Mom Says Children Should ‘Give Consent’ Before Parents Change Their Diapers


If there is one thing that parents become efficient at doing very early in their parenting career, it is changing diapers. It sometimes happens so frequently that it seems that the trips to the changing table blur together.

According to the American Pregnancy Association, it is reasonable to expect to change diapers every two or three hours. Most parents are on a similar schedule.

We do it without even really thinking about it but imagine if the child was calling the shots when it came to a diaper change and the parent was just there to do the job on their schedule.

It may sound strange to you but, believe it or not, there are people out there who feel that it is important for parents to ask permission before changing their baby.

Lottie Daley is a mother who recently discussed this topic on ‘This Morning’. She said that she always informs her baby in advance when it is changing time.

“When you start learning about body autonomy and consent for our children when they become a bit older, we should be modeling this behavior from birth, like letting your baby know you are changing its nappy,” she told the hosts of the daytime show.

She says that it isn’t about giving verbal consent, which wouldn’t happen anyway with a baby. It is about knowing their body language and getting them in the habit of others seeking their permission before touching them.

Daley has three children of her own. She is also a friend of Russell Brand, a well-known comedian. She says that she always gets consent from her children before washing or tickling them.

“When I’m washing my daughters, who are a bit older, they are seven and five, when I’ve got to wash their bottoms, I do say, ‘Can mummy just wash your bottom?’ because sometimes you have to. And they say, ‘yes’ or ‘no.'”

Her girls are also ok with tickling, although they say it would frighten them if it was a stranger who was tickling them.

In her argument, she said we “need to rethink the wider issue of consent, it’s not just applicable to teenagers, it’s applicable from birth. I think we should start to ask those questions and when you look at the wider context, we need to.”

Not everybody was on her side, especially with the issue of tickling. Some feel it should be made illegal.

“I think it’s an absolute shame to say you can’t tickle,” host Vanessa Feltz replied. “You don’t tickle someone you don’t know or a child who doesn’t trust you… and start forcibly tickling. But it is the ultimate innocent love, care, fun, physical contact with a child you love and who loves you.”

After being posted on social media, people were stepping forward to voice their opinion. Many were saying that her views were ‘ridiculous’ and one even said that it was silly not to tickle your child. They went on to say: soon [you] won’t be able to touch your child” at all.

This recent interview follows Brand’s, in which he said that tickling “violates their [children’s] bodily autonomy.”

“It is an attempt to subvert the child’s bodily autonomy, to take away their right to their own space and peace,” he continued. “Would you do it to an adult? Would you insert your rigid fingers into their belly or their armpits? Of course not.”


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