A mother explains why grandparents cannot hug their 2-year-old granddaughter without the granddaughter's consent
Something that seems completely normal to us, has seemed absolutely normal to us from an early age and that will continue to appear completely ordinary to us; since we were children, we have all always received special attention from our parents, our uncles and grandparents; everyone was always ready to hug us, to cuddle us and to fill us with kisses when they could and above all whenever they wanted. But have we ever wondered if all those kisses, those hugs that are certainly born from deep affection, were well received by the child in question?
via Mirror UK
In a nutshell, are we sure that our children want to be kissed and hugged by their parents, grandparents and relatives all the time? Is there a limit that perhaps should be respected? These questions were asked by Brittany Baxter, a mother of a 2-year-old daughter who posted some videos on her TikTok channel, in which she explained why she decided that her daughter cannot be hugged or kissed by her grandparents without consent; and we're not speaking of consent from the mother, but from her little one.
What Brittany is teaching her daughter, she explains in the published videos, is knowing how to say no to relatives and friends who want to hug her at all costs, pick her up, show signs of affection and physical closeness that maybe at that moment the child doesn't want. Basically, the Australian mom is making her daughter understand that she doesn't necessarily have to reciprocate signs of affection for her grandparents if she doesn't want it at that moment ...
As the woman explained, what often makes her very nervous, and which certainly does not please her daughter, is how all too often grandparents approach their granddaughter "asking" her to return their affection with a hug, a kiss, a sign that their granddaughter loves them. What Brittany explained instead is that her relatives have to understand that the granddaughter is not obliged to respond with physical affection at all costs to show the love she feels towards her grandparents, on the contrary.
Too bad that the answer to this request is often not well received by her relatives: "There you see, she doesn't want to hug or kiss me, she doesn't love me, now my feelings have been hurt!"
Brittany's response, however, is exemplary, even if her words have certainly divided the opinions of the web: "My daughter and her body, her spaces, do not exist to make someone else more comfortable and to make someone else feel loved."
What do you think of what this Australian mom has to say? These are certainly words that make mothers and fathers reflect on a topic that all too often is not adequately explored ...
