Anybody that has ever walked a newborn baby through a supermarket has encountered an old lady that tried to pinch the baby's cheeks or hold their tiny hand.
For generations, that his been totally fine.
Now, according to PureWow, times have changed. People are now buying and making "Don't Touch My Baby Signs" to put on their baby carriers in an attempt to keep people from touching their children.
Justin Worsham of The Dad Podcast isn't really on board with the trend.
"I can understand that people feel the need to protect their kids and it is a very weird thing that people do to touch small babies. But I think this is coming from a narcissistic mindset to protect your child from illness, or your routine from the inconvenience of illness.
Research shows that kids who suck their thumbs and pick their nose are less prone to allergies.
I will be the first one to avoid having my kids interacting with other sick kids, but the occasional old lady wanting to touch my son’s soft cheeks doesn’t hurt anyone."
A trend that Justin is on board with, though, is the rise in stay-at-home parenting among millennials.
According to Pew Research Center, about 18% of parents are now stay-at-home parents, accounting for about 11 million parents.
"I am trying to decide if this is a re-prioritization of the family over career, or more the of the millennial stereotype of doing what they want. Either way, I think this can be a good thing. I am a big fan of ditching the stigma of failure in the professional world if you are a stay-at-home mom or dad. I don’t think it helps to make them heroes either.
People like to say that it is impossible to have a stay-at-home parent in today’s economy. The data and experts don’t say whether or not your kid is better off. The bigger predictor for success is giving your kid’s life priority. So a stay at home mom or dad that isn’t happy about the situation is not more effective than a working parent who talks about the school day with their kids at dinner or even a daily Facetime session. Parents who work with their kids on homework are as effective as parents who hire a tutor. All the experts I have spoken to have said it is more about Secure Attachment than it is actual presence. As long as your kid knows you care about them and are invested in them, whether you are in the room or not, you’re good.
But I don’t think any bad can come of people making caring for their family a priority. It’s an annoyingly fulfilling life. If you can have the occasional reminder of how good you have it and this is the life you wanted, it is very gratifying. Don’t beat yourself up if you catch yourself forgetting that you wanted this life. That is also easy to do."
To hear more of Justin's take on "Don't Touch My Baby" signs, stay-at-home parents, and other parenting topics, you can check out all of his stuff at The Dad Podcast
Check out his latest episode with Andy Forrester about fun times as a parent.