A big part of the holidays involves seeing family that you don't see on a regular basis, which is especially exciting when you have young children because grandma, grandpa, and other extended family members get to see how they've grown over the last year.
What family doesn't participate in this very ritual: Grandma will say, "My, how you've grown!" and then will probably expect a kiss and hug from the little growing one.
However, some parents are challenging this status quo by supporting a child's rights campaign that is against actively encouraging young children to kiss, hug, and be affectionate towards extended family members, and all adults for that matter if they don't feel like it.
The campaign, which is called "Safe Kids, Thriving Families" was created by a New Zealand-based social services agency.
Of course, the idea sounds pretty outrageous at first, but it does raise an interesting question about children and their ability to consent.
The idea was first introduced by a writer named Katia Hetter in a piece called, "I Don't Own My Child's Body" that appeared on CNN. Since, the idea has picked up steam, resulting in the beforementioned campaign.
In the CNN article, Hetter describes the times that her daughter has refused to hug or kiss family members as "kissing strikes."
The mom explains that she's OK with this and tells her daughter, "I would like you to hug Grandma, but I won't make you do it."
Supposedly, giving children the opportunity to make their own choices about this is a way teach them a valuable lesson about consent.
The Facebook page A Mighty Girl wrote about the campaign, and parents naturally had a strong reaction to it. Some parents are calling the idea "Awesome" and are saying, "Wish I had known this years ago."
There's no denying that teaching children to be wary of how people touch them is a valuable lesson. However, many people think this is going way too far.
One grandmother commented, "Yes some of my grandkids just give me high fives. Others give me hugs."
Others are offended and have commented that the idea is, "making mountains out of mole hills."
Another Facebook user points out, "So, we are going to take something innocent and used as a show of affection and turn it into something perverted? THIS is what is inherently wrong with our country."
Do you think that children shouldn't have to kiss and hug adults if they don't want to? Or is it teaching them bad manners?
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Feature Image Via Pixabay
