Whenever I go out among people with Ingrid, especially if she’s in the buggy and not a baby carrier, inevitably someone will walk up and touch her. “Ooh, look at those cute little toes!” and they finger her toes, or her cheeks or her hands. Almost always without asking me, they just walk up to her and start pawing.

It strikes me as very impolite. You wouldn’t do that to an adult, so why do you think it’s OK with a baby? She’s not a toy or a pet. I’m more and more tempted to reciprocate… pinch their cheek while leaning in really close and cooing at them. I imagine they would find that a bit indecent, and perhaps that would make them realise that I find their behaviour indecent, too.

And it’s always women. Women of a certain age, and I would guess it’s women with no children of their own.