This was a huge lesson for me in how quickly things can go crazy. Yesterday, I was in a public place and was sitting with my kid. He was, per usual, entertaining everyone around him and making friends. As I went to dig through my monsterous bag for something (I don't remotely remember what, but I'm quite certain it was unimportant), he had toddled over to a woman with whom I had been speaking earlier. She was older and had announced to the group that she had 18 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. Apart from the shock of the sheer numbers here, I was sort of amused by the fact that she didn't really say it with great enthusiasm. She sort of said it like "why didn't I teach my freaking kids about birth control." Anyway, my kid had wandered over to her, and while I knew exactly where he was, I had my head in the bag looking for the amorphous thing of import. When I looked up, he was taking a piece of the Three Muskateers bar she had been muching on. She handed him the piece of the candy and he very happily munched along.
Well. Immediately, about a million different scenarios that my parents had instilled in me since birth popped into my head. Was there a razor blade in the candy? Was it poisoned? Was she trying to lure him into a white van with the windows covered up and no license plate? Was she going to grab him and run? Where the hell was whatever I had been looking for? All of the stories parents tell to scare the hell out of children finally worked--on an adult. I was terrified. Not to mention, of course, the fact that I was trying to keep sugar away from the kid as it was almost his bed time. Not cool.
I'm going to have to assume that the chocolate was neither poisoned nor the root of any evil plot. My stellar detective work is based on the fact that (a) she was eating the candy, too, and (b) it is several hours later and he has not sprouted a second head, and (c) he is currently asleep about 10 feet away from me. But what the hell? Why would anyone think that the move was in any way ok? I get that she was trying to be nice--and she was. He was elated. But, seriously?
I'm all for community raising of a child. But have we way overstepped our boundaries when it comes to other people's children? Where is the line? I'm totally fine with someone helping me out and grabbing one of the 1900 bags, etc, in my hand when I'm trying to juggle stuff. I'm great if someone plays peek-a-boo when he's cranky in public. I love when people tell me he's adorable. But to me, handing a kid food of any sort is not ok. Am I out of line here? Do I just have great-grandma bias?
That is SO not okay, I'd be upset too. I can't believe someone with 20000 grandkids wouldn't know to ask you before she gave your son anything. (I felt bad when I just offered your son a piece of dried fruit without asking you first, despite the facts that 1) you know me, 2) you know I wouldn't try to poison your kid, or lure him into my van, and 3) I was feeding my kid the same thing so clearly I thought it was safe.)
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