Deanne Carson, a sexuality educator’s recommendation has elicited a lot of discussion, the request for babies’ consent before they are changed. Odd it may sound, this prompts a more general discussion on the necessity of raising consent from early childhood and how a minor step of such behavior may help in shaping up the independence of the kid.
The topic provides basic information about the notion of consent.
In its simplest terms, consent is proving respect for the other party and his or her right to control their own body. As Deanne has mentioned, describing permission and carrying out the practice at an early age it gives the kid an understanding of their bodies and way they want to be touched. These lessons may prove extremely important when they are growing up and learning to deal with interpersonal relationships.
Speaking and Nonverbal Signaling
Deanne stresses that babies do not respond verbally, and the parents can only communicate and observe them. For instance; “I am going to change your diaper now; is that alright?”, these are the sort of questions that parents could ask initially as they began the process of initiating conversation. This practice helps parents to pay much attention to the signals coming from the baby, and thus, show respect to the kid.
Building a Culture of Consent
The general objective of creating what has commonly been referred to as the ‘consent economy’ starting from the time a child is born is in tandem with other efforts in addressing education on the prevention of abuse in relationships. Taking into account that children are able to form a response to the stories, parents are also able to promote focus on feelings and respect for others. This approach is similar to children learning how they can speak or even pick up other people’s body language, they can similarly learn about consent by the demonstration.
Addressing Criticism
Despite justifying Deanne’s suggestions but have criticized and mocked it on social media, one must consider complacency of the intention that Deanne has in her message. She points out that it is not a call to demand that babies answer when they are spoken to but the overall need to make those babies feel that their agency matters. Some people may abandon this thought referring to it as implementing an unattainable dream yet the concept of learning to respect one’s body decisions is duly important.
Long-Term Benefits
Explaining consent and people’s personal space leads to improved interaction with others and their improved self-perception. Introducing the idea that kid’s independence should be valued, those children are most likely to transfer those values as they grow into adults. They might have healthier interpersonal relationships; express themselves; and be able to understand some of the boundaries of the other.
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