Young mothers are all a little paranoid. Or not even a little. They are afraid that the baby is cold, then they worry that it is hot, they iron their undershirts ten times and boil the nipples. They say, however, that this is up to the third child. There, even if the elder eats cat food from the floor, it is the cat’s concern. But when the firstborn arrives, some paranoia is normal.
So thought one of the inhabitants of the “moms” forum Mamsnet. She published an instruction she made specifically for her visitors. There were 13 points.
1. Wash your hands with soap and water before touching your baby.
2. Do not come if you have just been ill with something.
3. Do not kiss your baby on the lips (only on the top of the head).
4. Do not touch the baby’s mouth at all.
5. If you come to cuddle the baby, be prepared to be asked to help you in some way (for example, clean up).
6. Don’t shake your child.
7. If you smoke, you will not only need to wash your hands but also change your clothes before picking up your baby.
8. Do not come without an invitation or without warning about a visit.
9. No flash photos.
10. Please respect the wishes of Mom and Dad on how to handle the baby.
11. Don’t post photos or posts about your baby on social media.
12. If the child has fallen asleep, it should be placed in a cradle or basket.
13. Feeding is personal. No strangers should be around.
It seems to be nothing supernatural. In our opinion, this set of rules is common courtesy. Although there is no need for a well-mannered person to voice them: he will not grab a baby with dirty hands or kiss someone else’s child on the lips anyway. Not to mention, putting photos on public display is a violation of personal integrity. And helping mom around the house is a sacred thing. It is unlikely that the guest will be asked to do a general cleaning. It will be enough just to wash the dishes, for example, to make life much easier for a woman.
But the inhabitants of the forum did not think so. They just hunted down the young mother. “Are you serious? It is unlikely that your home will have many guests. And what kind of nonsense with the help of the housework? No, I don’t believe that this is all for real, ”we quote the mildest comments to the instructions. It got to the point that Mom decided to delete the post: too much negativity poured out on her head.