Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire PSA: Old People That Talk to Children They Don't Know

Holy Christ, you won't be talking to anybody on that breakfast cocktail.

There are a couple races greatly over-represented on the list as a function of their numbers in the population... as a rough guess the Natives on the list represent more than half and are but 15% or so of the total population... AAs are also significant when only a tiny percentage of the population is black.

Remember reading about a teacher whose career and marriage where ruined by two teenage girls making false claims. They finally admitted they lied and the guy fought like hell to get things righted. He committed suicide before he was able to get it done...

Was just in the grocery store a couple of hours ago. Local oldster pawing the checkout girl. Obviously she didn't want what he was selling but he just kept on. Reminded me of this thread.

Jeebus....I am gone for a couple days and this place gets the schits.

Hell Birdy! What do you think a quinceanēra is all about???

LOL

seriously

I don't have a horse in this race, I don't approach others children nor have children that are approached.

But I might have an idea as to why the OP responds so aggressively.

I have had residences in Florida for most of my life, almost 20% of Florida's population is composed of retirees. Most probably have grand children some where.
A lot of these old f's are lonely and bored, getting out in public could easily be some of the only human interaction some get.

I see it when I shop and really just about anywhere you go here.
Old f's approaching children...all the time...I mean with almost epidemic regularity.
Babies are like old f magnets but any kid 12 and under is potential prey.

It's often "you remind me of my grand son" or isn't she cute, look at that hair, as they reach out to touch.

This crap is cringie at best in most all of these situations.

I see it handled in different ways, most often a luke-warm to cold smile, maybe a verbal acknowledgment but in short the accompanying parent blow's these old f's off as quickly as possible. You can always tell it isn't the first time for the kid and sure as hell isn't gonna be the last.

I really feel for the kids involved at times, you see them look at their parent with that special "save me it's happening again" look in their eyes.

It's not OK, and it's getting more not OK everyday.

If you are one of these types you need to try and limit it to a smile and a wink and be on your way when the over whelming desire comes upon you.

I can't say this odd activity has ever stood out to me anywhere other than here in Florida.
I'm sure it's just due to the frequency of seeing it happen here.

With the OP and his family being recent transplants to the retirement capital of the world here I think I get it...being it's such a regular occurrence here it could be like "culture shock" of sorts for a guy with kids....




Dressing your kids more appropriately when they head out in public could slow the roll...hint.....





f=folks

Some of you guys sound like lunatics. What kind of confidence will your kids have if they are never allowed to speak to an adult? You are present, so there is nothing to worry about. This thread is really paranoid.

I like kids, and am not a pedo. That said I have to be aware of the creeps around too. Walking a dog (90 lbs) intimidates some children and parents; Friday 6 kids (and parents) wanted to pet my chihuahua

Holy [bleep]! You have a 90lb Chihuahua?! You gotta post pics of that....

May be they were raised with manners.

When people smile at them, they smile back.
When people speak to them, they speak back.
May be they never noticed the asshat with the kid.

Thinkin' along the same lines here...

I have a full white beard and sizeable belly too so I get the expected Santa Clause jabs year-round from adult friends and even the occasional stranger. As the Christmas holidays approach I start getting lots of stares from little kids, many of which have turned out funny and some have been a bit touching.

One time a grandma was trying unsuccessfully to get her little grand daughter to behave and stop running around being rowdy in a Walmart. All of a sudden the kid looks up, sees me, I say "Ho-Ho-Ho" and do the I'm watching you fingers thing, she freezes in her tracks, gulps and starts acting like a good little girl. Grandma smiles and gives me a 'thank you' nod.

Another time at a Cracker Barrel gift shop, me standing around waiting on my wife to get done playing lookie - lookie, a precious little toddler girl saw me and ran off and got a little girly foot push trike, dragged it back to where I was standing, proceeds to jabber away and pointing at me then to the little trike.

Then there was the time right before Christmas an elderly woman leading by the hand a youngish girl that looked to be in her teens at least and also obviously handicapped. The handicapped girl saw me and her face changed immediately from a somber, spaced-out expression to a big toothy grin and she started waving frantically at me and my wife. Of course I/we smiled and waved back at her.

You know, if your PSA had gone along the lines of "If someone asks you not to talk to their child, just comply" you'd probably have had 100% buy in. It's understandable that everyone has different parenting styles/methods/philosophies.

As is, well it's worth exactly what we paid for it...

Better crop your photo a bit there Phil. I can read your's and Leandra's name pretty clearly.

Concur.

Not sure about the azzhat thing. Maybe a well meaning Helicopter Dad.

Happy Father's Day BTW!

Odd OP and some strange posts here.

We raised four kids. They were my step kids but I think of them as my own. We live in an area where I didn't worry about people for the most part. With that said, now we have an adorable little granddaughter and I'm not sure I'll feel the same way if some stranger comes up and paws on her.