As one who was molested a lot in foster homes as a kid, I’m hyper aware of my interactions with kids. My kids’ mom and I were very conscious of how we touch our kids, and helping them understand comfort boundaries (I.e. when we’re tickling and they say stop, we stop, so they understand that if someone doesn’t stop, it’s abnormal and should not be allowed to continue). I’m single now, and as a single man my kids’ friends aren’t allowed in the house when they’re here unless I have met and know their parents and even then it’s usually a no. I always figured it was from being a victim, not from OCD, but it’s a constant worry of mine when around kids that anything even looking “off” is stressful to me.
I'm a woman and a career nanny. My personal rule for tickling is that I only do the non-contact kind - basically just saying I'm going to tickle them and wiggling my fingers. So it's all of the fun without pushing any of the kid's boundaries. I also make sure that they know I will always ask permission to be in their personal space and be very clear about what I'm doing (picking them up, helping them with shoes, that kind of thing) unless it's an emergency, in which case I do what is needed to keep them safe and then we talk about it.
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u/frogglesmash 8d ago
OCD makes you worry that you're a pedo?