For the most part I have managed not to have too many judgmental "you shouldn't let her do that" sayings from other folks. There are a few people at choir who have done it because it has been awhile since many of them have had little ones and I know them so it makes it a little more okay. However, a couple of weeks ago I got one from a complete stranger. A man no less! I was waiting for ham from the deli and Jess was calmly sitting in the front of the cart chewing on my pen because that's where everything goes these days. A man walked up and told me that's dangerous. I didn't understand what he was saying at first because he had a thick accent from somewhere other than the U.S.. He repeated it and I looked down at her and back at him and told him that she was fine. He said, "she could poke her eye out." I looked back down at her again and back to him and said she was fine. He finally gave up trying to convince me and went away shaking his head that I failed to follow his advice. I've learned there are some battles I can win with my daughter and chewing on a pen is not one I choose to have with her. It would have been different if she had been running around with it like a crazy baby, but she wasn't. I turned to look at the guy waiting behind me and he shook his head and laughed at the other man who dared approach a mommy and tell her she wasn't being a very good mom by letting her baby chew on a pen. I simply said that I can't protect her from everything. I take the approach that I protect her from some of the more dangerous things in life and let her learn some of the other basic less dangerous ones on her own. So far it seems to work as there are things she has learned she gets in trouble for and things that she has learned not to do on her own because it hurts.

Also with your trimesterly tribute, it was amazing how many people treat you like you can't do anything while your pregnant. My mom even did that to me and I told her that I wasn't broken just pregnant.

A baby putting anything in her mouth that could pose a possible hazard should be removed, even if it makes you angry the person telling you is a man. Contrary to popular opinion, men know things, too. ;-)

I realized my first sentence in my first post didn't make much sense. I meant to say that the person being a guy or girl was beside the fact that a complete stranger was telling me how to parent my child. It is no one's business how I parent my child unless I am doing something illegal such as being abusive, which I wasn't.

Yes babies have a sense of punishment at the age of around 6-8 months depending on mental development. I don't know that a baby has a sense of fairness, but rather a sense that something they wanted was taken away and they don't like it hence the crying.