maybe this doesn't irk other people, but i HATE random people coming up and touching the baby. the worst today was some 9 or 10 year old today who was about to touch lilah at the store. ok, i'm sure i sound like an asshole, but i moved her away. the grandma (or older mom?) of the boy gave me a look, but i felt like saying "look, i don't want your kid who probably just got done picking his nose touching my 4-month old baby!"
I am a huge culprit of this at the store. I usually just oggle the child, playing making faces at them or something, trying to get them to smile or laugh. I can usually get a feel if the parent will mind (sometimes I just ask) if I touch the child's fingers or toes. I totally understand a parent not wanting someone to touch their child. So, if a prent asked me not to touch or gave me a face, I would respect their wishes. It's your child and you have the right to not have you children touched by strangers.
i hate hate hate strangers touching my kid. have since the day she was born. kids too. sorry, but i don't know if your kid is harboring a cold or some crap like that, and kids hardly wash their hands. i don't let mercie walk up and touch other kids either.
No, this doesn't really bother me, even though I don't do it myself.
But...I can relate to the feeling, I sort of felt this protective vibe with my first born in 2004 when I was stunned at how much attention he got when we were in public. But now that I have another baby and the older one himself is a messy sticky toddler who wants to touch everything, I have relaxed quite a bit about the germ thing, I just try to keep some Purell nearby. As for strangers touching my babies, it's ok with me as long as it's just a little touch, like a pat on the head or something.
It actually warms my heart when older children show interest in my baby now, I think it is just sweet and innocent. Uninvited touching seems like it usually happens when the kid has a younger sibling of their own, otherwise older kids in general don't always appear to be comfortable around babies in my experience. Grocery carts alone are extremely dirty, if I was really worried about germs, I wouldn't take the babies out in public.
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