To have been slightly disgusted by this?

[A1980]

I was waiting in a till queue today in a department store. Someone in the queue has a baby in a buggy and she looks about 13-14 months.

Her mum is feeding her a chicken nuggets Happy Meal from McDonalds. Don't really have a problem with the odd mcdonalds for children as it's not that unhealthy calorie wise and as long as it's only once in a while. I did think it a bit gross that she was feeding her while in a shop queue for the tills though. Although the child was old enough to chew some solid food, the mum wasn't giving it straight to her. She chewed up the fries and pieces of nugget in her mouth first, spat it out into her hand and then fed it to the child.

Is this normal? Please feel free to enlighten me as I don't yet have children. I felt slightly sick watching it! The till operater didn't look too impressed when she served her and took cash from the hands she spat food into to.

In the days and countries were chewing food was/is the norm, there would be no risk of passing on an infection than the way of life would be; co-sleeping, breastfeeding, damp/cold/cramped/lack of sanitary conditions. Seeming as breastmilk changes to what the baby needs there is evidence that it was safer to chew food than try to mash, before proper sterilisation.

I have softened food by chewing, when out with my eldest 25 years ago, little difference than licking chocolate off a babys fingers, which i never did.

my DC never got sore noses from tissues, you just use soft ones or wet wipes.

Sucking your childs snot out of their nose is foul, whether or not you swallow it.

I would bite a grape in half though........

aside from the pre-chewing, which in my humble opinion is gross beyond measure, is it the fact she was feeding the child while out and about that bothered you?

I do this with DD all the time. When we are out and i usualyl have a list of things to get done and not much time to do it. DD has a snack pot like THIS into which i will deposit a few mini sandwiches for her to munch on whilst we are on the go.

THat said i wouldnt give it to her if we were going somewhere where she could grab at clothes etc with peanut buttery fingers etc.

thank you very much i have reached the last post of this thread and i have come over all pale and actually want to vomit. another gross act i have heard of is when your dc is constipated you stick your finger up and pick out the hard poo as they are trying to go.
whether its snot sucking, smeggy willies or shit picking i feel quite ill.
i did lighty chew with my fron teeth tough food for ds to try while weaning, but completely munching said food and stuffing into his mouth eurgh no!

Ooooh I once saw a mother in a playground do the snot-sucking manoeuvre...shudder at the memory, even now. I'd just assumed she was a random loon, didn't realise it was a cultural thing.