To not expect to have to do this at baby group?

[Hands124496]

I've been taking my son to a few sensory sessions. He's 8 months old.

Adults are asked to gel their hands with alcohol gel obviously that's fine and understandable. But they keep asking me to do my baby son's as well

To be honest I've just pretended to do it a couple of times but I'm just wondering if I'm unreasonable for feeling uncomfortable doing that and thinking it's an odd request.

The first thing my son does is put anything and everything in his mouth! I've no doubt if I rubbed gel in his hands he'd want to taste them! It also dries out my own hands having to do it everywhere nevermind a babies skin.

AIBU to think it's not reasonable to expect parents to gel their babies hands before a group?

I understand I don't have to go to that group, I'm just curious if others would find it weird.

We're very covid careful here but yikes, yes, at that age I'd think I'd have a problem with that too

No, I don't find it weird. I wouldn't give it a second thought. Once a week won't dry anyone's hands out.

I wouldn't do this. A 2/3 year old I would.
Not for a child under 2.

I wouldn’t do it either. If they challenge you just be like he has sensitive skin

Do you think they will get drunk? I'm not sure about your in the mouth comment. Just hold their hands until it evaporates. You can do a count down or something.

@3scape

Do you think they will get drunk? I'm not sure about your in the mouth comment. Just hold their hands until it evaporates. You can do a count down or something.

No I obviously don't think he's going to get drunk.

I have to use sanitiser gel at work. When you wet your hands any time after you’ve gelled them, the gel is still on the skin and makes your hands sticky again, so image this for your baby when he puts his hands in his mouth and he’s got a gob full of recycled hand gel in there.

I'd whip out a wipe and wipe his hands instead.

I work with young kids snd those who don't want to sanitize can use a wet wipe instead. I'd offer to wipe your babies hands with a bum wipe instead. Babies really don't need hand sanitizer though. It's bonkers!

I think this is odd as most of them put things in their mouths anyway

I've been asked a couple of times to put hand gel on my 3 year old's hands. Each time I've just smiled and said something like 'no thank you, he doesn't have it' and that was that, no issues.

too young for that.

try milton sanitiser though if you need to take your own. that has no taste and does not leave a residue.

This was fairly standard when I went to baby groups last year. I just used to sanitise my hands and then rub them briefly over my DCs hands so they got a bit of the left over. Sanitising a baby's hands is pretty pointless but tbh if you can get away with pretending, then probably not worth making it into a big deal with the organisers. It's been really hard running baby groups safely in the pandemic and a lot of them have gone out of business.

Once a week won't dry his hands out though.

That does seem a strange request but you can buy sanitising water spray specifically for babies which is handy if you're out as it isn't harmful if it goes in the mouth.

This was normal at every baby group I went to but DS was a proper lockdown baby.

I bought sanitising water spray for babies and used that.

@HairyScaryMonster

I'd whip out a wipe and wipe his hands instead.

This!

@BlackeyedSusan

too young for that.

try milton sanitiser though if you need to take your own. that has no taste and does not leave a residue.

I use Milton on mine

You can buy sanitiser specially for young children, it’s more sensitive. I always sanitise my 18 month old and 3 year old’s hands when we leave toddler group but it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference tbh, they get sick every time we go…

It’s just another example of plonkers setting rules they think will help

The baby’s hands will be in their mouths within minutes and then what.. do you sanitise again.. every time they put their hands in their mouth? Every time they touch their faces? Do you then sanitise every time you touch their hands that have been in their mouths?

It’s ridiculous. Just carry on being sensible as you are

I'm sure I read (pre-covid), sanitiser gel is not suitable for under 2's. At 8 months he's not likely to have been touching door knobs, hand rails etc before he goes to baby class.

You can get edible baby-safe sanitising spray. You can spray it on DC's hands and the grimy toys.

Just pop in the loo and wash his hands as an alternative? I don't like the idea of sanitising a baby's hands, but it isn't unreasonable to ask for them to be cleaned.

No I just use a wipe on my 2 year old still. My eldest uses the gel in school every morning/presumably through other parts of the day and it's very drying.

@FTEngineerM

It’s just another example of plonkers setting rules they think will help

The baby’s hands will be in their mouths within minutes and then what.. do you sanitise again.. every time they put their hands in their mouth? Every time they touch their faces? Do you then sanitise every time you touch their hands that have been in their mouths?

It’s ridiculous. Just carry on being sensible as you are

This. It makes fuck all sense once you actually think it through.

@3scape

Do you think they will get drunk? I'm not sure about your in the mouth comment. Just hold their hands until it evaporates. You can do a count down or something.

It doesn't evaporate it dries onto your hands, it's not good to have babies sucking their hands after.

@Hands124496. I'm CEV & very covid adverse, but no the babies don't need their hands gelled.

Does he even put his hands in his mouth after though? Because most of them taste bloody vile, so maybe he doesn't??

I'd try next time & see if he does or not, if he does I'd just take wipes & wipe his hands instead.

I can see they're trying to keep the sensory things free of covid, but they'll mouth them anyway. Put me right off even before covid!!