When it comes to parenting, team work is dream work. One makes dinner, while the other bathes the kids, one tucks them into bed, while the other queues up the next Netflix episode. But one Australian mother views parenting differently, and she took to Facebook to share her position.
On Monday, a woman from Queensland shared a post on her Facebook account explaining that she has banned her husband from bathing their daughters as she believes girls should be washed by their mothers because they ‘have the same parts’.
Originally reported by the Daily Mail, the woman wrote: “So hubby is upset with me because I have told him that I don’t [want him to] wash our two daughters in the bath or shower.”
“I just don’t feel comfortable for a man to do this.”
The woman who remains anonymous further explained: “I have said I don’t have any issues with him bathing our son as well, he’s a boy. I just believe that girls should be getting washed by their mothers and boys get the same from their fathers.”
According to the mum, her husband is not impressed by her ban.
“Hubby thinks I think ill of him.” But, she attempts to justify her position, which has been greatly criticised online, by saying: “People play the ‘I was molested card’ so very often these days, I just don’t want in [any] way to give my kids the chance to even think about that.”
The controversial post was met with varied responses from social media users, however most condemned the woman.
“You have more than a few screws loose, you shouldn’t even be thinking like that putting your partner in the same category as a child sex predator,” commented one.
“This post says a lot about how you see yourself and your negative way of life,” wrote another.
Another woman has accused the mother of ‘sexualising bath time’ and at the same time pointing out the potential problems this way of thinking poses for single parents.
“What about single parents? Should they not bath their son or daughters in case they molested them?”
We asked Mother & Baby editor Erin Mayo what she thought of the woman’s bathing ban:
“This is just madness…I can totally understand why this woman’s husband is so upset. Bath time is often a chance for fathers to bond with their children. Does she have an issue with herself bathing her son? “
“However, I’d also say that she doesn’t mention how old the children are? If they’re old enough to bath themselves perhaps it would be best for the children to wash their own private parts which rules out the issue on both sides.”
