AITAH for telling this stranger “Don’t touch my kid!” After she tried reaching out to him while I was pushing the stroller?

A Reddit user recounts a disturbing experience involving an unknown older woman who behaved strangely and reached for their one-year-old in a stroller, unprompted and without saying anything. The user reacted by sternly telling her, “Leave my child alone!” The woman stated she was offering a jacket due to the cold weather, but the user realized she had no jacket with her. The situation worsened as the woman pursued them and yelled, making the user worried about her actions. The user is now wondering if they were right to respond as they did, or if they overreacted.

‘ AITAH for telling this stranger “Don’t touch my kid!” After she tried reaching out to him while I was pushing the stroller?’

While I was pushing my one-year-old son in his stroller during a walk outside, a random elderly woman attempted to grab at him as we passed. It seemed as though she was either trying to grab his arm or halt the stroller while we were in motion.

She didn’t utter a single word to make us halt. There was no greeting, no polite request, nothing. Abruptly, she stretched out her hand toward him while we were in motion, and I swiftly maneuvered myself and my son aside to prevent her from touching us.

I instantly yelled, “Keep your hands off my child!” She retorted, “I’m not! I’m just offering him a jacket! It’s chilly out!” I responded, “He’s already wearing one! Leave him alone!” Following this, she began a conversation with a man, but subsequently continued to pursue me, eventually shouting at me from a distance of 50 feet.

I’m not sure of the specifics of her words because I was actively trying to tune her out. However, I am certain she was directing them at me. This is based on the fact that her friend had disappeared from view, she began pursuing me while yelling, and she, myself, and my son were the sole individuals on the pavement when she began shouting to attract my attention. Subsequently, I altered my course to prevent her continued pursuit.

I also have a strong feeling that the woman may have been intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. I can’t say definitively, but her odd behavior makes me highly suspicious. If she was indeed under the influence, that’s an even greater reason for me to keep her away from my child.

Not only that but I didn’t even see a jacket in hear hand or anything when she claimed that she was “giving him a jacket”. She was also carrying a glow in the dark hoola hoop around her shoulder when this happened. Not sure why.
No this is not rage bait or a s**t post. This actually happened.

Was I excessively critical of the woman, or should I have assumed she meant well? Even if she lacked malicious intent or was simply attempting kindness in an unusual manner, I still found her method of approaching us highly peculiar. The subsequent act of pursuing and yelling at me further solidified my impression of her being mentally unstable. Beyond being a total unknown, I also had a premonition of negativity surrounding her even before the pursuit began.

Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

TowelCrazy2772 −  Def NTA. Do not ever touch anyone’s kids unless you know them. I’m a little overprotective girl dad tho so some people may not agree lol.

Think_Sprinkles4687 −  NTA. Until your kid is old enough to advocate for himself, it is your job to protect his agency. This includes not letting randos put their hands on him. Source: I’m a mom of a now teen who displeased old ladies when my kid was little by standing up for them when they didn’t want to talk to or be touched by people they didn’t know.

pixie-ann −  NTA we do not let mad old bats touch our children. Not the strangers anyway, if you know, love and trust the mad old bat that’s a different story.

MamaWelder −  NTA. Never let strangers touch your kid. She could’ve had a knife up her sleeve. You literally never know.

green_ubitqitea −  We were told to yell “bad touch” if someone ever touched us in public. A girl I know had a kid relatively young and when someone tried to touch her pregnant belly in public, she yelled “Bad touch! Bad touch!” and the person backed off. She did the same thing when her daughter was born.

If anyone attempted to make unwelcome physical contact with her or the child, she would loudly declare “Inappropriate touch! Inappropriate touch!” This would immediately draw attention and disapproval from those around, causing the person to retreat. A simple request like “do not touch me” frequently results in disputes and the perception that you’re in the wrong. NTA.

Only_Music_2640 −  Do you really need to ask Reddit strangers if you were an a**hole for keeping a mentally unbalanced stranger away from your child?

Upset-Cake6139 −  NTA. She made you feel uncomfortable around your child and you went into protective mode. You can’t be too careful these days.

Bitter-Picture5394 −  NTA. But that doesn’t matter anyway. Your priority isn’t to be nice to strangers, it is to protect your child. You have no idea what people’s intentions are and you have a duty to care for your kid, which means you will occasionally be the a**hole in someone else’s story. But if that person has bad intentions than it doesn’t matter if they think you’rean a**hole. And if they had good intentions, they’ll get over it.

rationalboundaries −  NTA. Good for you, Mama Bear!

mentaldriver1581 −  NTA. Even weird people get old eventually.