An Aussie mum who has sworn never to leave the house without a certain printed sign attached to her backpack and to her baby's pram recalls the 'traumatising' history of why she has to do it every single time.

While it may seem like a mundane and harmless task for most of us, going to the supermarket can be daunting for first-time mum Monique and her five-month-old son Victor.

And it's all because of a random stranger who invaded her and her older son's privacy in the supermarket a few years ago.

When Monique had her first child, she was traumatised by a stranger putting their finger in her baby's mouth. Credit: Kidspot.
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It was 2019 when Monique was out with her son in the supermarket to buy their weekly groceries. She was pushing her kid on a pram, all the while scanning the shelves for anything they might need back at their home.

Then, she noticed a fellow shopper slowly approaching them before completely stopping in front of her pram. It was an older lady, who started to play with her son's feet.

"I wasn't a fan of it, but I let it go because it was a little old lady," recalled Monique, saying that she didn't want to be rude to a fellow customer.

But then, the older lady noticed that her kid was teething. Before she knew it, the stranger was pinching her son's cheeks, which she admitted made her pretty furious at the time.

Much to the young mum's horror, what happened next completely threw her off.

The older lady suddenly put her finger inside her toddler's mouth and said: "Oh, I can feel a couple of teeth in there."

It was at this point that Monique knew she had to protect her child and back away from the stranger in the supermarket.

"I turned red straight away and my eyes started welling up like I was about to cry," she told Kidspot. "When your anxiety gets so high and you’re not an aggressive person, it feels like you’re being backed into a corner."

"All I could do was walk away," she said.

The incident at the supermarket traumatised Monique so much that she stopped taking her child out with her for several months, unless she was with a close relative.

"It was very difficult to go out after that," the 25-year-old mum admitted. "I would wait for my husband to get home before I would do the shopping, so I could go on my own. I didn’t want to be put in that situation again."

After having her second baby, she was determined not to shut herself off from the world. Credit: Kidspot. ​

Unfortunately for Monique, the same incident happened again. This time, it was with her second child, Nathan, who was only three weeks old at the time.

When the mum bravely took her child with her to Big W to buy some baby supplies, she remembered instantly regretting her decision when a woman approached them and slowly patted her child on the head.

Mind you, there were some strict social distancing protocols at this time.

The whole incident made Monique furious and determined never to let the same thing happen to any of her children, ever again.

So, she came up with a plan that would not involve shutting off the world and hiding her children at home. Instead of worrying about avoiding a confrontation, Monique made a 'STAY AWAY' sign to take out with her wherever she takes her baby.

The paper read: “Yes, my baby is cute. His name is Nathan. He was born at the end of November. No, he doesn’t like to sleep. Yes, he is delicious. DO NOT TOUCH!”

She even added a small detail that would surely make strangers doublethink about approaching her and her children. At the bottom, she wrote in small letters: "If you can read this, you need to back up."

Now, Monique has a copy of the sign attached to five-month-old Nathan’s pram as well as on her backpack every time the two of them go out.

"I wanted to be straightforward without being rude to people or to have to snatch him away," she said.

Thankfully, this method has been successful so far. Ever since bringing the printed sign everywhere, Monique and her children have never had a single uncomfortable encounter again.

Truly a real-life superhero – way to go, Monique!

What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think the mum went too far with her sign? Or was she reasonable in not letting random strangers touch her children?

 

[Robbo128]

The mum hasn't gone too far, rather she has done the right thing by not letting randoms approach and touch her children.
Why do sticky beaks need to approach and touch a child who is not theirs?
Have some basic respect and manners and approach the mum first, she will most likely welcome your engagement with the child then as you have acknowledged the child is HERS and you have shown respect.
Its really no different to me walking into a strangers home and making a myself a coffee.... I have no right to do that..

 

[Ashmenou]

Although I wouldn’t gone so far, I do believe strangers SHOULD NOT touch any children. When I see cute babies, I just smile and complement the parent.

 

[Elbe]

Why is it such a thing to go overboard like this!? Forty years ago it was sufficient to just say "please don't" to anyone - including random 'little old ladies' and put myself between my child & the other person.

 

[JayKay]

The mum is protecting her children, it's her job.
However, I think she should find her voice....and tell people to keep their distance before they get too close to be able to touch them, especially in this day and age of viral transmission running rampant....
I don't believe she should name her son or give his birth month on her sign.....she is giving too much away.

 

[Ricci]

I think the signs are a little over the top but if that's what makes her feel confident go for it.

 

[Possum Lover]

Yes speak up and say don't do that, unfortunately these things happen so quickly and so unexpectedly that we can be caught unawares. Hopefully the lady will give it second thoughts next time. I know babies are cute but finger in the mouth is not acceptable at all.

 

[Craftingnonna]

Definitely do not touch, of course I don’t see any harm to admire and comment on how cute the baby is. We had 5 children and at 72 we still ooh and ahh when we see a baby, the biggest joy we get is when we say hello and the little one gives us a big smile. Mothers should be proud when strangers talk to them about their babies.
One day when they are in their 70’s they will do exactly the same thing.
Babies are just too adorable.

 

[Robbo128]

Are we so short of articles for the newsletter that we need to rerun stories a fortnigfht after their original post?