https://www.yahoo.com/gma/girl-scouts-not-force-kids-hug-relatives-holiday-174211967--abc-news-parenting.html

I can't tell you how much I feel this message is overdue but doubt the cult has the concern or the gumption to say anything so supportive of girls.

Thanks to my Mom (who had some pretty vehement opinions on this subject, because of her and her step-sister's experiences when they were growing up), I was brought up in a family where I was not expected to hug people I didn't want to hug.

I think this campaign by the Girl Scouts is wonderful for all kids, and I hope it succeeds all over North America.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2017 12:31AM by Tevai.

Thoughtless of me, sorry, I should have said ALL kids. Gender doesn't matter.

I found in the short time since I've posted this a whole lot of anger at the cult around this issue...I think the negative message that the article is warning against is a big part of mormon culture and I'm just boiling for some reason...maybe because family and friends (some were cultists but not all) did this to me a lot growing up.
Anyway just thinking the GAs would never give child empowerment advice such as this, might give em the idea it's ok to pay tithing with air kisses.

Now I'm super creeped out, my dad was making my granddaughter hug people at a holiday gathering last year
Actually it creeped me out then too, I just didn't have words I guess

My mother often forced me to "go give Auntie _______ (some friend of hers) a hug." If I seemed hesitant or reluctant, there would be HELL to pay later.

As I got older, I would respond by smiling at the person and saying, "Hi. How are you?" and making no attempt to approach the person. By then, I was big enough to back Mother off if she tried to escalate the issue.

I never forced my children to how affection if they didn't want to. It was always their call.

Well, now you know why the Mormon "church" does not support girl scouts.

Girls who have "strict obedience" drilled into them have a difficult time later in life saying NO when people make unreasonable demands.

I'm all for teaching girls healthy boundaries.

Good advice by Girl Scouts for all girls (and of all ages.)

forced hugging actually comes as a surprise to me. Yes, I have a daughter but never even thought about forced hugging. Are there that many parents out there that force this? And... I would never consider hugging a child (besides my own) without them asking first.