Reply to How do I express to close friends and family not to share utensils with my toddler?

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Reply to "How do I express to close friends and family not to share utensils with my toddler?"

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[quote=Anonymous]I am sure I will be called a freak, germophobe, etc, but as a general rule, I do not share drinks, utensils, food with anyone other than my children and my husband.

Anyway, I have an 18 month old boy and we take him out to eat with us frequently with friends and family -- usually aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. They pass DC around the table, holding him in their laps and playing with him during meals at restaurants (or sometimes at home). It almost never fails, that one or more of the extended family will do 2 things that bother me -- first, feed DC with their hands when they have not been washed anytime recently, and also try to feed him with forks or spoons they have already used to eat. I was shocked the first time it happened and it happened so fast, and without me noticing at first, so I did not say anything.

A few times, I have requested my MIL wash her hands before hand feeding DC, but she just says "Oh I washed my hands before we left the house." and continues to feed him. The sharing utensil things happens so fast too, that I usually don't have time to react - sometimes it happens when I excuse myself from the table and I come back to find an extended family member or friend feeding DC with their spoon from a communal dessert.

How do I politely and appropriately tell family and friends to get DC a new spoon, or new straw, or to wash their hands? Is this something I just have to deal with? And it happens so fast, I usually can't react in time, but I would hate to make a blanket statement at the beginning of dinner notifying everyone that DC needs his own spoon! LOL!!!!

And the times I have mentioned it when it happens, extended family listens at that time, but then the next time we are out, they just do it all over again.

Any advice?[/quote]

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