A mum keen to teach her young daughter about consent has gone viral after revealing she doesn't let anyone hug her child without the youngster's permission - her parents included.
The method, one which has been praised by several families online, is intended to teach children how to set boundaries. It also helps ensure her daughter's wishes are respected - something the mum says she doesn't always see happen.
As such, she doesn't allow anyone to hug or kiss her daughter whenever they please. Instead, friends and family must ask the little girl for permission.
Australian mum Brittany Baxter was first inspired to share her parenting approach when her daughter was just one-year-old as she wanted to normalise the practice.
But two years on her lesson continues to resonate with parents who have this week recirculated her viral video.
Explaining her reasoning in the clip, Brittany said: "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.
"Can we please start normalising 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, and I find it really f**king 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.
"And then 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.
"My daughter and her body do not exist to make anyone feel more comfortable and to make anyone feel more loved, it is not her fault and it's not my fault that the older generation haven't taken the time throughout their entire lives to learn how to regulate their emotions so consent doesn't continue to be overlooked.
"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 no to be respected.
"Grandparents do better."
The mum also shared advice on how to deal with people who consistently overstep clear boundaries in a follow-up post.
"You do not have to sacrifice your boundaries or the boundaries that you hold for your children in order to ease the discomfort of others, their discomfort is theirs to navigate and theirs to navigate alone," she stressed.
"What you can do though to defuse a confrontation is try and meet them where they're at, so if you feel like it you can say 'Hey I can see that it's really hard for you to ask so and so for a kiss and a hug, and I can see that it's really hard for you or that you don't feel loved when so and so says no', but what you do have to do is still stand firm in your boundary say something like, 'but we as a family practice consent, and we would really appreciate it if you get on board'.
"Confrontation will only become easy to deal with when you practice standing firm."
In response, parents were quick to debate the approach, with many sharing their own experiences.
One unconvinced commenter wrote: "I encourage my 21-month-old to bond (emotional and physical warmth) with my parents.... and she is so connected to them. I really don't get your anger."
But another said: "I myself even ask permission from my daughter for a kiss... If she don't want one that's her choice! I don't feel any less loved when she says no."
Someone else replied: "Thank you for this! My mother-in-law tries to withhold gifts and food for affection from my three-year-old and gets her feelings hurt when he says no to a hug or kiss."
Do you practice consent with your children? Let us know in the comments below.
