Etiquette With Other People's Baby's

Before I became a parent (my daughter is now 7 months old), I didn't think twice about what proper baby etiquette is. The closet thing to baby etiquette that I got to was getting annoyed at parents who couldn't keep their babies quiet on an airplane. Well, now that the shoe is on the other foot I can fully sympathize with parents. In fact, now I notice much more the things that people who don't have babies do that make those of who are parents of infants cringe. Here are a few items that should be considered good etiquette when it comes to other people's babies.

Cleanliness

This should be the first thing on your mind when interacting with someone else's baby. When you are about to come in contact with a baby, make sure that the mother or father knows that you've just washed your hands. Better yet, tell them you are going to wash your hands and then go wash your hands. Maybe you just washed your hands before meeting the parent and baby, but it'll still put the parent's mind at ease if you do it again. And by the way, even if you have the belief that babies build better immunity again germs by being exposed to them, do not assume the baby's parent feels the same. Go wash your hands.

Let the parents do the parenting

Keep all advice to yourself, unless asked. Most parents don't want to hear what they SHOULD be doing about nap times, bath times, feeding, nursing, etc. Believe me, they've read, heard, and thought about whatever you're going to advise. If the baby is a newborn, the parents are already stressed out, and they don't need you to criticize them (trust me, all advice sounds like criticism to the parents of a newborn).

Do not be a nosy stranger

Ever see a really cute baby while standing in line at the supermarket? It's fine to compliment the baby to the parent, but don't touch or pick up the baby. Don't even ask the parent if it is ok to touch the baby. This just puts the parent in an awkward situation. I was at a hospital once when a couple walked by. The man saw our baby and stopped to say how cute she was. The wife agreed and then proceeded to touch my daughter's face and hold her hand. I didn't know who this woman was, whether she was sick or maybe just visited a sick patient, or anything else about this woman. Ok, so nothing happened to my daughter...she didn't get sick or anything. But it still made me cringe.

Mind your toddler

If you have a toddler that loves babies (I don't think I've ever met a toddler who didn't like a babies), take care that your toddler isn't too rough with the baby. Toddlers will treat babies like toys unless you teach them to be gentle with babies. So not only should you tell your toddler beforehand that they need to be gentle with the baby, but you should make sure to watch the interaction so that your toddler isn't being too rough. By the way, toddlers carry all sorts of germs on their hands, so be sure to wash your toddler's hands before letting him touch a baby.

These are just a few things you should be aware of when interacting with other people's babies. I'm sure there are a lot of other things that make the parents of babies cringe, but if you follow the above advice, you'll probably avoid the majority of those things.