappies – so they can set up a “culture of consent.”
Deanne Carson made the suggestion on ABC News during a segment about teaching consent to young children, and many viewers have since expressed their confusion over the idea.
According to Carson, who describes herself as a “sexuality educator, speaker, and author” on Twitter, a culture of consent needs to start at birth.
To do so, she suggested parents ask 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.
I thought this had to be a headline from ‘The Onion.’ This is way too ridiculous to be a legitimate suggestion.
What happens if the child starts crying? DON’T change their diaper and just leave them to wallow in their filth and contract a rash and infection?
This isn’t even based on the fear of victimizing a child, it’s based on the fear of being PERCEIVED as victimizing a child and – thus – being labeled a sex offender.
If anything, this suggestion would seem to ENCOURAGE a crime, if an adult is supposed to ASSUME non-verbal consent.
If you’re so scared to be perceived as a sexual predator that you’re asking a baby for consent to change their diaper, perhaps you should start to re-evaluate how sex offenders are perceived and – more importantly – treated.
(@ Agamemnon: …. Umm… rather, the loony child development “expert” is referring to creating a “culture of consent” in children’s psyches. To which I say ….. (see comment below)
Oh, by all means, and be certain to get the child’s consent before subjecting their “body integrity” to the assault of disease-preventing vaccines and life-saving medical treatments!! “Ribbish!”, as the Brits would say!!
As an infant, I was not asked nor did I consent to having my diaper changed. That is why I got so effed up and at age 56, viewed cp.
@ anonymous: That is clearly a mitigating factor which the judge should have taken into consideration! You have my sympathy for all the pain those diaper changes have caused you throughout your life. 🙃
Here, here! Not only was I not consulted to provide consent prior to diaper changes, I was not asked before a doctor slid a scissor blade up my urethra to enlarge it at age 3, or prior to my privates being liberated from my zipper at about age 5 (thanks, Dad). I wasn’t asked before getting spanked and whipped with a belt, either. Perhaps this is what led to my criminalistic sexual behavior later in life? More importantly, who do I sue?
I’m guessing that few of us were consulted before we endured the loss of our foreskins, either when we were circumcised in our first week of life. Talk about not obtaining “informed consent!”