How do you tell total strangers that their baby is cold without appropriate covering, while they have nice warm coats...
I think to question someone else's parenting by making a personal judgement about their children raises red flags. First, how can you really know if their baby is cold? Obviously, red cheeks, nose running, shivering and crying are signs to me when a child has been out in the cold. But then, a feverish baby can also have the same symptoms. If the babies hands or cheeks are cold, it would be a natural assumption that the infant is cold. But having raised two boys, I might say, did the child just finish eating something cold like fruit, is the child teething and their fingers are in the mouth and now cold in the air, or simply drinking cold water and got in on themselves. Or possibly the child may simply have cold hands. My boys seemed to stay wet,cold, dirty and possibly germy half of their childhood. Of course crawling and playing on playgrounds, touching a million things, fingers in and out of mouths, well this leads to kids getting cold, wet, sick etc. So I guess my main questions are then, will this matter tomorrow if you say nothing? Is this a life threatening issue with the child? What gives you the right to offer your opinion to these people? And finally what makes you think these people want your opinion or will take your advice anyway? In the end, they will either thank you for noticing their baby is cold and a.) cover the baby, now feeling poorly about their parenting and you included for pointing this out; or b.) not cover the baby, now feeling poorly about you judging them about their parenting and you as well for pointing this out. I would try not to interfere, and I say try, because it usually the caring, well meaning folks like I'm assuming you are by your question, that offer advice to total strangers regarding one of their own. In the end, it's still their decision.
