How is everybody doing with their hugs this week? We are absolutely loving this tool card in our home. On Sunday when I introduced this tool card to my kids, Emma said "Well I'm not hugging Gibson". But pretty soon Emma was hugging Gibson, Gibson was hugging Emma, we were having group hugs...it was an all out HugFest in our home.
Last night my son and I were have a disagreement about something. Suddenly he stopped, put his arms out and said "Dad...Hugs!". We stopped arguing and gave each other a hug.
I was having a difficult time with my 13 year old this morning and offered a hug which she turned down. Then I said that I really needed a hug and she softened a bit but still decided that she didn't want to give a hug. Our situation was about her not feeling like she belonged (her Dad and siblings had gone to the art store but she was sleeping in and missed out) - so although she was still mad at me, my offer of a hug did seem to calm her down a bit and realize that she was loved even though she was lashing out.
It's tricky to balance the "I want to spend all my time with my friends and sleep in" with "I'm still part of the family and want to pick and choose what parts I participate in"!
Today my son and I were having kind of a grouch morning. He left for school with no hat and his coat wide open (we live in Canada - it's -3 C today!). He was complaining about being cold and I ended up doing the old "Well if you'd remembered your hat...blah, blah, blah". I caught myself and said "Hey, want to start over?" and he said yes. We kept rushing along though and he said "Hey, how is this starting over?". I said "You're right, how 'bout a hug". We had a really nice hug and then he said "Well, that's better!"
It totally turned things around. Yay hugs!