The only babies my sister has been around are nieces and nephews. So of course she’s had like free reign, she’s auntie so she baby sits all the time. They love her to death.

I don’t know why nobody ever taught her this, or maybe they did and she doesn’t remember and or/ just forgot because she’s had so much freedom with nieces and nephews, I feel so bad though. We were at Walmart picking up prescriptions and one of my moms friends/client walks up and she’s carrying around her new baby (maybe 8 weeks old?) and my sister recognizes her and greets her and is like “oh can I see him!?” And she said “of course!” And lifted the carrier cover and my sister awed over him and reached down to touch him, I saw the moms eyes widen and I swapped my sisters hand away and said “don’t touch him! It’s a world of germs out here and you can’t touch other people’s babies.”

My moms friend eyed me like saying a silent thank you 🥴 I told my sister I was sorry that I swiped her, it just came like a reflex and for some reason I couldn’t get the words out, you know to use WORDS before I started swiping at peoples hands.

She, on the car ride home asked “is it just because of the corona virus that I couldn’t touch him, or because it’s because we don’t know him?” And I told her it was both but because of the pandemic it’s like amplified to not touch other peoples babies or people in general and that technically we shouldn’t have been within 6 feet of anyone.

Do you think I need to explain it to her better? Like reasons we don’t reach out and touch people’s babies unless they specifically say it’s okay? I felt bad so changed the subject.

There’s something really mean about what I did, swiping at her in public infront of someone. It’s condescending and I would be humiliated if someone did that but my eye twitches when I think about those people who walk up and touch a strangers baby without consent.

I know it’s not a massive huge awful thing but I don’t want my sister to be one of those weirdos who poke their germy fingers at your baby

I forgot to add: she’s 17, nearly 18 but mentally in the age of 14 because she was born severely premature so think of her as a 14/15 year old.