Anyone can share anything on TikTok. But sometimes, what you post is enough for people to judge you. This is exactly what happened to this mom after she posted something on TikTok saying that grandparents don’t have the ‘right’ to hug her toddler.
In the clip, the Aussie mom asks one simple question: “Can we please start normalizing the fact that kids do not have to not have to kiss and hug adults?”
Baxter originally shared the video last week, but it already received thousands of views. According to Brittany Baxter, she’s been teaching her 2-year-old daughter about consent and how she has the right to say no to unwanted physical attention. And that she has been doing this “basically since the day she was born.” And her daughter seems to get it even at her age.
She also added that she’s fed up with other people challenging her parenting methods, most especially when it comes to grandparents. Then she started having problems continuing to teach these little lessons after witnessing how other adults in her life blatantly disrespecting her daughter’s boundaries.
In the video, she added: “I find it really [expletive] 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.’”
It has been really frustrating for her that’s why she couldn’t help but vent about this issue on TikTok. She’s hoping that maybe getting the word out would help others understand.
Baxter further said: “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 is not my fault that the older generation hasn’t taken the time throughout their entire lives to learn how to regulate their emotions/feelings so consent doesn’t continue to be overlooked.”
She explained that this is not to hurt Grandma or Grandpa’s feelings. Instead, this is about respecting her daughter’s feelings.
Baxter explains: “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 [expletive] 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.”
Plenty of her followers agreed to her opinions, but not everyone was on board. One person even called her beliefs a lesson in “how not to parent.” Another user also called her entire video “outrageous.”
This mom understands that this may not be every parent’s approach and not everybody will understand. This is how she wants to teach her daughter about boundaries. She just got frustrated that even after she’s repeatedly told the adults in her life why it’s important to her, nobody seems to get it.
In conclusion, she has one request: “Grandparents, do better.”
What are your thoughts about her line of thinking with regard to boundaries? Do you think it was right for her to tell the grandparents not to hug their granddaughter without asking for permission first?
@brittanybaxter_x I said what I said… #gentleparenting #consent #fyp
