Stop People From Touching Baby – The Polite Way

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One of the things that drive me crazy as a new mom is people I don’t know wanting to touch my new baby. I get it, babies are the cutest and their little hands and little feet are some of the cutest parts. It’s practically human nature to want to touch, but it has to stop! I refuse to feel bad about telling people not to touch either! I am my baby’s voice and protector. It’s flu season people!  I had to find ways to stop people from touching baby without being rude. I’ve found a few strategies that work for me and I hope you find success with them too.

Prevention

First, be prepared by knowing that it is going to happen. People like cute babies and they want to touch. Accept that it will happen and be prepared. Start with preventing the touching before you leave home.

Know the Look

You know the look.  The same look you likely give when you see a fluffy puppy. It says ” OH MY GOD HOW CUTE LET ME TOUCH!” The bigger the smile on the person, the more likely the person is to try to touch your baby. The look gives away the people who are going to try to touch your baby. The look is often accompanied with verbal praise of your baby’s cuteness so sometimes you can hear it coming too.When you see and/or hear it coming it is easier to stop it. 

Have a Sign

I don’t have a sign but I want one! I’ve seen cute buttons, pacifiers, and hanging framed quotes that attach to a stroller.  Usually the sign says something like “Please don’t touch” or “Your germs are too big for me”.  This works great for English readers! Not so great for stopping young kids or speakers of other languages.

Cover Baby

Covering up works decently at preventing people from touching baby. You can cover their body with a blanket, nursing cover, the car seat awning,  or provide extra coverage with socks/mittens. A very popular way to cover baby is to use a multi-use car seat cover like the one I have.

Covering baby is a great option for cold weather but doesn’t work well for people who live in a really hot climate – like me in Florida. I have also literally had people in a store move my closed stroller awning themselves uninvited while I was right there. I was so shocked that someone would do it that I barely reacted in time to stop them.

The physical things to block people might stop most people, but not all. After all, I’ve found that it’s the people you really don’t want to touch your baby that are the people who try.

Defense

Hold Baby’s Hands/Feet in Yours

This is what I think is the most effective way to stop people from touching your baby. If I am baby-wearing, as soon as I see or hear someone who could possibly try to touch baby, I take his hand in mine and enclose it.  Sometimes baby’s hands are inside the carrier and I hold his feet. That way I create a physical barrier that the person has zero chance of moving on their own.

Use Your Arm to Block Baby

If baby is not on me but in the stroller, I casually place my arm in between baby and the potential toucher by pretending to hold on to the awning or some stroller part. It sends a clear message that your body is protecting baby and you can also reach for baby’s hands/feet before the person would.

 

I still can’t believe the amount of people who try to touch my baby. Because I live in Florida and its hot, I usually don’t cover baby too much so I have to use more defensive tips than preventative tips. Do you have any stories of people trying to touch your baby? What do you do?

As always,

Wishing you Happy Momming!

-Leah