Annoyed at woman who gave DS chocolate and crisps in the park

[Eastie77]

Took DS (2) and older DD to the park today. DS was sleeping in his buggy while DD played. He woke up and was sitting contentedly watching everyone play. I went over to help DD with something and returned barely a minute later to find DS holding a bag of Wotsits and a bar of chocolate. The woman sitting next to me on the bench had given them to him. I have never met or spoken to this woman before. She had a young child with her and a large bag of snacks. I took the chocolate and crisps from DS and politely gave them back to her saying "thanks, he's already had his snacks today and it's his dinner time soon". She then proceeded to ignore me and hand both items back to him! I took them from him and this time forcefully said we did not want them to which she replied "why can't he have them, what's the problem?". I repeated what I had said earlier. She tutted and rolled her eyes .

At first I was just a bit bemused by it all but as the afternoon wore on I became really annoyed as I saw her attempting to hand out various snacks to other kids. Several parents intervened and said no but there were some kids who were on their own/parents not in view who took the chocolates etc. DP thinks I am completely over-reacting but I really don't know who in their right mind would just hand that kind of stuff out to a child they do not know? She had no idea if a child was allergic to anything in any of the items she was giving out.

Btw I don't think there was anything remotely sinister about her (so no need for me to log a call with 101 ) but I do think I should have said something to her...

[MellyPapa]

Very strange.

It's really weird for her to give them back to him the second time. I think I would have either had it out with her and made a bit of a scene or left the park completely to avoid doing so!

[Crunchymum]

My youngest has a metabolic condition and is on a strict Keto diet (and always will be, she cannot ever have anything like chocolate or crisps) so this would be unacceptable to me on every level.

[NoFucksImAQueen]

Jesus what an idiot. kids could have allergies or anything and she could risk making them really ill

[checkingforballoons]

How weird! Could it possibly have been a cultural thing..?
I’ll happily share snacks with random kids if they’re playing with my DS at the park or something but I’d always ask their parent first!

[Alexandra2018]

Dds gran will buy multi packs of everything to take to the park she was probably trying to be kind but the giving them back to your child was abit strange after you had said no

[Alfie19]

I think that is very odd and I would even wonder if there are some mental health issues.

[SprogletsMum]

I would have been livid if she'd given wotsits and chocolate to my dc with a milk allergy.
People need to learn that some dc can't just eat stuff and she should definitely have checked with parents first.

[Rhondacross]

Wow, unbelievable the cheek of it, absolutely unbelievable! CF!

[feelsicksicksick]

Someone done this at a play area to dd once with a bar of chocolate. She is allergic to dairy

[Smallhorse]

Come on folks , she was just being kind. A bit misplaced maybe

[Cauliflowersqueeze]

You know how there’s that 1% of the population that’s fucking mad as a fruitcake?

You found her.

[blackteasplease]

That is so bizarre of her. Yanbu.

[Eastie77]

Perhaps cultural, the lady was not English. DP feels it was rude to hand them back (twice) and I should have just taken them and then thrown them away. I thought it was better for her to understand that generally speaking people do not allow their children to accept sweets from randoms in the park.

[Poodletip]

With children who have allergies, I find that really frightening! That aside it is not a good idea for children to think it is ok to take food from strangers, even if she wasn't sinister herself.

[HouseplantInvasion]

It might have come from a kind place but it was just weird to not take no for an answer! Especially odd to be giving out a whole packet of crisps and chocolate bar, not even just one sweet each or something!
As a parent of a child with many allergies, this would be a huge problem for me too, though luckily he does actually refuse snacks anyone else offers him.

[user1471517900]

I think you could have definitely phoned the police. You've no idea what was in any of the stuff. It's beyond weird.

[GreenLantern53]

I dont think its mental health issues as this seems quite common, ive had it happen to my kids quite alot. strangers trying to give them food!

[Shitlandpony]

I think it’s rude to have given them back twice. If this actually happened I would have swiftly hidden them and no drama caused.

[GreenLantern53]

my son was handed a bag of sweets on the bus the other day (i didnt see) i took them straight off him and binned them.

[anniehm]

Whilst it is irresponsible, this lady thought she was being nice. A polite thanks but no thanks explaining some children have allergies so she should check with their parents is a measured way of dealing with this sort of scenario and crucially an opportunity to educate the generous lady. Usually it's older people offering sweets on public transport i found, tricky as dd#1 is allergic to certain sweets and when she was young we didn't take chances (it's down to about 6 things now all with a common ingredient, and as she is an adult she looks after herself)

[LeticiaDejeuner]

Where I live (central Europe) this would be considered completely normal and friendly. People often give treats to random kids they don't know without asking the parent first... being British, it used to annoy me (because I found it culrurally weird, and I try to feed my kids healthily) til I developed some polite strategies to avoid it.

[0lgaDaPolga]

That’s really weird, especially that she gave them back after you took them off him. Who feeds snacks to someone else’s toddler? He could have had severe allergies for all she knew

[dudsville]

Why do people do this? I have dogs and frequently other walkers will ask me of they can have a treat and I thank them and say no but they like a fuss just as much. But occasionally people just give them snacks. Cheap dog treats are really vile and calorific. We are feeders ourselves so have to work hard to keep our dogs a healthy weight. Also, we want the pleasure of giving our dogs treats ourselves. Back away with your treats people!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Even when there are no allergies, children should not be learning that it is OK to take sweets from strangers! This lady wasn’t giving out anything terribly dangerous, but the next person could be giving out something contaminated or toxic, out of pure nastiness.