Cruising with a Baby - Please do not touch!

[donaldsc]

We disembarked from the Veendam this morning, and I would have to guess that no less than 50 complete strangers felt the need to touch our baby at some point during the cruise. Some would reach down and grab her foot. Others rubbed her hair or her cheek. Some tried to play with her hands. I understand that our daughter is adorable, and she smiles at everyone with a look that simply beams love for all. But in an environment where hand washing is promoted (but not necessarily observed) at every turn, it was difficult for me to relax with so many people trying to touch the baby.

 

For those of you who are among those who like to touch strangers babies, please understand that I am not trying to be rude. But when you're somewhere far from home and there is a concern for things such as norovirus, parents need to exercise caution, especially with little ones who are not fully vaccinated due to their young age.

 

Just had to voice my concern here. Thanks for understanding.

Erica

 

I totally agree with you and not only because of a fear of germs. It is certainly true that people lie on their "was I sick before I cruised" form and people also get sick on cruises and self medicate themselves. There is no reason to subject your child to any more germs than they get from normal activities.

 

Another reason is that I do not understand why people feel that they have a right to touch your child. They certainly would not grab your feet or muss with the hair of your older kids. Why then is it OK to do it to your baby. It is one thing to come up to you and say "She is adorable. How old is she?" but no touching.

 

DON

[Redbird48]

Want Norovirus?? Touch a baby.

[kgbeast]

I totally agree with you and not only because of a fear of germs. It is certainly true that people lie on their "was I sick before I cruised" form and people also get sick on cruises and self medicate themselves. There is no reason to subject your child to any more germs than they get from normal activities.

 

Another reason is that I do not understand why people feel that they have a right to touch your child. They certainly would not grab your feet or muss with the hair of your older kids. Why then is it OK to do it to your baby. It is one thing to come up to you and say "She is adorable. How old is she?" but no touching.

 

DON

I do not think it is the germs that she is bothered by or she would be smart enough not to put her kid in day care. I just think she is a person that does not want her family to be touched by us commoners, kind of like the queen with the white glove thing. Her bare skin can not touch common people or she will melt. Kind of like water on the witch in "The Wizard of Oz" . She would never make it living in Europe. We lived there for many years (Spain and Italy) and babies were passed around like joints at a Grateful Dead concert.

[kazu]

I do not think it is the germs that she is bothered by or she would be smart enough not to put her kid in day care. I just think she is a person that does not want her family to be touched by us commoners, kind of like the queen with the white glove thing. Her bare skin can not touch common people or she will melt. Kind of like water on the witch in "The Wizard of Oz" . She would never make it living in Europe. We lived there for many years (Spain and Italy) and babies were passed around like joints at a Grateful Dead concert.

 

oh, I'm sorry but I don't think the op deserves this statement :eek:

[kgbeast]

oh, I'm sorry but I don't think the op deserves this statement :eek:

What, you never been to a Grateful Dead concert?

[kazu]

What, you never been to a Grateful Dead concert?

 

it wasn't on my bucket list, so no - but respect always is ;)

[ookpik]

it wasn't on my bucket list, so no - but respect always is ;)

 

Bravo!

[donaldsc]

I do not think it is the germs that she is bothered by or she would be smart enough not to put her kid in day care. I just think she is a person that does not want her family to be touched by us commoners, kind of like the queen with the white glove thing. Her bare skin can not touch common people or she will melt. Kind of like water on the witch in "The Wizard of Oz" . She would never make it living in Europe. We lived there for many years (Spain and Italy) and babies were passed around like joints at a Grateful Dead concert.

 

I understood when I posted that germs were not her major objection and noted it in my post.

 

However, some people are touchy-feely types and some are not. Royalty versus commoner has nothing to do with it.

 

I worked with a person who was of Greek ancestry and could not talk to you unless he was about 6 inches from you and constantly touched you. This made me very uncomfortable. Also, as I was his boss, I told him in a really nice way that he was making himself open to a real problem if he was speaking to a female in the same way.

 

You make like having people in your face; I do not. I also do not like it when total strangers or minor acquaintances insist on hugging me.

 

She has a perfect right to tell people to stop touching her child if she wishes and as I said before, I totally agree with her.

 

DON

[Storm Monkey]

Interestingly, I was just at a baby shower this afternoon.

And one of the gifts given to the mom-to-be was a small bear with a pouch on the front.

