Stranger offering dd chocolate

[howmanyslippers]

Sat waiting for the bus and a man sits next to myself and dd, he says hello so I say hi back and then he asks dd if she likes chocolate she is very shy so turned away and looked at me, he then said here you go have this chocolate and whips out a massive bar and basically places it on her lap, she was saying no and I said no thank you she's already got chocolate, he then said it's fine and handed it to me. I know he's probably only trying to be nice but the whole situation has made me feel awkward, how would any of you dealt with it? The way he was persistently handing her the chocolate.

I'd have said thank you very much. That is very kind of you, and then chatted, as I'm not paranoid and realise that 99.9999999999999% of people are just nice ordinary people.

Literally when was the last publicised case you've ever heard of, where a random stranger was targeting random children with poisoned confectionary on public transport?

Like... ever? The 80s? Statistically speaking you'd be more logical to ban your DC from ever getting in a car for safety reasons, than telling them not to eat a sealed chocolate bar given to them in kindness.

What a cheery thread

He stroked her hair too and dd looked so uncomfortable she couldn't even look in his direction so I picked her up and put her on my knee. 10 mins later the bus turns up we get on and he doesn't get on but stands staring as we are finding a seat! It's so hard when there is genuinely people just being nice, I left the chocolate on the bus

My kids have severe allergies. It's really annoying when people offer them food when we're out and about, especially when they offer it direct to the child to try keep the distracted while I am busy and often make it seem like a secret etc. While I recognise that it's usually well intentioned, it's also, especially in our case, incredibly dangerous. When my son was young he accepted these offerings without my knowledge. One of which could have killed him. They both know better now and always politely decline and tell the person they have allergies. Depending on the situation/person I will sometimes suggest it's not a good idea to offer food to kids as many have allergies.

My kids still know to be polite to people. And I think it's a slippery slope to be teaching them to just take it and say yes to make the other person feel good. That's the same rubbish logic that says you should hug/kiss people because otherwise they'll be sad. It's ok to politely decline.

He sounds lonely. But talk about not respecting boundaries.
It really isn't nice to touch a child who is visibly uncomfortable with it.
This man has overstepped all kinds of social boundaries and yet people are saying don't be mean. Seriously?
There is no way I would let a stranger do this to my DD let alone be complicit or encourage her to tolerate it.
This is miles away from being friendly and polite to older people who often do enjoy to interact with kids - that I am fine with. But frankly, if my DD looked uncomfortable I know whose feelings I would prioritise.