I’m a first time mum and clueless about baby group/parenting etiquette, so would appreciate some advice. Very prepared to be told I’m being PFB about this!
I attend a really lovely baby group. All the babies are around 1 year old or younger, my dc is a bit younger. I love chatting to the other mums and babies, but take an active role while my baby is playing, e.g. if he tries to grab a toy off another baby or tries to give them a “hug” too roughly, I intervene/distract him and then carry on chatting to the other mums. Most mums seem to take a similar approach I’ve found, maybe a bit more relaxed than me but I think my dc can be very “affectionate” (grabby) compared to other babies so I’m more aware.
One of the other mums seems much more hands off. Her little one is crawling and grabs all of the toys off other babies (don’t blame the baby at all - it’s what they do!). This other baby took a toy off my dc this week, no big deal and I just distracted him as I usually do when that happens. My dc then tried to get the toy back by grabbing at her, so I just instinctively said “gentle hands” to my dc and stopped him. The mum of the other child said “oh don’t worry, she’ll hit him right back!”
It just seemed off to me, but maybe I’m being too precious - do I just need to take a less hands-on approach? I feel like they’re a bit too young for that, but could be wrong. Maybe I look neurotic to the other mums lol