[ CYPHER CODE #403 ]
When adults need permission to parent, the child stops being the child.

[ CYPHER CODE #404 ]
The softer the parenting trend, the stronger the institutional grip.

[ CYPHER CODE #405 ]
This isn’t about diapers — it’s about programming parents.

BRIEFING

Grant here. Just when you thought the liberal ideology around "gentle parenting" couldn't get any more ridiculous, they come out with yet another guideline. But this one is truly absurd. Researchers are now telling parents they should ask a baby — like an actual newborn — for “consent” before changing a diaper. Not metaphorically. Literally. Let’s break it down.

A new report out of Deakin University is making the rounds where they advise parents to get down at eye level, announce the change, pause for “processing,” and let the infant “signal” whether they'd like to crawl, be carried, or participate in the ritual.

The guide argues that this isn’t about verbal agreement but about “teaching bodily autonomy from birth.” They frame diaper changes as micro-lessons in consent, like a kind of pre-verbal training program designed to build awareness before language even exists. And yes, they also recommend narrating every step, using anatomical terms, watching for facial cues, and avoiding distractions like toys or songs because those might “disconnect” the child from the experience.

We've really entered into parody levels here, folks...

SOURCE

“At the start of a nappy change, ensure your child knows what is happening,” researchers from Deakin University wrote in a November 2025 guide. “Get down to their level and say, ‘You need a nappy change,’ and then pause so they can take this in.”

But their offbeat directives for cleaning a cutie’s patootie — a task that parents often rush to “just get done,” the researchers said — don’t end there.

“Then you can say, ‘Do you want to walk [or] crawl with me to the [changing] table, or would you like me to carry you?’” said the specialists, seemingly ignoring that newborns can’t yet actually chat up mom or dad one-on-one. “Observe their facial expressions and body language to check if they understand what is happening.”

The experts further noted: “This can be a time to help children learn about consent and how their bodies work.”

The authors of the report did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for a comment.

However, having heart-to-hearts with rugrats every time they go No. 1 or 2 could fall under the ever-controversial category of gentle parenting.

It’s an ultra-permissive, anti-authoritarian approach to child-rearing that prioritizes empathy, respect, connection and communication over rules and punishments.

The softy strategy is popular with Gen Zers and millennials — mothers and fathers under age 46. However, it’s been widely bashed by online critics who claim the overindulgent, unconventional parenting style turns untamed tykes into knee-high “hellions.”

The new research additionally recommends inviting babies to participate in the grooming ritual, asking them questions like “Can you please lift up your bottom so I can slide your nappy out?”

“These habits plant the seed of the idea that a child has the right to say what happens to their body,” assured the academics.

This advice from so-called "experts" also falls in line with yet another parenting tip, where it was advised that you should ask your babies and toddlers for permission before picking them up.

One viral example came from a San Francisco mother who proudly announced she never picks up her baby without first asking permission, and when he couldn’t talk, she simply “felt for his yes.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nisha Moodley • Devotional Leadership (@nishamoodley)

SOURCE

Nisha Moodley, from San Fransisco, always asks her son Raven before going to hold him.

Alongside a selfie of her and her son, Moodley explained on Instagram: “Why? Because we want him to know that his body is his, and that others’ bodies are theirs, and no one gets to make choices about someone else’s body.”

The mom-of-one’s post earned over 600 likes as well as plenty of support for her parenting move from people who wanted to do the same.

She added, “Since the moment he was born, we’ve always asked before we pick him up,” explaining that when he was too young to speak, she decided to “feel” for his “yes” instead.

Moodley says that asking for Raven’s permission is a small step in ending rape culture – as she is teaching her son from the off that he should only touch another person when he has their consent.

DEBRIEFING

Look, this all can be chalked up to crazy liberals just being "crazy liberals." But once you place this diaper-consent advice next to the broader gentle-parenting ecosystem, the pattern is impossible to miss. None of this is just simply about babies; it's about adults projecting ideology downward until even routine caregiving becomes an opportunity for doctrine.

This whole "diaper-consent" hooey is really just baffling on so many levels. Not only is a newborn literally helpless and in desperate need of actual caretaking, but just imagine having a baby sitting in waste while trying to pick up on their nonverbal cues of "consent." It's absolutely incomprehensible and the complete opposite of what proper parenting should look like.

NOW YOU KNOW

The diaper wasn’t the lesson — the ideology was.