Whooping cough, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses are still surging, and the aisles of your local grocery echo with coughing and sniffling.
Despite this, acquaintances and strangers will still approach you in public with every intention of touching your baby. They want to pat her precious chubby cheeks, hold those sweet little hands (the ones she likes to put in her mouth), and enjoy how small and special she is.
That’s a sentiment we may empathize with, but it leaves parents in a predicament: how do you stop people from approaching to touch your baby?
Practice Begins At Home
Keeping baby safe starts at home.
Reduce the risk of your infant contracting respiratory illnesses by asking guests to wash their hands before holding her. While your baby is very small, remind loved ones not to visit if they’re sick or exhibiting symptoms.
This can be tough, especially when some family members put up a fight to insist that they’re not so sick or complain that babies need to be exposed to germs to build immunity, but hold your ground.
Our youngest babies can’t handle severe infections, and standing up to insistent family members will provide good practice for enforcing safety rules in public.
Keep Baby Close To Home If Possible
The best way to avoid exposing your infant to illness during this season is to keep them home if possible.
It’s not always an option. We all have to grocery shop and do other errands, and employment inherently means that many of us must rely on daycare or other childcare. Holiday travel also means many take our babies to see family and loved ones. We are left to make the best decisions for our household and our child.
However, being judicious about any optional exposure is one way to limit the germs your baby contacts and the easiest way to limit contact with strangers.
Babywearing Can Help Limit Access
A sling or other baby carrier worn by the parent may not wholly keep strangers away but can limit their access to the baby’s face.
Not everyone will respect that personal space (I still recall a stranger grabbing my child’s hand once years ago!), but it will keep the baby very close and reduce the risk.
Even if you’re struggling with the boldness required to speak up and tell people to keep their hands off, wearing the baby makes it easy to turn your own body away to block random petting and grabbing.
Safety warning: resist any temptation to add a blanket over the carrier to defend the baby’s face because experts warn that it can restrict airflow and raise the risk of suffocation or overheating.
Blocking Access To The Carrier (With Caution)
Many parents swear by a cover for the baby carrier.
That is, if they’re taking the baby inside the store, out to the parade, or an older sibling’s sports practice, they place the baby in his stroller, or his infant carrier, car seat, or portable cot and place a blanket, mosquito net, or another protective cover over it.
This can be an effective way to keep strangers from imposing on your baby’s space, but it should be done with great caution since it also raises other risks.
Any such cover can decrease airflow and increase the risk of suffocation and overheating. HealthyChildren advises:
“Be sure to leave your baby’s face uncovered to avoid trapped air and suffocation. Many retailers carry car seat bundling products that are not safe to use in a car seat. Just because it’s on the shelf at the store or sold online does not mean it is safe! Make sure products have been approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
A safer compromise: pull up the sun shade or hood on your baby’s stroller or carrier to block access from other directions, and place yourself on the open side.
Do Not Touch Tags/Signs
You can use these neat tags to remind people that your baby is off-limits for touching.
The hospital gave us a similar product for one of my sons at birth, and honestly, I’m not sure why this isn’t a standard baby gift. The version you see above is from Amazon and runs about $7 for a two-pack, but you can find hundreds of similar tags on Etsy or at baby supply stores, or even make your own.
They can be hanging tags like the above, stickers, or even a paper sign — just make sure you’re always safely using them. Don’t allow anything that could be a choking hazard into your child’s hands, and never attach any tag or sticker in a way that could interfere with the safety function of your car seat, stroller, or carrier.
Cover Your Baby’s Hands
Babies’ hands are so tiny and precious, and there’s something heartstopping about it when they grip your finger.
It’s not surprising that someone would be tempted to touch, but those little fingers also frequently find their way into tiny mouths, and hands can be pretty germy. So, preventing well-meaning adorers from walking up and taking your baby’s little hand in their own is one effective way of blocking germs.
If your baby will tolerate it, tiny mittens are a fairly easy way to do this. Mittened hands are harder to get into a baby’s mouth and less tempting to grabby grownups.
As a bonus, they’ll reduce the risk that the baby scratches his delicate skin with his tiny fingernails.
Take A Deep Breath & Speak Up
This is harder for some of us than others.
Saying, “Don’t touch the baby,” can feel rude, especially for those of us raised not to make a fuss or argue with our elders. Now, though, with illnesses rampant and babies tiny, is the time to build that skill.
Practice polite but firm statements, such as, “Please don’t touch the baby. Her immune system is still developing, and it’s flu season.”
Prepare yourself for those who will be pushier or more insistent. They may argue, “But I’m not sick!” or insist it will be fine.
Plan a response such as, “It’s my job to protect her, and I’m telling you no. Please back away.”
When Necessary, Skip The Politeness
Most of us do not want to be rude. Sometimes, though, we’re obligated to choose between that desire to be nice, and our obligation to protect our kids.
There’s nothing wrong with speaking firmly when it’s called for, even if the other person interprets it as rudeness.
You can say, “Excuse me, I said not to touch my child.”
You can say, “Ma’am, it’s not appropriate to touch other people’s children without permission.”
You can insert yourself physically between a stranger and your child.
You do not have to feel guilty about protecting your child!
