Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar were never shy about using their IBLP-approved method of teaching their infants to be obedient, but they're not the only ones who use blanket training in their circle. Former Bringing Up Bates star Katie Bates is being slammed for reportedly using blanket training with her infant daughter — a practice that has long been criticized as harmful or abusive to young children.
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It started when critics shared a photo of Katie's daughter on Reddit.
In the photo, which Katie shared on her Instagram Stories, her daughter, Hailey, is sitting on a blanket, surrounded by toys and a tablet playing a video.
"Hailey's been doing so good today! I'm so proud of her!" Katie wrote.
Some people thought this was a sign of blanket training.
"Blanket training?! It wouldn’t surprise me since their mothers did it with them," one commenter wrote.
"This may be a more 'modern' version of blanket training," someone else added.
Some just thought Katie put the blanket down because her daughter was on the floor of an airport — a place notorious for germs, especially for babies who put everything in their mouths.
Blanket training is a hot topic.
Many people were first introduced to the concept when Michelle Duggar talked about it on 19 Kids & Counting. The idea is to put a baby who is crawling on a blanket and leave some toys just out of their reach, off of the blanket. When the infant inevitably tries to crawl to get the toys and leave the blanket, the baby gets smacked or switched.
It's meant as a method to instill obedience, but it's been very frequently criticized for being cruel.
Other members of the Bates family have denied using blanket training with their little ones.
As TVShowsAce has pointed out, Alyssa Bates has said she doesn't use blanket training with her children, even though her mom, Kelly Jo Bates, reportedly did.
Responding to the accusation that she'd used the method with her family, Alyssa said, "Wow! So amazing how fast people jump to conclusions. I honestly don’t know where you got the idea that I blanket train or whatever it is you’re referring to. The floor she was playing on was incredibly dirty so I put a blanket down to keep her from getting dirty."
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Hailey celebrates her first birthday this month.
From what Katie has shown from her journey as a new mom so far, it seems like she's loving every minute of it — and Hailey certainly seems to be a happy, healthy baby girl.
Hopefully we'll see more updates about her soon!
