Giving another person’s child a piece of candy or fruit seems like a pretty nice gesture. But believe it or not, there are dangers of feeding people’s kids.
Dangers of Feeding People’s Kids
I was at a beauty salon one day when the young daughter of one of the customers began to get fussy. Then one of the other customers, who was unrelated to them, decided to reach into her bag and give the little girl raisins. I cringed, even though the treat wasn’t unhealthy.
This women didn’t know this little girl and her mother. She didn’t even ask the mom permission. I felt uncomfortable about the situation, although I wasn’t a mom at the time.
Fast forward a few years later, and I experienced a similar situation. There was a dad with his son, and the little boy was cranky. A gentleman, who was unrelated to them decided to offer the boy a cookie. The little boy was way too upset to take it, unlike the little girl.
I thought back to that time at the beauty salon, and cringed. I wasn’t a mom back then. But now that I have kids, I think of that happening with my children and it makes me angry.
What if the child has allergies? Think of consequences to you giving a child you don’t know food without a parent’s consent. That cookie could have had nuts or may the little boy was allergic to gluten. Bottom line, it’s unacceptable to offer a child anything without asking the parent first. It wouldn’t be okay with me if someone offered my kids food without asking me first.
So the next time you see a small child and you think you’re doing a good deed by giving him food, think about the possible dangers involved. Don’t ever undermine his parents authority, just ask them if it’s okay first.
I always ask first when offering and haven’t always had the same done when I’m with Nia but most people will ask first. Even with the sampling work I do with one of my brand ambassadorships we have a rule to always ask the parents first especially with allergies and possible sickness issues like you mention.
I totally agree with you! I am not a parent yet myself, but I believe that it is inconsiderate to offer anyone’s child food without at least asking the parent first. I chew gum a lot and sometimes a family friend’s child or even a little cousin of mine would ask me for some. Even though I am familiar with that child/children, I still ask if it is ok, because the child may be too young for gum or candy, or maybe the parent just doesn’t want them to have sweets at the time. The last thing I ever want to do is be held responsible for the health of someone else’s baby.
Yea, you’re absolutely right. I do the same with family members. I never assume it’s ok to give a child something without asking first. You’d be surprised, most people don’t.