To hate when people say a baby is ‘flirting’

[Jaexo]

What’s everyone’s opinion on this?
I was recently round my in laws for all of my DH’s family to meet out LO, after going to a family member and being passed to the next one LO was cooing and smiling, the first family member then said ‘oh she’s such a little flirt’ and continued making comment like this multiple times as she went to each person - I think it’s a really weird, what’s everyone else opinion’s?

I've never heard anyone call a baby or child s**y. Whyyyyy would you? 🤢

Gross. And if I heard anyone calling a baby sexy I'd think they were a paedo.

I’m over 60 and I can still remember being “ teased” about my boyfriend when I was about 5 . By my parents ! I had no idea what they were talking about , I still remember the uncomfortable feeling though .

My best friend when I was 5 was a boy. We used to cuddle in bed together. Totally innocent. Thankfully noone ever called him my boyfriend!

Never heard that - kind of gross tbh…..

I remember cringing throughout my entire childhood as my parents constantly brought up the fact that when we were on a camping holiday and I was 4, I danced with a little French boy at the campsite disco. Acting as though we were Romeo and Juliet “oh you liked him so much, didn’t want the disco to end”.

And I couldn’t even remember the situation let alone give a shit about this kid who was apparently my fucking soul mate. It honestly put me off
telling my family about relationships when I was older. It made me so uncomfortable that they projected adult feelings and thoughts onto my innocent 4-year-old self who was probably just enjoying dancing to the Birdie Song.

I’ve never heard anyone say this but I agree it’s awful.

One of the Grandmas who did pick up at DC1's nursery used to always call her Grandson sexy,
"here comes sexy legs" if he was wearing shorts or "where's Nana's sexy boy" 🤮
Even now the DC are in their 20's she posts on fb about her hunky grandson.

My Sisters PIL was always talking about DN's 'boobies' and sexy legs. DSIS told him multiple times he sounds like a creep, but he doesn't get the message.

You’ve just described a few of my childhood experiences from parents and grandparents. The shaming of normal behaviour and then the taking the piss out of my normal hormone behaviour as a teenager. I couldn’t wait to leave home

I can completely sympathise.

I had an imaginary friend (called Jack), when i was about 7-8, and I obviously grew out of it.

That didn't stop an uncle from mortifying me for yonks bringing it up. Saying things like 'i saw Jack with another woman!'.
I remember thinking - are you completely clueless and can't tell that I'm embarrassed? Or you can, but fuck it, you'll go out of your way to embarrass a teenage girl??

It's not the same level of ick, but my MIL calls DS "little footballer" at every opportunity. Started the minute we told them his sex. And they all talk about books being nerdy.

I've never heard people say it to babies (thank goodness!), but I remember being at secondary school and talking with friends who were saying, 'oh, don't you remember when you were little and you played with a boy, and your parents would say he was your boyfriend and you would get married' like this was some really sweet memory - I had plenty of friends who were boys and no one ever said anything like this! I thought it was bloody weird at the time, and I still do...

When my son was a baby my uncle’s then wife kept saying he was “sexy”. He was 6 months old ffs just stop it

This.
I would be appalled at such completely creepy, inappropriate language being used about a child.

Oh yes and calling a baby a flirt is plainly grim

I think the only way of stopping this kind of thing is to call them out as talking like a paedophile. Do you mean to sound like you are sexualising a baby like a paedo? How disgusting, please stop.

Yes agree and any similar language.

Did you tell her to stop it? I hope so. Every single time. It's not acceptable.

I can't get excited about the flirting thing. Perhaps I am a bit older but to me flirting is about charming people rather than necessarily anything sexual (or even deliberate).

Calling children "sexy" on the other hand is really very strange. Do people who do so think it means something different to what I think? I would definitely challenge someone who said that about a child in my family.

Saving this thread to use against my mum if she ever tries to tell me I'm being oversensitive when I react to her saying my 2 year old is flirting with waiters 🙃

I've never heard anyone say this, but yes I agree it would be a weird thing to say.

Hate it!! There's not always a lot to say about a baby and sometimes we end up attaching 'grownup' personalities to them ('he loves watching football' no, he gets excited when his dad's cheering or whatever) but absolutely no need to make it sexual! 'She's friendly/in a good mood/a people person' would all work.

I can only hope those using these words don't mean it in a sexual sense and have a different interpretation. I could see flirting having a meaning like charming etc but I'd seriously struggle with sexy!! One day someone looked at baby DS and said he looked like a slob. I was gobsmacked and heard later its used locally to mean relaxed. I grew up only 40 minutes away and never heard the word used that way.

I remember hearing an elderly man saying a baby was flirting with him when I was waiting in a queue years ago. The mum looked really uncomfortable but he kept going with it. I’ve also seen mums calling their toddler sons sexy on another online forum. It’s all creepy.

I’m 60 and have never heard anyone say that.

Strikes me as something a pervert would say, tbh.