stranger giving my child money

Giving money to babies definitely originated in Brighton at the time when the Prince Regent used to mince down the promenade giving pennies to the infants of the hoi polloi.

'Tis nothing to worry about, OP.

TooMuch at your granny spinning description.

And spot on post too. Hope OP does get the difference between that and real risks.

Oh come on, OP, for god's sake! Is a child molester going to stand more chance of molesting a child by giving him some money in a public place and in front of his mum? And when the child is three and has no idea about what anything's worth? Get a grip!

Yep old tradition which I too will claim as Scottish I got a fair few silver coins in Ds' buggy when he was little for good luck and he still manages a winning smile with some rellies now he's nearly 7 (tends to be haribo or kinder eggs now from them, they have the notorious Glaswegian sweet tooth!)

And yes it is completely verboten to give anyone a wallet, purse or money box as a present without a silver coin in it. My granny would turn in her grave if we did this. Mind you, she would toss spilt salt over her shoulder into the devils eye, never allow shoes on a table, and never ever walked under a ladder either, so she may well be spinning like the hadron collider now anyway.

OP - can I be just a tad direct here? Yes? Excellent

Am gutted (both for you, & just per se, and obviously for anyone impactd by him) that your old Uni mate turned out out to be a vile l'il perv. That said though, you are - genuinely - not just having an over-reaction here, but bluntly a WHOLLY skewed view of this (apols, but can't help but be direct here.)

CONTEXT: your DC was WITH YOU; was in a SUPERVISED PLACE; with a photographer HIRED BY THE NURSERY. Nice bloke of that generation did what countless others have done - and hopefully still will do as long as not utterly terrified they'll have their cards marked as a potential paedo - and very simply wanted to give your beautiful and well-behaved child a gift.

But you were (& I believe you) freaked out, stunned, & believed yourself to be off-guard. You didn't NEED to be 'on-guard in first place. Manifestly you were there, your child was at NO risk, and this was just a bloke being nice. Agree with those who think you and DH may^ be taking this a little too far & honestly beg you NOT to 'raise it' with Nursery Owner. Worst case scenario is some poor sod just doing his job AND being lovely will be ejected from that Nursery; and best case scenario is you really will look like a bit of an eejit (Irish term - you know what's coming next don't you? ]

Yep, it is VERY common for this to happen in Ireland, and - IME - here too. My PFB was stunningly beautiful, very literally people would stop me in the street to comment on just HOW perfect he was (and he really was, unlike 2 other DS's who frankly looked like Winston Churchill when born to point where we both modelled front cover of Mother & Baby Mag etc) and he was literally showered with money by all and sundry Tis a tradition and one I think is sad older people feel they can't do anymore.

Can I suggest you look at THIS THREAD for some context? And then listen to your gut, and not your - however validly given news stories etc. - head?

Is also HUGELY important to talk to your child re strangers etc, but you HAVE to be clear with them about the difference between 'proper' strangers vs. people they simply don't know but are perfectly safe with as you are (were....) there. THAT is a lesson you seriously do not want to balls up for DC as is a world of difference between the two, but IS vital your DC understand which one IS dangerous, and which one isn't...

I am Welsh btw, definitely a welsh thing

Totally normal and not that unusual although less common these days. It's just a way of giving a child a gift from the limited resources most people have on them.

If you are worried about your child being abused things like keeping an eye on them, not leaving them alone and encouraging honesty and trust between you and your child are more sensible actions then worrying about a tiny gift.

There was no risk in this instance that I can see because you were there the whole time and it was a gift given without expectation.

Christ, it's never happened to me. I'm feeling bloody well left out.

It therefore can't possibly be a W Midlands thing...

Ahem... it is a Midlands thing for sure. My DD used to make loads with her visits to the library!
Sleep well OP :)

Definitely old Scottish thing.
'Penny for a sweetie or a cone'

Plus the old Scot thing of putting silver in with a new baby. Used to be silver sixpences etc but now possible to go for a walk with baby in pram & come home with £5 in 50ps from random strangers!!

I get random strangers putting money into my baby's hand too, I thank them and put the money into a money box, if baby were older I would insist on a thank you to the kind person from her.

DS makes out like a bandit in Italy - mainly cakes, sweeties and ice cream! He also got an load of pencils and books in a shop. He's a very cute boy though and loves to try out his Italian. Very generous people.

I remember a homeless(and drunk) man following a mum amd her little daughter (cute girl) down the road in Dublin insisting that he gave 'a coin for the babby'. The mum said 'no thanks but he slipped it into the girl's pocket.

Haha.. North east thing. Pound coins all round. Chill OP.

35 years ogo Nan would take me to scavenge see her friends where they would press money into my palm, fold my fingers over the coin (10p) and tell me to buy an ice cream with it.

I thought it was an Irish thing. Lots of older people do this it's no biggie. Don't get so uptight...

It's not weird. It was nice.

He wasn't luring your child away from you.

I used to come home with lots of jinglers in my pocket when I was a little kid, I'd go out with my gran and all her friends would give me coins "for sweeties" is what they'd say. We used to buy an ice cream on the way home with all the money.

I can understand that making you suspicious. I've had similar, a friend of mine was found guilty of child porn charges, it was such a shock, he was a nice bloke (or so i had thought, turns out he was scum) and while I knew these people didn't really wear macs and hang out on park corners it is sobering to have actual evidence you genuinely don't know a potential child abuser when you meet one.

Having said that almost everyone you meet will be fine, and if you start to suspect everyone who is nice to dcs then you really will drive yourself mad.

Happened to me when DD was about 18 months. Older man on the bus thought she was beautiful (she is) gave her a pound! Random. Told some friends and one of them (Romanian) said it is a good luck thing in her culture. also Greek friend agreed. giving money to a small child i apparently a good fortune thing. I was a bit shocked and uncomfortable. Kept thinking- do i look like i'm struggling for cash? Did he take pitty on us? Why? Weird. Money to me is not a thing to give a small child.