OK, this is a bit ridiculous!
Nov 7th, 2007 by justsimplyholly
As a parent of 2 teenagers, I have been through many things with my kids. Through their school years we have had some rough moments and I’ve even had times where I’ve gotten into arguments with school administrators because I felt my child was being treated unfairly or punished for something that shouldn’t have been punished for. But I cannot even imagine how the parents of THIS child felt when their 13 year old daughter was given 2 days of detention for hugging 2 friends goodbye at the end of a school day.
People wonder why kids are the way they are today. Although I acknowledge that there are many factors behind today’s “bad” kids, teaching children that hugging is wrong is simply, well, WRONG! Yes, I know that there are many kids in today’s society that do not care to be hugged, and some even view it as a form of sexual harassment. But a quote from the story tells the school districts exact policy on hugging
“Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.”
How does a student hugging their friends, who are willing recipients of said hugs, bring discredit to a school? If I were to see something like that as I were driving by a school my thought would not be “Oh my God, that school must be horrible”, my thoughts would be that the school promotes a feeling of happiness and friendliness that supports friendships.
If we, as a society, continue to punish children for showing their peers that they care, what kind of adults are they going to grow up to be? In my opinion, uncaring and selfish adults! Do I feel that a child should be willing to give a child a hug that doesn’t want one? NO, absolutely not. But a child should be able to show care and affection to peers who are mutually agreeable to receiving said care and affection without the fear of being punished for it!
