A mother has sparked a debate after she revealed that she makes her daughter’s grandparents ask for consent before they can hug her.
In a video shared on TikTok, Brittany Baxter explained that if her 2-year-old daughter says no to kisses and hugs from grandparents or other relatives, then she does not have to give them.
“As a parent, I practice consent with my daughter and something’s really been bothering me, so I thought why not take it to TikTok so we can talk about it,” she started.
Baxter then asked others if they could also start normalizing the fact that young children do not have to hug and kiss 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, and 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,” she went on.
The mother also said that many of her relatives get upset or feel offended if her daughter says no to cuddles or kiss.
“When she says no, they’re like ‘Oh she doesn’t love me my feelings are so hurt’ and then they proceed to overstep her body boundaries anyway,” Baxter went on.
The mother also said that it was not fair to make kids responsible for her relatives’ feelings.
“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**t not going to allow her to grow up in an environment where 1. She doesn’t know how to say no, and 2. She doesn’t know what it looks like for her not to be respected,” she added.
TikTok users were quick to share their thoughts, with one person writing: “I never told my kids they have to hug, kiss, or talk to people if they don’t want to. if folks get mad I don’t explain we shrug and walk away.”
Another said: “Yep! I do the same with my son. I do not make him do anything he feel uncomfortable doing and I don’t tolerate.”
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