Girl Scouts urge parents not to make kids hug relatives on holidays

(WFLA) —In light of recent widespread allegations of sexual abuse, the Girl Scouts of America is stressing the importance of setting boundaries.

In a post entitled “Reminder: She Doesn’t Owe Anyone a Hug. Not Even at the Holidays,” the organization addresses the issue of consent head-on, telling parents why they shouldn’t insist their child show physical affection to a family or a friend.

“Have you ever insisted, ‘Uncle just got here—go give him a big hug!’ or ‘Auntie gave you that nice toy, go give her a kiss,’ when you were worried your child might not offer affection on her own? If yes, you might want to reconsider the urge to do that in the future,” the PSA on the Girl Scouts website reads. “Telling your child that she owes someone a hug either just because she hasn’t seen this person in a while or because they gave her a gift can set the stage for her questioning whether she ‘owes’ another person any type of physical affection when they’ve bought her dinner or done something else seemingly nice for her later in life.”

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