From an eagle-eyed reader in the Big Apple, a link to this post, on passiveaggressivenotes.com:
Before you decide whether the parent writing this note was reasonable or not, consider that it was posted in the LOBBY OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING, where a "meet and greet" was being held for said baby. I was never a germaphobe when my babies were little, but I also didn't host parties for them in public thoroughfares.
It does seem to me like the sterilize everything around a newborn thing has been increasing in intensity. Recently, I visited some friends who just had their first- they greeted me in the mudroom/foyer of their home, which was plastered with laminated signs listing the baby's "rules," such as taking one's shoes off before entering. Gladly would I have, had I ever actually been invited inside. Our whole meeting took place in the vestibule, since apparently they preferred visitors not enter the actual home in the first place. I did understand their horror: I was holding Maddie on my hip, who kept lurching at their newborn with her fat, dirty fingers, saying "Bayy beee... BAAYYY BEEE..." (and yes, I managed to keep her away).
I do think the writer of this note deserves some credit, for not writing it in the voice of the baby: "Hey, there! I'd love to meetcha, but Mommy says you have to Purell first! Ga ga goo goo!" Then, they really would deserve the public ridiculing they are receiving courtesy of the internet.
3 comments:
Oh my. They need to come to my house of five children. :)
I love the crumpled piece of paper and wad of something dirty looking on the floor behind it. Doctor heal thyself.
I played in dirt as a kid and survived. My kids are clean, but not shielded from every little bit of grime that might fall their way. Based on my own experiences I subscribe to the theory that today's germ-o-phobia creates more trouble than it solves. Immune systems grow and mature by exposure to relatively benign threats.
On the other hand, if you're dealing with a newborn, some common sense suggests you might not want to invite dozens or hundreds of strangers to get up close and personal.
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