Strangers asking to hold baby?

[Kama]

I agree that it can really be good for an older person to hold a baby... which is why they should volunteer at daycares, daycares are always looking for volunteers.

I would never ever let someone I didn't know hold or touch my children. Maybe I am rude, maybe I am selfish, and probably I am paranoid but I just can't do it.

[rmsochor]

There have been a few times when I've been out (mainly in a doctor's office or something similar) and I've seen a Dad trying to comfort a newborn or infant and is having problems and I've had to MAKE myself not go up and ask if I can help. I'm sure I would get the "GO AWAY" look and he would grab onto that baby tighter ---

but letting someone I do not know hold my baby - most likely not - -- but it may depend on the circumstance ...

[isabelsmummy]

I don't really think it's a big deal. ? My dd2 was a chubby happy baby and people (especially people from other countries) would always ask. If we were somewhere where I was going to be for more than a second I'd let them. Dd2 never minded. If she did, they were pretty quick to hand a fussy baby back!

I actually flew to the UK when dd1 was 8weeks old and I really only held her to feed, all the older ladies on the flight just passed her around.

I don't see what the harm is and I totally understand that lots of people love tiny babies.

[sisu]

"He has really bad reflux, so he'll probably puke all over you..."

It was a lie, but it worked every time.

[My Sweet Blessings]

Originally Posted by moms4angels noooo. one day my neice (about 5mo) was snached out of my dh arms unexspedly. she just came up behind him & grab her. (he was holding her on his lap giving her a pony ride) & started speedwalking almost running away i ran after her grab her to stop her & got a deth grip on my neice & yeld LET GOOOO!!! cuz i refused too & when i did get my neice bk i didnt let her go ontill she was safely buckled in her carseat & the poliece were there. eversince then when we are out all my lil ones are always in there carseats or in a caryer of somtype. during feedings we watch ppl like a halk cuz we dont trust aneybody we dont know. we change them is always in a family room never a shared public & the door is locked. now that the lil ones are older & can walk we always have one of those harnesses on them. im afaraid of that happinig again.

that would traumatize me heck, I might be traumatized just hearing about that. there are crazies in this world and this just proves it! makes me want to hold my kids just a little closer and watch people a bit more.

[KrispiKreme]

Originally Posted by MarchMama2010 "He has really bad reflux, so he'll probably puke all over you..." It was a lie, but it worked every time.

Lol. This is true for us. I would say it as a warning while passing DS off. I usually get him back quick if the people don't have kids. Parents just throw a burp cloth over their shoulder and snuggle him.

That being said, I've never had a complete stranger ask to hold DS. People I know but aren't necessarily close to? Yeah, that's fine. Strangers just tend to come up and play with him, hold his hand, touch his cheeks/hair. As long as they don't seem sick, I'm cool with that. Most people that do it are women with school aged kids and older people.

[staceyroo77]

I've never had a stranger ask to hold my baby before but I would just say no if anyone did ask. On another note, I handed my baby to a stranger once at Burger King. DD#1 was "stuck" in the play place thing, so I was going up to get her. Wouldn't you know she found her way down just as I started climbing in the dumb thing? I still had to climb the rest of the way through to get out!

[jessicap]

I have had this happen and I just now wear my children in the sling as babes and no one has asked since.

BUT I have had one woman in Michael's craft store, come up to my son while he was in the cart, I stepped forward to look at something in the aisle, my hand was still on the cart, and she came up and kissed him on the MOUTH!!!!!!! He was about 6ish months old...I about poo'd myself and then restrained myself from punching her in the throat, and told her that she may want to rethink ever kissing another babe without permission from the mother. Because one of these times, a momma may not have the same self control as I had and she may end up a hurting unit.

She was very flustered, she said she didn't realize that there would be a problem that she loved babes very much and she was a mother of 6 children and so there shouldn't be an issue, she's not a perv or anything... she totally didn't get it.

[jac1976]

It also could be a cultural thing. I had DS when I was living in Italy. Over there is was very common for strangers to ask to hold him. At first I was a bit weirded out, but when I realized it was the norm, I calmed down a bit and if I felt comfortable enough with the situation, I'd hand him over. I remember when MIL came to visit we went shopping and when she saw me without DS in my arms she panicked. I pointed to the shopkeeper who was happily cuddling him in her arms. MIL couldn't believe it.

That being said I would never do that here in the US. In fact, when DD was born I kept her in a sling for the first 6 months so no one would get too close (she was a Nov baby and I was worried about illness.)

[dancermommy1]

I love this!

I think it's bizarre to ask to hold a strangers baby. On the other end of the spectrum, many years ago I had a stranger HAND me her baby while she went to the restroom. We were on a bus, so obviously I couldn't kidnap the baby, but still....she was gone for AT LEAST 30 minutes. I guess she needed a timeout???

Originally Posted by dustileigh That's about the time I whip out a breast and inform the asker that it is time for the baby to eat. Problem solved