People have been urged to remember the T-H-A-N-K-S guidelines when spending time around a small baby – and says it can make all the difference to their overall health and wellbeing
While some new parents welcome their loved ones showing affection to their baby, others draw the line at allowing anyone to kiss their child on the face. This is exactly what has prompted a parenting expert to share why some parents take such a strong stance against it – providing their reasoning for holding such an opinion.
The Enchanted Nanny, who uses her social media platform to educate parents, has issued a stark message to anyone with a young child in their lives, saying: “This is so important and I am regularly shocked at how many people ignore this.” In her video, she explains why you should never kiss a baby on the face or hands – unless you’re their parent or you have permission from the parents to do so.
She said: “You may not suffer or know that you suffer from cold sores or other nasty illnesses that shed before they show symptoms, you might be feeling as fresh as a daisy and really well, and not know that you’re actually carrying something that a newborn baby does not have the immunity to fight.
“There have been so many more cases than I could count of babies picking up these different nasty illnesses from something like cold sores and sadly not making it.”
She says the only person getting something out of the kiss is you – the person who forces it upon the baby.
She added: “Don’t do it. Don’t ask to do it. If you really need to nuzzle the baby to bond if you’re a grandparent and you really want that closeness, the feet are okay.”
Commenting on her post, one user said: “I do suffer from [cold sores] and I do not kiss my baby, and if I can’t kiss him nobody is allowed to. I don’t know if other people suffer from them.”
Another user added: “Tried to put this boundary in place prior to our bundle arriving imminently…got so much backlash I don’t know what to do.”
A third user said: “My baby was four days old and this random woman came and touched all my babies hands and face and then I was on the school run when she was a week old one of the mums kissed her cheeks and picked her up.”
A nationwide survey of 2,300 new and expectant parents, conducted by The Lullaby Trust, has found that 54% would let friends and family kiss their newborn baby, unaware of the risk of serious infection.
Despite the risk, 63% of new and expectant parents would feel uneasy asking visitors not to touch their baby, worried that they’d offend someone, hurt their feelings, or be labelled an overprotective parent.
The baby charity warns that young babies have immature immune systems and are particularly susceptible to infections.
Jenny Ward, chief executive of The Lullaby Trust, said: “Even infections that cause mild symptoms such as a common cold in adults and older children can be life-threatening for babies.”
To raise awareness of infection prevention, The Lullaby Trust is campaigning for anyone coming into contact with young babies to follow the T-H-A-N-K-S guidelines – Think Hands And No KisseS.
This includes three steps:
- Wash your hands before you touch a baby.
- Do not kiss a baby unless you are their parent or main carer – and even then, avoid kissing if you have an infection or are unwell.
- Do not visit a baby if you are ill, have recently been ill or have an infection. This includes colds, active cold sores as well as diarrhoea and vomiting illnesses.
Jenny added: “We have an important job to do in terms of making parents and the public aware of the risk infection poses to babies.
“Likewise, we need to empower parents to ask friends and family to follow the THANKS guidance to keep their babies safe.”