This

This is based on personal experience, obviously, so maybe my title should read, "I'm tired of ME being treated as creepy with kids."

I have two kids of my own. I really love kids, especially babies. It's nothing pedophilic or creepy, I just genuinely like kids and I think I'm a pretty good dad. I've always liked kids, and having a family is awesome. I had a pretty rough childhood, so I try to treat all kids gently and with love and respect, because I got the exact opposite growing up. I never realized the fragility of childhood until I realized what my trauma did to me as an adult.

Anyways...

My first example is working at a preschool. There were literally parents who would give me dirty looks dropping off their kids (especially daughters), and I even had one say something to my director along the lines of "Are you sure it's ok to leave the kids with him?" as if I'm just automatically a rapist or something. Because y'know, if I wanna work with kids, I'm probably a pedo. There was an older guy that worked there, too, probably 50s or 60s. He also just genuinely liked kids. He got the same treatment; sometimes worse because he was older and I guess had the "look" of someone you'd think of as creepy. But he was great with the kids and they all loved him.

If I look at a baby in the store, the parent usually turns them away or gives me a nasty look. Your kid is cute, I'm sorry. When a baby smiles or goos at you, how do you not smile back?

Then, this morning, my son finally goes back to school after a year at home because of COVID. As I'm leaving after dropping him off, my oldest son and I come upon a crying kiddo, probably 5 or 6 years old. I watched for a second, and noticed he was looking around and seemed scared. So, I asked him if he was ok and where his mom was. He didn't know. He was trying to find the kindergarten doors. So I told him it was door #4, and, of course, he was hesitant. So I gently told him again the doors were (over there, to the left). He started to follow me, still crying, so I led him to the nearest teacher, but before I say anything, his mom comes running up, gives me the literal death glare, and snags him away. I tell her I found him crying and was trying to help him get to his class, and she turns her back to me, and quickly walks away. Didn't say thank you, didn't acknowledge what I said...just rushes off like I'm trying to steal her precious baby.

Just because I'm a guy, that doesn't mean I'm a creep trying to take your kid. I'd hope if my son was alone in the middle of the effing sidewalk, scared and crying, someone would try to help him. If someone smiled at my baby who was making adorable faces in the grocery store, I think I'd be flattered. We need to stop making men out to be creepers when it comes to kids.

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TL;DR: I'm tired of being treated like a creep because I like kids, and men shouldn't be treated as creepy being around kids. We've created a general opinion that a stranger who likes kids is a pedo.

EDIT: If you'd like to see the other side of this issue, check out this wonderfully polite post on r/ femaledatingstrategy about this post. I'm a pedo, of course. That's the only reason I'd even have to say something like this, apparently. https://www.reddit.com/r/FemaleDatingStrategy/comments/m0uggt/women_have_every_right_to_be_skeptical_and_not/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

EDIT: Thank you for the awards, I'm losing track of the comments so please forgive me lol

EDIT: nowhere in this post or comments am I saying this is ENTIRELY the fault of women or blaming women. C'mon now. It's a societal issue. I'm arguing that generalizations do no one any good

EDIT: I DID NOT TOUCH THE KID, I TALKED TO HIM AND ASKED WHERE HIS MOM WAS JESUS CHRIST REDDIT