Ahead of Thanksgiving, the Girl Scouts organization is urging parents not to force their kids to hug their relatives.
They say insisting young children give physical affection when they don’t want to can give them the wrong idea about consent.
The Girl Scouts’ website said it could set the stage for those children questioning later in life whether they owe people physical affection.
The Girl Scouts are not recommending you discourage kids from hugging if they want to, but instead are asking parents not to force a hesitant child to hug.
“That sounds like a good idea. You certainly don’t want them hugging everybody. So I guess you would have to trust their feelings to some point,” said Jacksonville grandfather Randy Shilling.
“In light of maybe what’s happening in Alabama and certainly what’s in the news, maybe there is some justification to come out with that and say don’t get too close too fast,” said Shilling.
The Girl Scouts said there are non-physical ways you can teach your kids to show love and thankfulness, including expressing those feelings with words, a smile or even an air-kiss.