APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A message from the Girl Scouts of the USA is conjuring up some controversy before the holidays.
“Girl Scouts of the USA had a blog post about not forcing your daughter to not hug or kiss visitors during the holidays and we found that it’s getting a lot of attention,” says Lee Snodgrass, the Director of Communications for Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes.
Leaders say, not everybody is buying in.
“There were a couple people who of course were saying, ‘Oh that’s rude,’” explains Snodgrass.
Several comments saying the no-hug policy was going too far were left on the organizations Facebook page.
One comment stated that hugging is a way of showing respect and teaches children to love and show compassion.
Snodgrass says the “no-hug policy” fits right into the overall goal of the Girl Scout organization, which is to uplift and empower young women.
“We have a law that says respect for myself and others and this is a really good way to respect themselves and their feelings. If they aren’t felling it in the moment they should say “I’ll pass on that hug” or hug you later,” says Snodgrass.
She adds that the effort starts at home with parents.
“We have to ask them, ”Do you want to hug this person’ or ‘would you like to give them a kiss,’” explains Snodgrass. “Rather than just making the assumption that just because they’re young and little that they have to go along and do that.”
