Cancel 'Train Your Baby Like A Dog'.

Cancel 'Train Your Baby Like A Dog'.

Started
12 August 2019
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Signatures: 35,746Next Goal: 50,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Autistic Inclusive Meets - AIM.

On August 20th Channel 4 are airing a show called 'How To Train Your Baby Like A Dog'.

It shows dog trainer Jo - Rosie teaching parents how to use clicker training normally used on dogs to train their children to be compliant with treats. Please see trailer here:

https://youtu.be/ZQ6omPxu4y8

Children are not dogs! 

There are also reinforcers used in clicker training, such as taking a child's favourite object and using it to bribe a child into doing a chore or task.

If the task is not carried out it will be deemed as non compliance and a planned ignoring is undertaken by all care givers involved in response to any distress shown.

Clicker training is used in the behaviourial therapy Applied Behaviourial Analysis, used on autistic children. It is shown to cause PTSD in adults that were subjected to it: 

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016/full/html

Here is a brief overview of ABA from a dog trainer:

https://theaspergian.com/2019/03/27/is-aba-really-dog-training-for-children-a-professional-dog-trainer-weighs-in/

Professional Association of Childcare Early Years have now made a statement:

https://www.pacey.org.uk/news-and-views/news/pacey-raises-concerns-to-channel-4/

Statement from Professional  Association Of Canine Trainers:

https://www.pact-dogs.com/blog_post/pact-official-statement-regarding-channel-4s-upcoming-train-baby-like-dog-programme/

The children as far as we know in this show are not autistic, however NO child should be treated like this.

We here at Autistic Inclusive Meets, an autistic led organisation based in London ask CEO Alexandra Rose Mahon of Channel 4 to consider that this dehumanising to children, that it should not be given a platform and to consider cancelling the airing full stop.

The children are shown no dignity or respect in clicker training behaviourism, and will be a prime target for grooming in the future as they will have been taught to comply to an adults demands,  regardless of their own comfort or autonomy for reward. 

Please reconsider,

Yours sincerely, 

Emma Dalmayne 

CEO - Autistic Inclusive Meets .

Www.autisticinclusivemeets.org 

 

 

 

 

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