http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a ... 39653.html
As a parent I fully understand how you don't force a child to do something that is going to make them uncomfortable and potentially damage them emotionally. Hugging is just one of those things you do with your kids ALL THE TIME. A normal healthy family has a lot of hugs being shared, probably daily. If you've got a creepy uncle, aunt, neighbor, cousin etc...you're normally not going to encourage your kids to interact with those people anyhow. Seems to me this is going a bit too far. It's common sense to raise your children in a manner so they know when to engage or not, and read their body language to understand if they are feeling scared.
Suggesting they instead give grandma or grandpa a high five? Holy crap has our culture ever taken a turn for the worse.
I think it's tragic to not encourage human contact, healthy touch and affection.
Still, Dr. Janet Taylor, a psychiatrist with offices in Sarasota and New York City told ABC News, that parents ought not create “a mass hysteria about physical contact with loved ones,” especially during the holiday season, in reaction to the Girls Scouts’ warning.
“As parents, we have to use common sense and also realize that it’s never too early to start a conversation about good touch and bad touch,” Taylor said. “But also we don’t want to overstep our boundaries so our children are not afraid of who they should not be afraid of. The awareness of unwanted contact that we have right now is needed. I just caution parents about limiting family attachment and that kind of loving space that a lot of time only happens at the holidays.”
Nobody owes anybody a hug, kiss etc....but teaching them how to be emotionally healthy is critical to proper development. Scaring kids with the latest trend isn't the right thing to do. I would say the Girl Scouts message is applicable to a small minority of parents who are socially inept and lack any awareness of body language. If the parents already have a creepy family member and they force their kids to hug these people then they sure aren't going to care what the Girl Scouts have to say about it. Common sense, not political correctness is what we need.
Our children should be encouraged to embrace the love of their immediate family in appropriate ways. Hugging is a good thing. Not everyone in the world is waiting to molest or rape them, and advice like this, rather than “setting them up for the rape culture” is actually doing the opposite. You're going to more likely make them distrustful of everyone in their lives, including their own family.
So let's discuss.
The Girl Scouts official warning:
http://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-gi ... nsent.html