Would you find this weird/report it? Worker at petrol station

[User300719]

I went to the petrol station today. Supermarket one. The cashier was stood outside for a while just looking and he could see into my car. Thought it was a bit odd but he went back inside, I just started filling up the car. When I got back in the car, My DD who is 5 said why did that man keep doing that? I said doing what and she was blowing kisses and said he kept doing it at her through the window from where he was sat. Would you find this weird?

He probably just was trying to entertain your child. I wouldn't think more about it.

Agree with this poster.

What? Report a member of staff being nice to your kid? Ffs.

No, I wouldn’t find it weird, I’d think it really nice.

It is hard being a mum sometimes isn't it? Not quite sure if something is meant in a bad or ok way. I think the person in this case was just being friendly.

I sometimes smile, wave, play peek-a-boo while interacting with a young child I don’t know. But I reserve blowing kisses for people I have a relationship with.

I appreciate that other people are different from me but I would think it a bit odd. I haven’t come across strangers blowing kisses at my dc.

No, I wouldn't report it. Whether I thought it was odd would probably depend on the person doing it. I've had plenty of people interact with my kids in a similar way when they were babies/toddlers.

no i dont think its weird

I wouldn't report it but I would think it was weird. Blowing kisses at a child you don't know seems a bit creepy to me.

A stranger man repeated blowing kisses at a young child whilst the parent is absent is definitely weird, I'm sorry. I've no idea why previous posters think it's normal. I'd also make sure my child knows it's not a good thing "oh did he? Maybe he thought you were someone he knows, it's not normal to blow kisses at children you don't know, thanks for telling me".

I wouldn't report it, but I wouldn't leave her next time if he's about, take her in with you.

Was this in Peacehaven by any chance?

There was an overly chatty/friendly cashier to my boys who were perplexed by his loud baby talk about the crisps I was being strong armed into buying for them. I was quite proud of not making them be polite when an adult is talking to you in this instance.

Fucking hell.
Report to ?? What outcome do you want?

“I was quite proud of not making them be polite”. Go you. FFS. That’ll show em.

No, it sounds like a perfectly normal thing to do. What a sad world we are living in now if something like this is seen as weird

It does sound a bit odd but hardly worth reporting. Yet I often get frowns, usually from men, when I don’t interact with other peoples children or animals. As if being female means I want to go around smiling and talking to other people’s children.

That would make me feel uncomfortable. I don't think I'd report it but I would probably avoid or use a pump away from the cashier's desk.

You're proud that your kids were impolite to someone because he spoke to them as if they were younger than they were? Wow, you sure won at that interaction 👏👏
Did it cross your mind that not everyone has children in their lives and might not guage a child's age exactly right / might not know how to relate to children on exactly the right level?
How do you function in life with that stick up your arse?

Mumsnet seems to have an obsession with 'reporting' people.

I wouldn't report him, he was probably just interacting with your child in a harmless way.

Thanks, no stick up my arse! The mid-twenties guy was off insisting that these smiling nervous children answer him about crisps or chocolate; where they were going to eat it, what was their name, what they were doing today. They rightly, as did I, have spider senses raised. l so I ushered them behind me, said thanks paid and left.

Usually I would be all 'say hello to the nice man' but if a stranger makes you feel 'off' then fuck that.

It was weird enough to have stayed with me and came back to me reading this post.

But thanks for your awesome comment!

I think that you'd be hard pushed to find someone who didn't know that it is something you don't do. He'll be on camera if you do want to report it. It depends on if you use the place and how comfortable you'd be afterwards. What I wouldn't like is having to minimising it to the child. I tell her that he shouldn't have done it and it she didn't like it, she can say so and tell the person to stop.

Those who say this is completely normal, do you regularly blow kisses at strangers children?
(not smile at them or wave or make a silly face but blow kisses?)
Because in the 9 years I’ve been a parent no one has ever blown kisses at my kids and I’ve never seen anyone do it to a child they are not with so its really not perfectly normal like some posters are suggesting.

Agree. Calm down someone was being nice and friendly

That poor lad. No wonder so many retail workers hate their customers.

I think she said the child was blowing kisses and he blew them back, no one can do anything nice these days an innocent interaction becomes an, 'is he a paedophile', within a second.

Next time use pay at pump and don't leave your 5 year old in the car unattended