None of us particularly enjoys changing diapers and everything that comes with it. Even so, it is a normal part of child-rearing that most of us have or will have to participate in!
This mother has some unique ideas on when and how to take care of your baby’s diaper, starting with getting a baby’s consent before you do!
Changing diapers is part of the routine when a person or couple has a child. While not the most pleasant part of parenting, it is something almost everyone experiences at some point.
As with most topics when it comes to raising children, there are always many opinions on the correct way to take care of a baby. Parents and experts differ on the best diapers, the frequency with which one should change a diaper, and the proper way to actually do it.
The American Pregnancy Association recommends changing a diaper every two or three hours, a schedule most experienced parents would find reasonable.
However, this recommendation is not how everyone decides when and where to change their child’s diaper.
Lottie Daley, a mother herself, was recently interviewed on the popular talk show This Morning, and caused quite a stir with her criteria for deciding when to change a diaper.
Daley advocates for receiving consent from a child before changing his or her diaper. She believes that this will help to educate children on consent and bodily autonomy at a young age.
The idea of consent from an infant is not as literal as asking a “yes or no” question, of course. Babies cannot understand or respond to a question of permission.
Lottie will still make an effort to ask the question, hoping that doing so will start to build the child’s expectation of asking and being asked before touching somebody.
Diaper changes aren’t the only situations to build this habit. As Daley explained in her interview, the practice should also be used during bath time, when cleaning or wiping things off of them, and before tickling them.
The mother of two has practiced what she is preaching, and she still asks her five and seven-year-old daughters for permission before helping them clean themselves.
Lottie’s philosophy is that teaching consent practices at a young age will be far more beneficial for children than waiting until they are teenagers. Children will be able to create boundaries for themselves and to respect the boundaries of others.
She takes it a step further as well, explaining that tickling should be eradicated.
Comedian Russell Brand, a fiend to Lottie, has been on This Morning himself previously. The “Get Him to the Greek” star has even expressed very similar opinions on child-rearing.
He reasons that we should not do anything to a child without their consent that we would not do to an adult. To do otherwise would violate an individual’s bodily autonomy.
The star encouraged parents to consider how uncomfortable or inappropriate it would be to tickle an adult with their consent, and asked them to extend the same courtesy to their children.
Predictably, Daley was criticized on various social media platforms after explaining her stance on the show.
Many expressed the concern that her views were getting too close to never being able to help children clean themselves again, something that would lead to bad hygiene and health risks. Others feel that banning things like tickling is going too far and removes some of what makes parenting special.
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