Unsolicited comments from strangers - what’s your rudest/funniest one?

[maria199]

Bit of a funny one really but yesterday I was about to go for a walk near a nature area and I was putting my 4 month old in her pram. She had just been in the car for a little while so when I put her into the pram she started crying (don’t worry - she loves the pram and was fine as soon as we started walking!)

As I was putting her in a woman in her late 60’s/70’s walked past with an elderly man and she says to the man “oh a little crying baby! must be hungry!” She then asked me how old my baby was so I told her 4 months old and she says to me “she sounds hungry!” I said “no she’s just been fed (she had), she just doesn’t like being put down” (in a friendly way) and she says to me “oh you’ve spoilt her then!” and laughed. I was a bit taken aback because how can you spoil a 4 month old baby?? 😂

Anyway, she walked on and it wasn’t exactly a malicious comment but it did make me think why on earth do people always love to comment, especially to people they don’t know!!!

It just made me curious - what are the funniest/rudest/weirdest interactions people have had from strangers when out with their baby?

I met the Duke of Gordon Richmond and Lennox (not the current one!) at Goodwood House for a work thing. He was very elderly and the top of his head probably reached my chest at most. He was extremely polite, greeting our group, shaking hands and so on. He got to me, looked a little startled and simply said 'my, you're a very big girl aren't you?'. I was a size 14 and 5'7 and aged about 40. I'll also point out that I was the only woman in our group and he didn't shake my hand. No one knew what to say!

My second born was a particularly fussy baby, didn’t sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time round the clock and certainly made her lungs heard. After a couple of years of exhaustion, a complete stranger came up to me at school runs where I was dropping off my eldest and said “Excuse me. I just wanted to say. I have NEVER seen your daughter smile”. And walked off.
I’ve never forgotten her because I truly don’t understand the need to share her opinion.

In the cafe at our local big house- the wealthy gent who owns the estate looked DH and me up and down and asked, “Are you campers?”. I said no, we’d just been for a walk, and he replied “You look like campers”.

DH and I were in the local shopping centre and had placed our newborn in a stroller. We had clipped a light, almost see-through blanket to cover DD from the strong lights. It was quiet a cold day too. A woman came up to us out of the blue and said, “You’ll kill her - killllll her covering the stroller like that.”. We were both shocked into silence and quickly moved away. I don’t know how she knew we had a girl either. Thankfully, we have not encountered the strange woman since. DD’s stroller is now a thing of the past but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this.

Years ago I was in California on holiday with some friends and on clocking our (London) accents an elderly shopkeeper asked if we were German.

A stranger asked what DC name was. I told her and she said "oh why would you do that to him?!" 🫠

20 odd years ago a Door to door window sales man trying his best sales pitch when my 2 year old DD came up behind me, he gave her a look of disgust and said ‘she’s a ginger’ looked at me and said in an accusatory tone ‘is her dad ginger then?!’ I was quite shocked but replied no he has dark hair. His weird little brain just couldn’t work it out but was so offended by my lovely little DD - he ended it by saying ‘are you just not bothered then that you have a ginger kid’ - no he didn’t get a sale that day!

Same DD was later called Old Rusty by a random old man - we still laugh at that one…but red head hate really winds me up!

Another stranger told me I was / looked too young to be a mother. I was in my 30s. And my child was a baby.
When I bemusedly protested I think she thought I was a teenager trying to pretend I was mature enough. I don't look particularly young

This made me lol

I had the opposite- my son in the pushchair when he was under 1 year old. He was massive, and an old man said to me he's too big for a pushchair.

Sadly I cried as I was having pnd .

Why do people think it’s ok to say these things?

It was ever thus. In 1989 I was walking along with my two month old son in a front baby sling. He was blissfully asleep cuddled up against my body, and very safe. An old woman came up to me and said, “Poor baby, all squashed up like that, he looks very uncomfortable” Erm…he’s just been curled up in my belly for 9 months, I’m sure he’ll cope.

If you get below a certain weight your periods would stop, but you'd need to be really, really ill for that to happen. I'd rather have periods!

😂

In a supermarket a few years ago with my then 13 year old DD and bumped into a woman I’d gone to school with. She asked if my DD was my only child and I said no we have another DD and 2 DS. She replied “I wish I’d had boy, girls are such bitches aren’t they” my DD, thought this was hilarious 🤣

I also had a friend who got shouted at in a nightclub "you're jamie oliver". He wasn't

I had a craving for tuna when I was pregnant with DS. NHS guidelines said I could have four tins a week, so I did, and spread them out a bit, then waited till the next week to have more. I had some weird cravings. It was fun.

We had 4 DC under 7. A school mum asked me how I managed and that she supposed my DC just “bring each other up” I laughed and replied “ yes, I don’t bother with any of them, I just leave them to it”
WTF🤣🙈

I know some of these are rude, but they made me laugh😂

I was about 8 months pregnant but not showing as much as others do and a lady we sort of know asked me ‘are you having a small baby?’. I explained I was measuring normal but the lady couldn’t let it go, kept saying I needed a second opinion and that I should get checked (obv had regular midwife appts but still!?). I am fairly tall with a long body and it was my first but it was such an odd thing to keep going on about. My DS was 7lbs 7oz so fairly normal!

working in retail years back. till area had stuff round it for impulse buys, including wash bars.

mum and her grown up daughter paying for their clothes. the mum says to me that it was a euphemism for soap but she knew I wouldn't understand what that meant.

she looked a bit less bloody smug when I told her the tenner she tried to pay with was counterfeit.

Years ago we were walking in a shopping centre. Kids were maybe 8,4 & 1. 1 year old in pram. An old man coming towards us said to to Dh ‘Well that’s a right mess you’ve got yourself into’
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Strangers think they are helping don't they... But they aren't. Thankfully I brushed off what they said, knowing the full picture. I'm sorry it upset you!

My friend had similar, when we had our sons out in push chairs, her boy was a big boy and some granny came along and questioned her as to why he was in a pushchair! He was only 14 months old 😂.

Seems no matter what, someone needs to stick their oar in!

My son was ten at the time. Big lad for his age. Coming back from the shops and he was helping me carry some shopping . A lady stopped us and insisted he shouldn’t be carrying anything heavy at his age as it will make him infertile.

Feeding toddler a snack from a pot (blueberries)
old lady - “ooh, soft fruits out of season, you must be very well off”

This didn't happen to me but a friend.

About a year ago, a random man walked past my friend and her three year old, pointed to the kid and said "Greta Thunberg" and just carried on walking.

My friends kid looks nothing like GT 🤔

"Match? Yeah , my bum and your face "