kissThere is something just so irresistible about itty bitty babies that makes me want to kiss 'em. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? They're just so delicious, you want to get your mouth on them. But what would you do if a grown man was smooching on your little pumpkin as if she were his own kid? What if your baby's pediatrician couldn't stop kissing her?

Getting a little freaked out? So was the CafeMom who confessed she was "shocked" when she took her 11-day-old daughter into the doctor's office and watched her pediatrician plant one on her baby girl's forehead and the back of her head.

The mom, who chose to remain anonymous, says she didn't think the kissy-faced doc was a "pervert," but she was certainly put off. And I can't blame her. 

Kissing someone else's baby is creepy ... unless you have Mom and Dad's permission or you're super close to that kiddo.

When my daughter was a baby, I hated, hated, hated when people tried to kiss her. Like this mom, I rarely thought "pervert," but I did worry about germs. And I was just plain confused when someone I didn't know very well thought my baby was kissable. It seemed rather ... intimate a gesture for a child who wasn't part of the family or at least the child of a close friend.

To put it bluntly, I was squicked out. Especially by the weirdos in the supermarket who would coo over her, then lean in and give her a smack on the forehead ... as if it was completely natural to kiss a child they didn't know from Adam.

I've thought about it long and hard since then, and I think the problem we run into is that babies make people happy. They smile, and the whole world lights up. There's something about them that makes us want to be close to them, to get a little of that happy about the world juju. And OK, maybe to drink in that sweet baby smell.

But people tend to forget that babies are human beings! They deserve their own personal space too! People, even pediatricians, need to realize that what would be inappropriate with a toddler doesn't suddenly become "OK" just because a baby can't say "no."

So yeah, I can kiss babies with the best of the politicians, but I restrain myself. Now if only the old ladies would too ... and the creepy pediatricians.

How would you feel about a pediatrician kissing your baby? What about a stranger in the grocery store? Where do you draw the line?

 

Image via Martyn Wright/Flickr