The bear attaches to a stroller, and stored in its pouch is indiviually wrapped hand sanitizing towels.

The idea being if someone comes up to touch the baby -- you pass them a towel and respectfully ask that they use it before touching the baby.

Seems like a simple solution for those who are concerned about germs - and obviously useful not just on a cruise, but at the local mall, grocery store, etc.

Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the manufacturer or where it was purchased.

[kgbeast]

Interestingly, I was just at a baby shower this afternoon.

And one of the gifts given to the mom-to-be was a small bear with a pouch on the front.

The bear attaches to a stroller, and stored in its pouch is indiviually wrapped hand sanitizing towels.

The idea being if someone comes up to touch the baby -- you pass them a towel and respectfully ask that they use it before touching the baby.

Seems like a simple solution for those who are concerned about germs - and obviously useful not just on a cruise, but at the local mall, grocery store, etc.

Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the manufacturer or where it was purchased.

But truly the problem with the over sanitized population is a less effective immune system. There has been a lot of evidence that over use of antibacterial soap for instance reduces the bodies ability to fight infection. Same holds true with over use of antibiotics. Best to just use normal hand washing and let the body do the rest.

[OVgirl]

It does seem that people in general don't feel that it is necessary to ask permission to touch another person. Just because the person is a baby, they still are entitled to some personal space. I can't imagine that any of us would be happy if everyone we met gave us a big hug.

I've also noticed a similar situation when people like to touch the stomach of a woman who is pregnant. And they don't ask first if it is OK.

It doesn't hurt to just ask the mother or father if it is alright to touch or tickle their beautiful baby.

 

I definitely understand that the OP would be a little uncomfortable if this happened too often.

[kgbeast]

I understood when I posted that germs were not her major objection and noted it in my post.

 

However, some people are touchy-feely types and some are not. Royalty versus commoner has nothing to do with it.

 

I worked with a person who was of Greek ancestry and could not talk to you unless he was about 6 inches from you and constantly touched you. This made me very uncomfortable. Also, as I was his boss, I told him in a really nice way that he was making himself open to a real problem if he was speaking to a female in the same way.

 

You make like having people in your face; I do not. I also do not like it when total strangers or minor acquaintances insist on hugging me.

 

She has a perfect right to tell people to stop touching her child if she wishes and as I said before, I totally agree with her.

 

DON

Yup, I agree with you. But, did she actually tell people to keep their hands off her kid, or is she just saying here that in the future we should not touch babies.

[Steph123]

It does seem that people in general don't feel that it is necessary to ask permission to touch another person. Just because the person is a baby, they still are entitled to some personal space. I can't imagine that any of us would be happy if everyone we met gave us a big hug.

I've also noticed a similar situation when people like to touch the stomach of a woman who is pregnant. And they don't ask first if it is OK.

It doesn't hurt to just ask the mother or father if it is alright to touch or tickle their beautiful baby.

 

I definitely understand that the OP would be a little uncomfortable if this happened too often.

 

 

I agree with you. I never touch babies at church, the mall or where ever. I love to look and say how sweet and beautiful they. Many people do not wash there hands after using the restroom, all of you that think the OP is over concerned think about that !! The OP has every right to take her child on vacation and expect strangers to not touch her infant.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I guess that I must be strange because I am not attracted to babies. I guess I am more of a dog person.

 

Thank you for posting that! I thought I was the only one who would make more fuss over a puppy than a baby.

 

I have always found it odd that people have this need to touch babies. As someone else said, they probably wouldn't feel the same need to touch a 4-year-old. I don't dislike babies. I just have no need to touch or hold a stranger's child.

 

And rubbing the belly of a stranger who's pregnant is just weird.

[sunviking90]

It does seem that people in general don't feel that it is necessary to ask permission to touch another person. Just because the person is a baby, they still are entitled to some personal space. I can't imagine that any of us would be happy if everyone we met gave us a big hug.

I've also noticed a similar situation when people like to touch the stomach of a woman who is pregnant. And they don't ask first if it is OK.

It doesn't hurt to just ask the mother or father if it is alright to touch or tickle their beautiful baby.

 

I definitely understand that the OP would be a little uncomfortable if this happened too often.

 

You put my thoughts into words exactly.

[lovesublime]

It does seem that people in general don't feel that it is necessary to ask permission to touch another person. Just because the person is a baby, they still are entitled to some personal space. I can't imagine that any of us would be happy if everyone we met gave us a big hug.

