A mom who called out a stranger for touching her baby’s hand without consent has been backed online.
The mom, who goes by /u/SassyBottleDrop on Reddit, shared details of the incident, which she said took place at a Walmart on September 16, on the popular forum /r/AITAH, asking the community for its verdict on her behavior.
The mom described how a seemingly harmless interaction with a baby boomer, someone born between 1946 and 1964, quickly escalated.
“Today at Walmart a 60ish year old lady was walking by and smiled at my baby who I was carrying. My baby smiled back and she said cute! And I thought that was all,” the mom wrote in her post.
“Instead of walking on she, super fast, reached out and grabbed my [baby’s] hand. I was surprised and stepped back saying ‘not the hands! Not the hands, you don’t touch!'” the user continued.
The Redditor’s reaction to the stranger’s touch led to an unpleasant exchange. “She gave me the most hate filled look of anger,” she wrote. “Honestly the audacity still makes me angry. F*** that lady, she is lucky I was trying to pull my baby away and I didn’t push her away instead.”
A stock image of two women. A Redditor wrote that a woman who touched her baby’s hands gave her a “hate filled” look after she told her not to do that.
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The mom believed she was “in the right” but asked other Reddit users for their opinions. The post has received 2,500 upvotes and more than 730 comments.
Many users agreed that people shouldn’t touch someone else’s baby without consent, unless in an emergency situation.
“We don’t touch strangers, regardless of their age, and we especially don’t touch strangers who are vulnerable and can’t defend themselves or consent to be touched,” one Redditor commented.
Another wrote that it’s “ridiculous” for people to assume they can touch someone else’s baby, especially with flu season on the horizon. The user added: “Don’t listen to people saying they would allow a stranger to touch their child without permission or you’re being ridiculous for setting a boundary. Get your geriatric germ filled hands away from my precious angel.”
Helen Underwood, an entrepreneurial mom and a former NHS physio, spoke with Newsweek about the deeper issues raised by the incident.
She identified four key factors at play: generational differences around boundaries, heightened anxiety over infections, babies’ developing immune systems and post-COVID caution about close contact with strangers.
“Post-COVID, we’re all much more aware of the transmission routes of infections, and combined with many people still preferring their own personal space among strangers, these may be factors that affected the strength of the mom’s response.
“Babies are still developing their immune system and are known to constantly put their hands in their mouths—any germs on the older lady’s hands have potential to cause infection,” Underwood said.
The concern over infections is especially pressing for young babies. Underwood pointed to a recent news story of a 3-year-old boy from the U.K. who almost died from common child viruses.
While the Redditor didn’t say how old her baby was, or whether they had been vaccinated, Underwood said the mom was rightly concerned with keeping her baby safe.
She added, “The respecting of boundaries with ‘Don’t touch without consent’ should be the norm, although some stock responses—such as ‘Please don’t touch’ or ‘Keep your distance please’—and a pack of baby wipes for hand cleaning when out and about could mean that responses when required are less emotional for all concerned.”
