A particular mother has taken it upon herself to educate her toddler about consent.
In a viral TikTok video, Australian parent Brittany Baxter has garnered significant attention by emphasizing the importance of seeking her daughter's permission before hugging or kissing her.
The video has gained nearly 800,000 views and showcases Baxter's viewpoint on the matter. She said: “Can we please start normalizing the fact that kids do not have to kiss in front of adults?
“My daughter’s almost two years old and I’ve been in the process of teaching her consent basically since the day that she’s been born.
“I find it really f***ing unhelpful when the adults in her life are like, ‘What?! We have to ask for a kiss and a hug?’ even though I’ve explained why multiple times.”
Baxter firmly asserts that her daughter's body is not meant to make anyone feel more comfortable, and she believes that it is not her child's responsibility to make the older generation feel more loved or comfortable.
She acknowledges that the issue lies in the older generation's lack of emotional regulation and understanding of consent, which has been overlooked for far too long.
“No one’s feelings are ever going to be more important than my daughter’s right to her own body and I’m sure as s*** not going to allow her to grow up in an environment where, one, she doesn’t know how to say no.
“Two, she doesn’t know what it looks like for her not to be respected.”
She concluded her post by stressing that ‘grandparents do better’.
While many people have praised the mom for imparting such an important lesson to her daughter in the comments, there are also numerous dissenting opinions.
