Paging Joe Biden.
Via WACH:
In recent days, nearly a dozen high-profile politicians and celebrities have been accused of sexual assault.
Many of those coming forward say they were victimized as children. Their stories have thrust the topic into the forefront of national conversations.
The Girl Scouts is addressing the issue head-on, in an untraditional way.
In a post online titled “Reminder: She Doesn’t Owe Anyone a Hug. Not Even at the Holidays,” Girl Scouts tells parents that it is not always OK to demand children show affection through physical touch.
“Have you ever insisted, ‘Uncle Joe got here, go give him a big hug!’ or ‘Aunt 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 post reads. “Think of it this way, 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.”
“I think the most important thing the Girl Scouts was able to identify is that the conversations need to be happening and to start at a very young age,” said Ashley LeGrange, a licensed mental health therapist and founder of the Stand Up Foundation, a local non-profit youth mentoring and leadership organization. “It starts with having conversations about what feels right inside and what your gut says. It also starts with values, what are your family values.”