Why are strangers compelled touch other peoples babies?

Justa - posted on 08/11/2011

We were given a fantastic little sign to hang on the handle of the capsule/stroller that says:
"PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE TOUCHING MINE" It was awesome! It really stopped people and made them think...half the time people just dont realize they may as well shove their finger in the baby's mouth if they are going to grab their hand....especially if they are teething and always chewing their little fingers! :o)

Hanah - posted on 02/26/2010

My mom was extra careful with me as a baby, not exposing me to any germs. She'd clean the house with weird detergents and she wouldn't let anyone near me. She was also super careful about the food I eat and the water I drink. As a result, I get sick from pretty much anything that comes my way till this very day. After my baby turned 3 months, I'd give her the pacifier she dropped on the floor, I'd let her play in the sand, I'd give her to anybody willing to hold her, and her immunity is great! There might not be a relationship between the 2, but I strongly believe you should expose your kids to everything. Remember the concept of vaccination is giving the child a small dose of the virus so his/her body will develop an immunity to it, so why won't that work with germs?

Krystal - posted on 02/25/2010

i enjoy the compliments but i freak out when people touch my baby. ESPECIALLY without asking! i have no problem immediately walking away even mid sentence. its nobody's business touching your child after god knows what else they've touched! if people have any kind of courtesy to ask first then i insist they must scrub down their hands first and most arent by a sink so SORRY, TOO BAD!

Jill - posted on 02/24/2010

babies are such great blessings from god! their innocence and cuteness provokes people to touch and look at babies as if they are zoo animals! i do find it a little weird when (especially old guys) people stop to talk to my kids at the store or tell me how cute they are. in this day and age you cant really trust anyone! who knows what these people are really thinking when they are talking to the kids or touchng them! i dont think about the germs on peoples hands at first...i think about their intentions! as a mother you do have a right to speak up and say something to these strangers who touch your kids. if you dont feel comfy about someone looking or touching your child you should say something. as a mother you are to protect your child!

Andria - posted on 02/24/2010

I also agree!! I dont understand why people think its okay to touch someone elses child without permision. I was at the bus stop once with my daughter who was about 4 months old, this lady and her like six year old come over to my daughter and the mother of the six year old tells her child, "touch her, she is so soft" Im thinking ahhh no, and then I look at this childs hands and there is nasty stuff all over his hands dirt under her nails just gross. I then said "im sorry but I dont want him to touch her" The mother then tried to touch her and argue with me about why I didnt want my daughter to be touched by them. I just couldnt believe that she was fighting with me about it. Really she is my child. i was so angry. I got a car a week later!!!

Fallon - posted on 02/24/2010

Babies are magnets but I agree %100. It may be rude to them but when you see them going in for the kill, stop it if you can. I'd kindly remind the person about germs and say, "Sorry but I do mind strangers touching my children." If they find it offensive, enlighten them that you find it offensive that a stranger is trying to touch your children. Hello, viruses!!!!!

Laura - posted on 02/24/2010

i think thiers a fine line between saying hello to your child and basically coughing all over them! it annoys me very much not because of the germs thing im not that paranoid as my 14 month old will put anything she picks up in her mouth but just find it rude! the pregnant belly thing doesnt bother me as long as people ask 1st!

Jennifer - posted on 02/23/2010

This is one of my hugest pet peeves! My husband was in Afghanistan while my son was born and didn't return until Ethan was 4 months old.. the first time he went out with him alone he came back and said he'd never do it again! Not only is it gross, but it adds an extra 20 - 60 minutes on to your already long outings!! I hate it so much I don't even smile anymore and just walk away like I didn't hear them!

Mindi - posted on 02/23/2010

i do. i hate when someone in the grocery store starts touching my son or holding his hand. i'm too nice to tell them off but i hope he spits up on them. lol

Anna - posted on 02/23/2010

Im with you on this one. I just think for the reason of them being so tiny that people should be more respectful. I dont mind you saying hi or anything like that, but I don't really know you, ya know? Im in no way a germaphob but I do know that there are many germs that are harmful. It does make me a little upset and I really try not to act that way, I know people only have the best of intentions but come on!!! I only let my friends and family get that close...bottom line as a parent we should be allowed to have a say without being considered rude...you cant touch a dog without asking lol!! why is my daughter a free for all?

Belinda - posted on 02/23/2010

Step one: Fill a spray sanitizer bottle (Burt's Bees Organic bottle is the easiest) with water.

Step Two: The next time some person thinks it's cool to touch your kid, get out the spray sanitizer and immediately spray your babies hands and face!

Berniece - posted on 02/23/2010

i totally agree i mean come on u dont just walk up to a pregnant women and rub away do u?

Aleashia - posted on 02/23/2010

I don't feel as strongly about not allowing people to touch my child in public probably because it doesn't happen very often,but their have been a few times that i had to make a hard decision about allowing a person i hardly knew to hold my child. I was at my boyfriends mothers house and My boyfriends Cousin that i didn't know was their.She had a lot of problems with drugs and was trying to live a straight life and get her children back but she wasn't the cleanest person.I am not ignorant, i know that hepatitis B cannot be transmited through touch but i knew that this girl had it.I was eighteen and my little boy was my whole world.Looking back i cannot believe that i just flat out told her no when she asked me if she could hold him,i feel bad about it.Her reaction suprised me a lot,she told me that she understood why i told her no and that she would feel the same way if she were me.She knew how awful she looked and it made me so sad that her three little girls weren't enough to get clean when she really needed to.Drugs might be powerful but the power of a childs love can beat anything.I think that each mother is different and has a right to make their own decisions about who holds or touches their children.

