I hate to say this, but I’ve been railing about this point for a LONG time. In fact, back in 2006, I posted on my blog about an incident that happened to me at the Museum of Natural History. A man was there with his two young children (a boy and a girl, IIRC) and needed to use the restroom.
I was waiting outside the restroom area because Eeees was in the bathroom and I was waiting for her to return before we went on to see the rest of the museum. While I was waiting, this gentleman asks me to watch his young daughter (perhaps about four or five years old) while he went into the bathroom. As I said about it on my blog:
Just because I’m wearing a white shirt, kippah, slacks and have four days’ growth on my face and chin* does not mean that your child is safe with me. How could you possibly think of leaving your child with a stranger, even if only for a minute? Just because I’m Jewish as you are doesn’t mean that I couldn’t be a psychotic murderer or kidnapper. (For the record, I’m not!) Consider yourself lucky that it was me and that your kid was there when you got back.
The Wolf
* It was chol hamoed Pesach.