I've also noticed a similar situation when people like to touch the stomach of a woman who is pregnant. And they don't ask first if it is OK.

It doesn't hurt to just ask the mother or father if it is alright to touch or tickle their beautiful baby.

 

I definitely understand that the OP would be a little uncomfortable if this happened too often.

 

 

 

 

I agree. I'll never understand why people, who otherwise would keep their hands to themselves, feel it's okay to touch babies and pregnant women. When I was pregnant, total strangers would stop to pat my belly. I found it repulsive and invasive. I also didn't appreciate strangers touching my child and it didn't really have anything to do with germs. People should keep their hands to themselves. Babies and pregnant women are not community property-no matter which part of the country or world you're from.

[Letsgo1]

I would agree with OP I also did not like people touching my children when they were infants ....and we lived overseas where the locals just had to make contact with your child's face! In the end, you need to be your child's advocate, I learned plenty of defensive moves/advoidance techniques, still with all the public attention my kids never got sick till they went to daycare.

[Richie2pies]

I agree with some of the posters who think that small babies do not belong on a cruise ship. They may be cute and all that, but a cruise ship is not a place for a baby. Perhaps, leaving the baby with grandma is a better bet.

[Karennella]

I would not touch a child unless I knew the parents. I taught year two and three for many years and because of child protection concerns and the policy of my school, it ended up being forbidden to touch a child for any reason except an emergency. Initially this was difficult but perhaps as a result, I myself do not like being touched by strangers nor the increasing custom here in Australia of having to kiss all and sundry in greeting. I was brought up with the English cultural norm of men shake hands, women do not.

[jkrislc]

 

And rubbing the belly of a stranger who's pregnant is just weird.

 

Particularly when you presume a woman is pregnant and isn't. I wasn't the one guilty of this, but it made for a very uncomfortable situation to witness.

[Richie2pies]

Too much time in the buffet and MDR? Obesity?

[Sopwith]

I'm trying very hard and in good faith to understand what I see here. Here's how it looks from my angle:

 

A young mother has cruised before on several cruise lines and has at least an idea of the demographics of HAL passengers. She has been a member of CC for almost 18 months, and after almost five dozen posts she has an idea of what people think about various aspects of cruising, or at least knows where to find this information. Armed with this knowledge, she takes her infant into a confined space with over 1300 other people for a full week, where it is reasonable to expect that several hundred of them (rightly or wrongly) would prefer not to be in a confined space for a full week with other people's infants. When a few dozen of them actually try to be friendly she doesn't want to be rude or argumentative, but complains anyway.

 

I think I'll stop there and let this train of logic speak for itself.

[donaldsc]

I'm trying very hard and in good faith to understand what I see here. Here's how it looks from my angle:

 

A young mother has cruised before on several cruise lines and has at least an idea of the demographics of HAL passengers. She has been a member of CC for almost 18 months, and after almost five dozen posts she has an idea of what people think about various aspects of cruising, or at least knows where to find this information. Armed with this knowledge, she takes her infant into a confined space with over 1300 other people for a full week, where it is reasonable to expect that several hundred of them (rightly or wrongly) would prefer not to be in a confined space for a full week with other people's infants. When a few dozen of them actually try to be friendly she doesn't want to be rude or argumentative, but complains anyway.

 

I think I'll stop there and let this train of logic speak for itself.

 

OK, I will let this train of logic speak for itself.

 

It appears from your profile that you have done a bit of cruising. Whenever you cruise, people come up to you unasked and rub your head as a friendly gesture or pat your stomach. What would your reaction be? Would you politely ask them to stop? Would you be impolite to them? Would you find that patting your head or your stomach was an invasion of your personal space?

 

DON

[sansterre]

Our first cruise was when our youngest was 3 and that was too young IMO. We didn't cruise with the children again until he was 9. I assume this baby was under 1, and maybe a tiny baby is easier to cruise with that a 2 or 3 year old.

However, each to their own. I never touch babies but I do wave and smile to them on cruises, airplanes, and at restaurants, grocery lines etc. (usually with a smile or wave back).

I do remember a few people being overly friendly with our babies. They meant well, but I understand the OP.

When it comes to babies and baby bumps, keep you hands to yourself!

[ariawoman]

This question slightly veers off topic but since the OP mentioned it, i was just wondering....

 

Do babies get sea-sickness? Or is this something that only happens to older people? Just curious since she mentioned the rough seas.