AIBU to be hacked off over ppl touching my child

[choochootrain1]

I would NEVER touch a tot or baby without permission from the parent and knowing I had recently washed my hands...but it seems like the whole of London wants to touch my toddler (shake his hand/hi5 /even kiss his cheek!)

These are not ppl I know - these are random strangers! I'm on the verge of creating a badge asking ppl not to - but a friend thinks that would draw even more attention and ppl would assume it's a joke and do it more?

Thoughts? Advice?

It's not ok to just TOUCH somebody else's baby, it just isn't.

Smiling - absolutely; calling them a 'poppet' or similar, fine; touching them with parent's permission, fine.

Anything else isn't fine and yes, the parent does get to decide that because they are that child's guardian and so act for the child.

I agree IKEA that I cant control other people - I prob would have had a lot less agro if I'd not late night posted after being upset by someone KISSING my kid multiple times without even glancing at me yesterday.

If I had I would have kept it to a simple post about how people should bother to glance in the parents direction to see if a parent is ok about them engaging on that level with their child since there are all kinds of reasons (often very valid) why someone might not be ok with it.

As I said earlier - I don't LIKE it, but haven't refused permission if my kid was enjoying the attention.

LyingWitch exactly my thoughts, I just dont get how people feel so comfortable about doing it - to the point they don't even glance at the parent.

I wouldn't be able to feel ok to walk onto a bus, see a baby in a pram, and hi5 it right from the off...

even if I'd spent a few minutes smiling/chatting/waving... Id still glance at the parent before crossing over to actually putting my hands on the kid. (but I still wouldn't do that, because I'm not that type of person - but the point is there)

I wouldn't feel comfortable going up to somebody's child - of any age actually - and 'baby-groping' them. I'm not an 'itching to grab a baby'-type anyway but even so, even if I wanted to pat a baby's hand, I'd ask. I would do that before I did anything else. You just do.

Some people feel entitled to do it. It's got nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with socialisation of the child or welcoming it to the community, it's about the wants of that particular person that feels they are entitled to touch babies just because they're 'squishy'. They can do that WHEN the parent says they can and not before. It's oafish and selfish behaviour to disregard the parent.

I didn't post on the canal barge thread because that was an exercise of ridiculous and nonsensical proportions. This is different.

It's not difficult to ask before TOUCHING and it makes all the difference in the world.

Stand your ground, ChooChoo. You don't sound unreasonable in any way, you want to socialise your baby, you just want to be asked beforehand if somebody you don't know, can touch him.

Well, I am definitely an "'itching to grab a baby'-type", but I have never so much as patted a baby's hand, even when no one would have seen me do it, so I could have "got away with it". The only babies I have ever touched, apart from my own, have been babies that were passed to me by their mothers, who I already knew well.

Thank you gruntfuttock,lyingwitchinthewardrobeand teddybeau I'm slightly stunned we were the minority with this opinion. X

We are, Lil but YOU are your baby's mother and you get to veto any baby-gropers!

Get one of these here nice cattle prods...

Sorry - ChooChoo!

Lol I would LOVE a cattle prod to ward off baby-gropers

I have it, choochoo - you need to get a t-shirt/jumper/hat printed up with "Back off, baby gropers - I bite!"

That should sort it for you

www.zazzle.co.uk/you_can_look_but_please_dont_touch_t_shirt-235035573328417820

Haha! Love those ideas girls!

May just do that

Toddlers are grubby creatures, I'd be more worried about my tot giving other people a bug than them infecting him.

In fact, it's fear of what grot I'll encounter that would probably keep me from touching a strange toddler's skin.