Should I report to 101, stranger and my baby

No, because pickpocketing, using distraction , is a common crime. Kidnapping babies isn’t.

It is called statistics.

In response to your questions.

Yes it could be a cultural thing. My SE Asian extended family (by marriage) are much more touchy feely and hands on with kids than the British ones. They make for fab grandparents ! When we were travelling around SE Asia my blonde white DC were quite popular with the locals, touching their hair for example. It was considered good luck.

If you knew it was a cultural thing then would you feel as uncomfortable with the interaction? If not, no need to report. If despite that it felt really beyond a normal interaction then by all means report. Don't expect much to come out of it though

When my first baby was small we were in the park and she was on a blanket and 2 men came over who didn’t speak English and tried to take photos of her, I felt really uncomfortable about it so I reported it to 101, not as in a crime had been committed but just in case they did go on to do something then the police would have the information to build up a picture of their behaviour, the man on 101 said I’d done the right thing.

To see if she would hand her baby over for what? The woman to then walk off with the child?

Is that a common occurrence where you live, are trainee baby snatchers sent out on the streets to see how many they can snaffle in a day?

Hmm. On the "building a bigger picture" but YANBU, because there's usually plenty of warning signs that, if you add them up, would result in a pretty accurate picture of potential crime. OTOH, if they were all reported the police would do nothing else, it's a task for AI.

But I doubt it was sinister. There are many people out there, mostly women, who are just obsessed by babies. There's a woman who had a late miscarriage in my gym who comes after baby swim classes. She coos over all.the babies, tells her sad story over and over and shows you unasked for pictures of her niblings.

I do let her hold my son and have him pull someone else's hair for once while I change. In a less contained environment I might think it more risky, but as it is I just feel sorry for her.

Why on earth would you report it? She is just a bit weird. She didn’t commit any crime. What are the police meant to do with that information? Some random woman came up and interacted with you in the streets. Where would they file away that bit of info? Under non events carried out by nameless people who did nothing wrong?

Because she's foreign?

You are a mum, if someone makes you uncomfortable, sets off alarms listen. It's mummy radar. I would report. If nothing came of it no harm done.

At least she wasn't.....gasp.....old!

I just mean you can ring for advice. If you're genuinely concerned about someone's behaviour you can call them.

I don't think I'd report what happened in the op, personally.

Do the police take "just for info" reports?

This 100 %

My first thought was could she have some sort of additional needs meaning she doesn't have the same personal space boundaries as the majority do?

This reminds me of the time I was breastfeeding my baby sat in my car and a stranger put their head right up to the open window and said “aw baby’s having their lunch”. It was very weird and spooked me but that’s London for you 🤷‍♀️😆

Can you put it on share, hun.

Yes. Pickpocketing is a much more common crime than kidnapping small babies.

Really?!

Sorry stop thinking of wasting police time that should have said

Stop wasting police time OP

OP, I don't know if this will help at all....

I'm from the ME originally, and it is very common there (and in a lot of Mediterranean , Asian and North African countries/cultures too). A person would say something lovely about a baby/child (or just see a baby/child), followed by "mashallah" (this means "God wills it") or "tabarakallah" ("Gods blessings"), often cheek or bottom slightly pinched. We (I'm Christian) might also cross ourselves and point first two fingers at the person. This sort of thing is also done if something good happens to someone - you comment on the good thing (e.g. "well done, you passed the test/bought the house/got engaged/the job you wanted etc"), and then say mashallah or tabarakallah. This will sound absolutely nuts to many, but it's to ward off the (curse of the) evil eye (we call this "aina bishta"....IIRC it's "al-ain" in Arabic). From where I'm from, this is a thing in both Christian and Muslim communities. I believe something similar is also in Jewish communities.

I may be wrong, but I wonder if this incident is the same thing, particularly as OP mentioned that the lady might not have been from UK. Having said all that, I understand that it could be very unsettling/weird if it is not something you've encountered before! I've lived here long enough to know that this definitely isn't a "thing" in the UK, so I wouldn't do it (unless I know the baby's family is from my part of the world) - I would instead say something lovely about the baby and then say "bless him/her".

It's like a superstition to prevent bad luck, bad fortune or injury.

She probably has SEN.
Non issue. Don't bother reporting to the police.

OP, do you have much experience of interacting with people from other cultures, specifically around your baby? If it felt like 'more' than that, then report it. From how you have written it, it doesn't come across as a police matter, but only you were there, not us.

Living in South London is basically the real life version of The Hunger Games, especially SW London🫣

Wow. YABVVU. She's just an awkward foreigner trying to interact with a baby! No crime was committed.

If you reported it, I'd worry you'd be accused of wasting police time, or even racism.

Very South London. Nothing worth reporting. 🤷‍♀️