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People touching babys hands, does it bother you?

Does it bother anyone else when relatives and other people touch their baby's hands? It bothers me from a hygiene point of view as babies put their hands in their mouths. DD has also now got conjunctivitis which I don't know if she picked up from a relative or friend via hands. Do you ask people to wash their hands or use hand gel before holding them? Am I being over the top? DD is 9 weeks.

Lulu

Replies

  • I had to get used to it pretty quick as it is tradition up here that people cross a newborn's palms with silver, so I used to get random strangers putting coins in DS's hands. In all honesty it never really bothered me, but I can totally understand why you are worried. At the end of the day, your baby, your rules I would say!
  • it's never occurred to me to be bothered! I actually think that exposure to germs is how children build up resistance. You cannot keep your child in a little germ free bubble - and should not, it wouldn't be healthy!

    Unless baby has a special reason for caution, ie is immunosuppressed or has just come from SCBU, I don't think it should be a concern. Also once they are only a tiny bit bigger they are capable of getting all sorts of germs on their hands and in their mouths all by their pretty selves!
  • TBH I'd say it's a tad over the top! Like Maenad says, they will soon sitting up putting all sorts of things in their mouths and you can't possibly protect them from all germs. A wee bit of exposure to germs helps to give the baby a better immune system.
    It's easy to worry too much and we are all guilty of it from time to time!!x
  • While I don't particularly like it (same as kissing, fingers in mouth, etc.), it is something that I've had to get used to. It would never have occurred to me that they should wash there hands first mind and think that may be a bit OTT.

    I agree with Maenad and think that we shouldn't try to keep them germ free completely, it's not healthy and they need to build up their own resistances.
  • I agree with what maenad says. Kids need exposure to germs to build up resistance. I grew up making mud pies etc & am very rarely off work. Even in school the only time I was off was when I had the chicken pox.

    J xx
  • It doesn't bother me tbh. When i see a baby i tend to hold my finger out for them to grab, i think i do it more as a way of avoiding the awkwardness there can be if it is someone i haven't seen for ages! It is also a way of interacting with the baby. I'd never really thought about it before tbh.

    Lx
  • I know where you are coming from, I don't expect people to wash their hands first (unless its me or dh and lo will be sucking a finger which he likes to do) but if they have been smoking or touching pets (we have cats and pil have dogs) I would expect them to wash their hands before going anywhere near baby. I am a bit of a control freak at times but I don't wash his toys if they fall on the floor and have given him medicine spoons that haven't been sterilised and stuff.
  • Never really bothered me, not actually though about it tbh. Though when dd1 comes home from school I do tell her to wash her hands first before playing with lo but that because she keeps putting her fingers in lo's mouth for her to chew.

    It bothers me a hell of a lot more when I know people have been smoking and then they lean right over lo and breathe their nasty cigarette breath all over her. I have told someone before who had literally just put their cigarette out to stand back from her.
  • When lo was a newborn (she's now 16 weeks) - I was a bit taken aback by total strangers that felt compelled to touch her - but after a few weeks I relaxed about it and recognise it's just a natural instinctive thing to want to touch a baby's hand, pat her tummy or stroke the top of her head for example. I never had any concern about relatives/friends/family touching her whatsoever - didn't even cross my mind! lol.

    I think my most weird moment was in a coffee shop, lo was crying and this teenage girl was talking to lo and then she reached over to take the lid off her bottle and went to put it in her mouth - at that point it was like WTF back off!! I was very polite but to me THAT was a little tooooo much familiarity to me!!!

  • I wouldn't think twice about it unless they'd been smoking, in which case I'd make them wash their hands.
  • It never use to bother me but my LO has been very sick twice with Bronchiolitis in a short space of time so im a bit more wary of people touching and carry the hand cleaner around with me.
  • It bugs me when strangers have a prods or stroke Bit not really with relatives and friends. I know people want to touch babies but I find it a bit presumptuous to automatically touch a baby how are they to know if baby os prone to getting poorly or not? My dd was in scbu at4 days old with septicaemia from group b strep and it did make me wary of people touching her without washing hands for dirt few weeks but now for family and friends I think it's ok - over time you might find it easier to deal with bit at the end of the day it's your baby so you get to decide!
  • when dd was newborn we were quite conscious of germs and people used anti-bac ge before touching her, but only because she was so small and we felt so protective of her! now she could probably roll around in mud and we wouldnt batter an eyelid!! lol!
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