Is this just socially unacceptable?

[Pretty in Pink]

echoing others who have said that he is your child and you are the best judge of whether or not he is capable of safely holding his little sibling. people really need to mind their own business sometimes.

 

fwiw, i was practically accosted by an older woman in walmart one afternoon when *i* was carrying my newborn. i had him in his sling and he likes to hook his outside leg over the side for some reason, and apparently she thought he was falling out! she came up beside me and started trying to put his leg back in, told me that he was falling, and i should be careful carrying him around in "that thing!" i know she meant well, but still :001_huh:

[Lovedtodeath]

echoing others who have said that he is your child and you are the best judge of whether or not he is capable of safely holding his little sibling. people really need to mind their own business sometimes.

 

fwiw, i was practically accosted by an older woman in walmart one afternoon when *i* was carrying my newborn. i had him in his sling and he likes to hook his outside leg over the side for some reason, and apparently she thought he was falling out! she came up beside me and started trying to put his leg back in, told me that he was falling, and i should be careful carrying him around in "that thing!" i know she meant well, but still :001_huh:

 

The same thing happened to me repeatedly! DS liked to have his arm hanging down. Everyone was so worried about it. Then later, when he could sit in the sling like a kangaroo, people were worried that I was squashing him, or twisting his legs. I just said that he was happy wasn't he?

[Mamagistra]

Not that I'm pointing to the Little Rascals as the paragon of child safety standards, but--hey...anyone smell a book?! "Little Rascals Parenting".

 

Debra...we could become parenting gurus! :D

 

:iagree: :lol::lol:

[SonshineLearner]

I would freak out if I saw a 5yr old with a newborn, but they are your children:-) The reason I think it's kinda a big deal, is the fact that if your 5 year old drops a newborn, it's different than a 6 year old drops a one year old. I always figured that a 1 yr old has a better chance of living. But, like I said...they are yours:-) Then again, I'm the kind of person that straightens car seat buckles on other people's babies:-) But, lovingly:-)

Carrie:-)

[KidsHappen]

My dd 12 and dd 9 just held dgb 2 months this weekend and I was a nervous wreck the whole time. Of course, as they got more experience and became more sure of what they were doing I would relax some.

 

I know that some of my older kids got to hold some of the younger ones at younger ages but I don't think any of them were holding 2 month olds independently at 5. Nor do I remember anyone that young holding babies that little independently when I was a kid.

 

I can't really say if I would say anything though. I am very introverted and almost exclusively and stay out of other parent's parenting decision's kind of person, but that would distract me to the point that I might actually say something.

 

I was a manager of a retail store in my younger days. I woman walked away from her cart and left a small tolder sitting alone in the front seat. He stood up and fell out of the cart on his head. It wasn't pretty. I can't help myself from saying something when I see this now.

 

I also had to come between a very large angry adult beating a very small child once and the very small child being beaten. That wasn't pretty either. I am a very small adult but I roar very loudly and I suddenly had a lot of back-up.

 

I have also as an adult told a person to mind their own @#$% business when they tried to come between me and a child I was disiplining. I ended up having a talk with the police over that one but they left agreeing with me. Would never happen in this day and age but that is another story!

 

 

It is your call if you are comfortable with it for your dc but try not to take offense if some of us worry warts well, worry. :tongue_smilie:

[tibbyl]

I have a five son year old who is a kind, responsible, loving brother to his siblings...People are always getting nervous, and angry over him holding the baby... But yesterday, we actually got a rude comment. I had the older two sit on a little stone divider wall I waited until they were situated and I let ds hold the baby for a picture with the mountains and foliage in the background. And this woman was commenting about the baby and my son holding him in a very nasty way.... Of course I am supervising. But I am beginning to notice that people get offended by this, like I am doing something immoral.

 

You know your son's capabilities better than a stranger; frankly I'd be suprised if a 5 year old could not be expected to hold an infant for a minute or so, standing or sitting. I, for one, do not appreciate these kind of comments from strangers, family, or friends. I'd either ignore it or respond in a cool clipped but civil tone, "We have everything under control." Guess what? I've tripped and dropped my own baby.

 

I've been on the receiving end of invasive comments like this too often. I've found it's better for me to confront the person than to simmer about it later at home. Nosy people seem to think it is perfectly acceptable to advise a parent that their child is not dressed warmly enough, that they should not be barefoot, that they need a sunvisor type hat, that they should be eating solid foods, that they should not be held when they cry, that they should not climb trees, ad nauseam.

 

Someone else here stated that their husband chastised a child for speaking rudely to his grandmother, who, in turn, told the husband off. I completely understand that grandmother's reaction. In our home, we understand and forgive one another when we occasionally speak disrespectfully for certain reasons; minors are not held to higher standards than the adults in the home. If the rudeness problem is ongoing, of course, we address it. But I resent an outsider, be they stranger or family or friend, chiding my child for speaking in what they deem a rude tone. Would that same husband feel free to instruct one spouse not to speak to the other rudely?

 

The *only* time, imo, that it is appropriate to intervene between an aware parent and child is if the child is in physical danger or receiving a beating. Oh, once I did step in to deflect what was the worst case of public emotional abuse I've ever witnessed.

[LG Gone Wild]

I have a five son year old who is a kind, responsible, loving brother to his siblings.

 

People are always getting nervous, and angry over him holding the baby.

 

I had to put a stroller away in the van (I store it there) So I had my son hold the baby for about 20 seconds in the parking lot one day, and we were going to go into the house. I was also talking to some neighbors, who I do not know at the same time-- they seemed like my son should not have been holding the baby.

 

But yesterday, we actually got a rude comment. I had the older two sit on a little stone divider wall I waited until they were situated and I let ds hold the baby for a picture with the mountains and foliage in the background. And this woman was commenting about the baby and my son holding him in a very nasty way. Luckily, I did not hear it, my husband did.

 

I think my 5 year old is strong and coordinated enough to hold the baby and he does so all of the time at home. Of course I am supervising. But I am beginning to notice that people get offended by this, like I am doing something immoral.

 

 

People seem to never pass up the opportunity to be outraged. When I lived in Africa, older toddlers were always carrying their younger siblings, frequently on their backs in a sling.

 

No. big. deal.