Would you find this interaction concerning?

[HiYah]

Went to the petrol station this evening and it was just myself and my 5 yr old so I had to bring her in with me. Petrol station assistant was blowing kisses at her as we approached. When we got in he said she was beautiful and offered her a free caramel chocolate egg, those small ones, like creme eggs. Which were priced at 99p. He then said she can have 2. I said no it's ok, thank you and he said no no she can have them. He then said to her she can come back tomorrow and he will give her more.

How old was the assistant OP? If it was a fatherly guy or even a grandfather type, I don't think I'd be that worried, he was just trying to be nice by the sound of things, and it's not as if your little girl is likely to go back there on her own, so I don't really think you need to concern yourself.

It's a sad world where any kind gesture makes us wary about the intentions behind it, don't you think?

I wouldn’t be particularly concerned as he’s obviously never going to be left unattended with her. What sort of age range was he?

I would say maybe late 20s, early 30s at the very most

I wouldn't think anything of it, he's hardly trying to groom a 5 year old who wouldn't be going in there alone, and has no other contact with him and it's Easter. He's probably done it with other kids this weekend

YABU. God forbid anyone should be kind to a child, eh?

Was he foreign? Different cultures are more friendly to children. The Portuguese for example, adore children.

It depends… quite a few of my elderly African relatives are like this towards little kids and it’s just a cultural norm for them, but I’d be a lot more 🤨 if I encountered it from a young British man, for example.

In any case, obvs don’t go back tomorrow!

I would find it weird but not concerning.

Not the point of the thread I know but I have a similar aged child and I wouldn’t even consider getting them out of the car and taking them into the petrol station to pay. I try to pay at pump if I can, or fill up when I’m on my own, but if neither are possible then I’d go in to pay on my own and watch through the window.

This. We Holliday in Spain every year, the head waiter chucks kids under the chin, ruffles hair, holds hands with them when taking them for an ice cream. He's a grandfather who wants to make everyone happy

I think it's weird. Blowing kisses?! My kids would be like 😳 They don't accept sweets from strangers. I wouldn't want a five year old to eat that much sugar either!

And I never understand why people query the man's age. Weirdos can be any age. Young, middle aged or old. Social norms exist for a reason, to protect children. Teaching kids to override caution in the name of politeness can be very dangerous.

Clearly the man gave OP some sort of feeling, otherwise they wouldn't have posted on here about it.

There was no pay at pump at this one, I have done that before and my DD did get upset so I just get her out and it wasn't busy so was safe to get out this time

My DC got upset when I asked her to get dressed but it doesn’t mean I let her go out in her pyjamas.

An uber driver gave me gum for my three year old last week, I think he was trying to be kind and didnt have any kind of weird secret agenda

What is it with Mumsnet and petrol stations? There was a very similar story recently, is there some sort of Mumsnet theory that a paedophile ring is running under the guise of selling people petrol?

What are you going to do, make a complaint that the cashier was being kind to your child?

Dear god.
Not everyone who interacts with a strange child is a paedophile.
No wonder young people are terrified of answering the door or a phone unless they've been warned 3 weeks in advance by whatsapp or a formal letter
Raising generations of socially awkward, unconfident, 'everyphobe', people

I think we should give OP some credit for having an off feeling about this. I’m sure most pple reading wld’ve assumed the guy to be a bit older like a grandparent type so it is unusual for a young guy in their 20’s to act so “paternal” or “avuncular”. I think giving her a chocolate is pretty normal but coupled with the kisses blowing & his insistence over mum’s word & promise of giving her more if she returned the next day I can see why it felt off & creepy. Also don’t those encounters tend to happen like with funny waiters & in restaurants the person is spending a bit more time in which rapport is already being established, they’re usually making kids laugh & partly entertaining them as much as celebrating little people - which is lovely when done appropriately. It’s pointless saying well no harm came to DD so it’s fine. Presumably OP would be teaching her DD about stranger danger (when appropriate) & why that actually isn’t something she’d encourage her to do?? accept sweets from a strange man who’s bribing her to go back?? I think OP’s instincts should be listened to - it was off & just weird. He could be someone who works in a night role with poor social skills (clearly). He is probably not a paedo. We’ll never know. But it’s still ok to feel off by weird behaviour & feel naturally protective of DD.

I was going to say this. Having married into an Asian family who also have southern European connections, this interaction seems completely normal for them. They love interacting with children in this way.