The holidays. One of our favorite times of year for enjoying family, but one of the hardest times of year for keeping little babies healthy. Whether it’s strangers trying to get close to your baby at the grocery store, Aunt Rose wanting to give her extra smooches at a holiday gathering, or little kids with sniffles wanting to hold your baby—lots of viruses are going around and it’s worth taking extra precautions to keep your baby well.
Babies bring people together and it’s such a beautiful time to connect with people close to you, but as the parent, you should always feel empowered to choose the boundaries around your baby.
The kind way to say “please don’t touch my baby.”
You are the parent and should never feel pressured to let someone hold or touch your baby. Several simple phrases can still let others know you care while maintaining boundaries you are comfortable with.
- If someone comes closer than you like, you may gently step back and say, “Thanks for being so kind, we’re really trying to keep her well so we’re going to keep our distance.”
- If someone asks to hold your baby you may say, “We’re really trying to keep him healthy so we’re not going to have other people hold him tonight.”
- In any situation, you can say, “There are a lot of bugs going around and we’re going to keep her close.”
- For a little child, you may say, “We’re just going to let Cole’s mommy and daddy hold him tonight.”
Always ask others to wash their hands
If you feel comfortable letting someone hold your baby, handwashing really does help. Washing hands reduces the spread of diseases and sicknesses and can make a big difference in protecting your little one. If a family member asks to hold your baby, asking them to wash their hands before touching them is one of the easiest ways to prevent them from getting sick and can often ease your nerves about them holding your baby.
Prepare beforehand
Before a large gathering, you may also consider preparing in several ways.
- Bring hand sanitizer with you as an easy way to offer if someone would like to play with your baby.
- Talk to the host to get a better idea of who will be coming so you can know what to expect.
- If you find out about others being sick, you may try to keep your distance.
People will almost always be understanding of any effort you take to keep your baby healthy. If someone is offended, remember that you made a decision that you felt was best for your baby and that is something you should be proud of.
These simple phrases were so helpful with my babies, and will hopefully give you a few extra tricks up your sleeve to be the best and most confident mama you can be.