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 shares an unsettling encounter where a stranger, described as an elderly woman acting oddly, reached out toward their 1-year-old child in a stroller without prior interaction or explanation. The user responded by firmly saying, “Don’t touch my kid!” The woman claimed she was offering a jacket because it was cold, but the user noticed she didn’t actually have one. The situation escalated when the woman followed and shouted at them, raising concerns about her behavior. Now, the user questions whether their reaction was justified or overly harsh.

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

Me and my 1 year old son were outside and he was in the stroller while I was pushing the stroller. As we were walking an elderly lady who was a complete stranger tried reaching out for him while we were still walking. It looked like she was either reaching for his arm or trying to stop the stroller in the middle of us walking.

She didn’t even say anything to get us to stop walking. No “Hey” or “Excuse me” or anything. She just randomly reached out for him while we were still walking and then I moved me and my son out of the way before she could reach us.

I immediately said “Don’t touch my kid!” And then she said “I’m not! I’m giving him a jacket! It’s cold outside!” Then I said “He already has one! Don’t touch my kid!” Then she started talking to some guy and then after that she kept following me and then yelled at me from 50 feet away.

I don’t know what she said cause I was trying to ignore her. But I know she was talking to me cause her friend was no longer in sight after she started following me while she was shouting at me and she and I and my son were the only ones left walking on that sidewalk when she started yelling towards me to get my attention. Then I went in a different direction to make sure she doesn’t keep following me.

I also suspect that that lady might have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I don’t know for sure but I highly suspect it cause she was acting strange. If she was under the influence then that’s even more reason for me to NOT want her near 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 being too harsh to the lady or should I have given her the benefit of the doubt? Even if she didn’t have bad intentions or was just trying to be nice in her own weird way I still thought that the way she approached us was very very strange. And the fact that she followed me and shouted at me a few minutes after that tells me she is crazy. Not only was she she a complete stranger but I also had a bad feeling about her even before she started to follow us.

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 someone tried to touch her or the kid “Bad touch! Bad touch!” And everyone nearby would turn and look scandalized and the offender would quickly leave. A command like “don’t touch me” is often met with arguments and acting like you are the bad person.. 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.