People love babies. I mean people LOVE babies. Even before becoming pregnant I knew this, and yet I definitely was not aware of the extent. Maybe it is not so much that people LOVE babies, as they are obsessed with babies. It is like when people spot their favourite celebrity and run up to them for a photo and autograph. Except in this instance it is a cute little drooling machine that they have never met before.
Babies are cute! I could not agree more! I see some very handsome men and gorgeous women in the shops and on the sidewalk – yet nothing possess me to run up to them, place my face as close as possible to their face, maybe even grab their hands or toes and tell them how cute they are.
Obviously, this is an extreme comparison but I can not wrap my mind around why a lady in the metro checkout line needs to hold my child’s hand, or why the man at the crosswalk needs to reach into the stroller grab my sons toy giraffe to play with him. And for those of you wondering – yes I am standing right there, doing my deep yoga breaths to control my initial instinct and not go all ninja mom on them shouting ‘back off get your own baby”!
These first few instances really had me off guard! And my initial reaction, although dramatic was ‘Great I can never leave the house again’ and ‘I am going to have raise my son in a bubble’! After taking a deep breath, calming down and realizing that these options are not at all practical, I reflect on the intent of these strangers. The majority of which are not malicious. They genuinely are excited for you and want to compliment and flatter you and your precious little one.
Even so, I have taken some proactive actions to protect my son’s personal boundaries. And like the bodyguards of many celebrities that keep a watchful eye on any fan encounters, my role has now evolved to defending the personal boundaries of my son – whose only claim to fame is being a drooling little baby!
How do you handle these stranger encounters with your little ones?
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