'AITA for confronting a mother for the way she was holding her newborn?'
"AITA for confronting a mother for the way she was holding her newborn?"
I stopped into Five Guys yesterday and as I got in line, I immediately noticed a mother in front of me, holding her newborn daughter. The baby was sobbing. I didn’t think much of it, I don’t have kids but I’m pretty sure that’s something they’re known to do. It wasn’t until the mother leaned against the wall that I got a better view of what was actually happening.
She was holding the baby with one arm, horizontally across it, using the other to scroll on her phone. I get being a mother is a difficult job, and again I don’t have any kids, but I just assumed it was common knowledge that when you hold a baby, it is essential to support the head, neck, and back simultaneously. This woman had one hand supporting ONLY the child’s back, letting her head and legs dip down. I was in shock.
I wasn’t going to say anything, but as the seconds ticked by, her cries got louder and louder. It was clear she was in pain and the mother seemed not to notice at all. Finally after about 3 minutes I decided to say something. “Hey you’re not supposed to hold your kid like that.”
She turns to me with a confused look. “Excuse me???” I say “you heard me. It’s super careless and dangerous.” She scoffs but is quick to put her phone away and amend the behavior until she gets her food and leaves the store.
I didn’t plan to post about this situation on here but a woman behind me commended me and said she was about to say something, while the 2 employees at the counter both gave me dirty looks and were somewhat rude to me for the rest of the encounter. AITA?
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
Far-Side2489 said:
NTA. Too many kids are abused in plain sight. Maybe you could’ve been more tactful but she was so blasé about her child in distress that your reaction isn’t out of bounds.
faxmachine13 said:
NTA it sounds like she was dangerously holding the kid and entirely focused on her phone. Hopefully it was a one off and she just needed a reminder to be back in the present.
imankitty said:
NTA, that poor baby. They are so delicate and helpless at that age. Thank you for speaking up.
reluctantseal said:
NTA. If the mother had a reason to be holding the baby that way, she wouldn't have corrected it when you said something. Plus, baby brain is real. Even the most responsible parents have their moments. Personally, I would have assumed she was multitasking and didn't realize the baby wasn't situated right.
I also don't know if you can go off how people look at you to gauge their feelings on it. They might just look tired or grumpy for some other reason. They may have been thinking about the mom and how she seemed careless.
Cannabis_CatSlave said:
NTA. I don't even like kids but know that newborns heads need support until they develop neck muscles. Being a parent should require a class and test before humans are allowed to take the newborn into custody. That poor kid.
trayground said:
NTA!! Children can’t speak for themselves and you did the right thing.