Viewers of This Morning were left divided as a woman suggested children should be trained like animals.
Animal behaviourist Jo-Rosie Haffenden said after years of training dogs, she’s started to apply the same methods to children.
Jo-Rosie said she offers children treats and even uses a clicker to turn uncontrollable kids into caring humans.
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Speaking to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Jo-Rosie explained why she uses a clicker – a method that uses a click sound to tell a dog that he or she has done something right.
She said: “The clicker is a tool that we use to mark, pinpoint and empathise that a particular behaviour has been performed.
“You wouldn’t say [to a child], ‘go and get your shoes’ then click.
“You would put your shoes somewhere where it’s really clear and obvious and you would wait for your child to make the choice to go and get the shoes and then if they were to go and pick up the shoes, you would then click.”
Ruth revealed a petition has been set up to cancel a Channel 4 show called Train Your Baby Like A Dog, which Jo-Rosie stars in and is set to air tonight (August 20).
When asked about the criticism, Jo-Rosie said: “I think the autistic community, who are writing those sorts of petitions, have had a really troublesome past when it comes to these sorts of training techniques.
“They’ve been horrifically treated when it comes to training techniques and those come from the old-fashioned dog training techniques.
“I think they’ve seen the clicker and they’ve made the assumption that I’m using the same techniques that was used so horrifically earlier.”
She added: “I’m an animal behaviourist and when I had my baby boy three years ago, I struggled like parents do, so I started using the principles I learnt about animal behaviour and applied it to him.”
Dog trainer and animal behaviourist Jo-Rosie Haffenden defends the use of a clicker in the forthcoming show Train Your Baby Like a Dog, explaining that the device is used more to teach the parents than the child pic.twitter.com/KlwwL2M90N
— This Morning (@thismorning) August 20, 2019
Eamonn told her: “I can understand the initial outrage but we do humanise our dogs a lot more now, so why not do that in reverse.”
Jo-Rosie replied: “Dogs are a hell of a lot like us – they feel loneliness, shame and they pick up on our tone of voice and expression.”
Viewers were divided over the debate and shared their thoughts on Twitter.
One person said: “Train your baby like a dog…what total nonsense. Generations of children brought up without clickers tells you something.”
Another wrote: “I was infuriated before I even knew she’s using a bloody clicker!!!! I will not be ‘training’ any child in my care like a dog!”
Train your baby like a dog…what a total nonsence. Generations of children brought up without clickers tells you something. #thismorning
— Magso (@magso5) August 20, 2019
I was infuriated before I even knew she’s using a bloody clicker!!!! I will not be ‘training’ any child in my care like a dog! #ThisMorning
— Lucy W (@wils_lucy) August 20, 2019
A third tweeted: “#ThisMorning ‘should we train kids like dogs’ oh Jesus give me patience.”
#ThisMorning ‘should we train kids like dogs’ oh Jesus give me patience.
— Marian🙈🙉🙊 (@irishborn54) August 20, 2019
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Others defended Jo-Rosie.
Can we get this straight,they are not training babies to become dogs.
all this single mums losing their rag over nothing right now.
— AverageJoe (@SLynxist) August 20, 2019
@thismorning #thismorning think the people most upset about “how to train your baby like a dog” just goes to show how badly some people treat their dogs!! Calm voice, consistent behaviours, and rewarding good behaviour are universal.
— alex.bazin (@alexbazin4) August 20, 2019
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