Parenting Plan, Month 3: Week 1

A friend of mine posted this article on facebook last week and it was something I wanted to try in my parenting plan series (well, the hugging part of it anyway).  I’m all about the baby steps.  It’s hard to take on monuments projects all at once, so I’m trying to be a better Mom one step at a time.  This month I will work on giving my kids more hugs.  I give my youngest lots of hugs every day, but I’ve noticed the older my kids get, the more they kind of shy away from getting hugs.  My 8 year old still likes them, but my 11 year old doesn’t really want anything to do with physical contact with me.

I decided this week, I would just observe a little about my kids patterns and decide what would be the best way to go forward.  I think physical affection can seem artificial if it is not done in the right way (or if it is forced or too much at once), so I just want to make sure I do a good job.  I started being aware that I wasn’t giving my 11 year old enough hugs and so I just started giving her 1 or 2 more per day than I usually do.  Already, she has come to me and given me hugs on her own, which she hasn’t done in years.  I was so happy that this change was taking place and that my friend posted this and brought it to my attention.

This week I plan to be more conscious of giving all my kids more hugs.  It will be good for everyone involved I think!

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