Finger binding in East Dulwich

[Axeman]

Hello, I've posted this in the family discussion section of the forum. But I would also like to hear the opinion of people who perhaps don't have children. I don't mean any offense, but this section does seem more like a free-for-all, thus a more broader audience.

I'm not really sure how explain what I saw this morning, but something tells me, as a parent, that it's abhorrently wrong and completely unacceptable in western culture.

I was on the 185 this morning travelling into town, when a young mother - mid 30s - boarded the bus and stood next to me. I didn't notice at first, but when I looked at the child in the buggy, my attention was immediately drawn to it's fingers; which were bound in a ribbon or lace like material.

I couldn't quite decide what to make of it at first, as I naturally assumed that the child must have suffered some kind of injury to their fingers. But after some further thought on the matter, I concluded that if the child had suffered an injury to their fingers, then they would be bound by bandages.

Without trying to arouse any suspicion, I asked the mother what the purpose of the binding was. At first I thought she would be rather guarded about answering the questions of a stranger that concerned her child. But no, she was quite happy to share. It turns out that she and her husband are friends of a family who have returned from some kind of extended holiday in central Asia. And during their travels, they came into contact with nomads that practiced Shamanism.

It turns out, that in this region of Asia, to prevent small children from sucking their fingers and thumbs, they bind their fingers in sterilized linen.

She also went on to say that she wasn't the only mother to use this preventative measure in East Dulwich and its environs.

I wasn't about to start lecturing her on how to be a parent, but something inside my said that this was wrong.

So, that's why I'm recounting this on here. Is it illegal, but more importantly, does it cause lasting damage?

Either way, the child looked rather glum.