Daughters Hugging A Relative After Receiving A Present This Christmas

Our five year old twin girls have recently started Rainbows which is the first stage of the girl guide movement that will eventually lead on to possibly, the Brownies and Girl Guides. I thinks it’s a particularly great organisation that hopefully the girls will learn many life lessons from, that they can take into adulthood.

So when I read an article recently about the Girl Scout Movement in the USA, well quite honestly it shocked me. I will add this has not to my knowledge been endorsed by the UK Girl Guides Movement.

They are asking parents to not encourage their young daughters, to hug or kiss relatives. Their reasoning behind this totally shocked me mainly because I have never heard such utter nonsense in my life. They said that by giving a relative a hug or kiss over Christmas after receiving a gift, will be teaching them that in later life they may feel the need to give physical affection, for kindness shown to them.

There are two points about this article that really bothered me and quite honestly I just wanted to say something. In the article as I have already said it says that a girl hugging a relative when a young child could impact on them later in life. Of course what that actually means is you go out on a date with a fella, he buys dinner maybe gets you flowers etc, and because as a small child you hugged relatives after receiving a gift, you will feel obliged to sleep with them, absolutely total rubbish, in my opinion, and I can see no connection between the two.

The whole idea of a small girl growing up thinking that when they become a young adult that if a man buys them something they need to give physical attention in return is totally ludicrous. What also bothers me about this is the stereotyping of men, it actually is saying that all men should have physical attention returned to them because they bought dinner or whatever. I’m pretty sure that most men have come a long way since those dark ages and hopefully they respect women as their equals.

The reasons why I think this is crazy is simple, I have four daughters and two of which are now in their twenties, they always have given relatives a kiss or hug when receiving a present as a small child. I never encouraged it, it was their way of saying thank you. Which is a totally appropriate way of saying thank you and showing some love.

I educated, and then talked to my daughters that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, you give consent, and no man should pressure you into anything you don’t want to do, and I have always said if they buy you gifts you don’t have to give anything in return, most importantly you don’t have to give physical attention or sleep with them, which is what the Girl Scout Movement USA is actually saying. I struggle when these things are said by influential groups. When there is simply no findings to suggest this happens.

My second point is what an incredibly strange world we live in, when this kind of thing is suggested as not a good thing.

Christmas is a time to show love and enjoy being around family and if your young daughters give a relative a kiss or hug because they brought them a present, I find it impossible to understand what’s wrong with it? Showing love to your family, completely normal behaviour in a loving home.

We live in a world that can be so full of hate and shocking acts of terrorism, and we still live in a society that people’s choices and ways of life are so often considered unacceptable. I will say that is usually said by bigots, or people who should know better. Now we are telling our young daughters not to hug or kiss a relative for a present that they have received around the ultimate family time, Christmas. What is the world coming too? Before long we all be walking around like robots with no emotions. What a sad world that would be.

Here is the link to said article by The Girl Scout Movement USA which has inspired my rant

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Do you agree or not?