Johnalynne - posted on 02/23/2010

I agree with you. I thought it was just us who were experiencing this. My husband and I are always on the lookout whenever we're out in public. All these older people would always come up to my baby and touch his face and comment how cute he is and all. I'm flattered as a mom that they think my baby is cute but comment and don't touch... One time, my husband told off this one older lady to not touch our baby. She just kinda rolled her eyes on us. Especially when the h1n1 breakout, i was so paranoid about people shaking hands and even touching my baby. I heard from my sister that you can buy this sign from wal-mart that says, 'i know my baby is cute but please don't touch'... you can hang this on the stroller.

Amanda - posted on 02/23/2010

I completely agree! How do you think alot of babies get sick. Even at church when my daughter was lil they all wanted to hold her & I was like NO. I see other girls allowing friends who have colds to hold them...my husband & I won't even let our daughter play with other sick kids. I keep my sick kids home. My lil sister got jardea & almost died when she was 6 months old from a dirty person touching her.

Lydia - posted on 02/23/2010

I hate this!!! I don't know what people are thinking when they touch babies they do not know. I never understood the touching of the pregnant belly either. People are so rude!

Jacquie - posted on 02/23/2010

I too find this annoying! get your hands off people! my husband and I always seem to have people trying to touch our son, he looks very much like me dark hair olive skin and huge blue eyes and he speaks italian too so people always touch him and try pick him up. he also has Haemophilia so I worry that they will drop him or make him fall over and he will have a bleed.

Faith - posted on 02/22/2010

OOhhhh Yeah, I feel the same way. I know this absurd and stupid but its one big reason that I put my baby (2months old) in the snugglie. People admire and do the typical ooo and ahh, but they dont invade my own personal space...that hes strapped to, lol. The only good thing I can say about the H1N1 flu spread is that even the older grandmas and so on are concious about admiring from afar. You are not alone, I think just about every mom feels this way. Also to add, I am not a huge germaphobic person I have 3 kids, but lil guys need to be a no touch.

Jess - posted on 02/22/2010

My friend summed it up like this for me "babies belong to everybody". I was horrified, but it wasn't until I had my own baby that I realised how widly spread that belief is. Especially with older women, they really have no sense of boundaries !



But I think this steams from their experiences and really being raised in a different time. The phrase.... "It takes a village to raise a child", comes to mind. I think a few decades ago the whole community really did pitch in to help parents raise their children and back then people did just pass the babies around, children played in the streets and if they got hurt all the parents came running !



I too don't like it when people come up and touch my daughter, but I calmly remind myself they mean no harm and for the most part they really don't know any better ! If nothing else perhaps when we get old we can have our revenge with other people's babies.... Every cloud has a silver lining.

Stevie - posted on 02/22/2010

LOL yeah I work in a nursing home and I know how gross old people can be, I'll bring my little boy in to meet the residents when hes a few months old but I am not letting them touch/hold him. I remember being on the bus with my mother a few years ago and this clearly homeless, filthy and smelly guy was loudly exclaiming how he missed his methadone shot the night before and was feeling sick but was on his way to get it now. He reached across the aisle and tried to touch this little 2 year old girls hand and the look on her moms face was priceless she yelled "don't you dare touch my daughter" not that anyone blamed her. He then turned to my mother and I who happened to have the misfortune of being seated next to him and asked my mom if I was her girlfriend she said um no she is my daughter and he looked at her thoughtfully and just said "oh, well, you look good". I hate the bus but I think that made my moms day :p

Sarah - posted on 02/22/2010

Oh my gosh...you are not the only one who feels this way! I would FREAK OUT if someone I didn't know tried to touch my baby on his face or hands! People sneeze & cough into their hands all the time & are touching things that other people have sneezed and coughed on...don't you dare put your hands on my child!!! Haha sorry, but that just bugs the crap out of me, can't you tell? And Sunny, I am like you. I won't even touch my baby's hands or face when we are out because of the things I'VE touched and the potential germs I've come into contact with.

I know babies have to build up an immunity, but still!! Eww! lol

Angelyna - posted on 02/22/2010

you should patent the Hands Off sign i know i would buy it.... Old people they annoy me. cause we all know its them... i mean have any of you had a 20 yr old guy or girl come up to ur kid... no. they should put the signs in the stores or something gez.i go to the store to shop not to display my kid

Sunny - posted on 02/22/2010

oh my gosh I feel the same way! I kiss my baby on the forehead, & when I get home from an outting I wash his hands. there I to much going around to not be cautious.
I even try not to touch him when I am at the store, to many GERMS. I will look @ babies & I figure I have a voice & I can make faces& wave thats enough for me. I have had relation put there fingers in his mouth to check for teeth. I about came out of my seat! I like your HANDS OFF sign and admire from a distance! but really people stay away!

Sandra - posted on 02/22/2010

it starts with pregnancy...strangers wanted to touch my belly, and now they want to touch my daughter. it drives me NUTS. i was in the mall, and these old ladies came up to me and started talking to my baby, then one took my daughters hands, and tried to kiss her...i said "please dont kiss my baby...do you think it is right for me to kiss you?...just because she is small, and can't speak, doesnt mean she is not a human being." and walked away.

Lyndsay - posted on 02/22/2010

I totally agree. I was on the bus once when my son was 4-5 months old and this grimey old lady with greasy hair and yellow cigarette stained fingers tried to touch his face. I was like HELL NO, get your nasty paws away from my child! I'm sure people thought I was rude, but I really don't care. Ew.