hugs
When I pick my 5 year old boy up from school, a remarkable thing happens…
My wife and I are both pretty affectionate people. We chose early on to be as affectionate as possible with our children. We have one boy, E, and my wife, Molly is pregnant with our second. I have to admit to being concerned that always showering our boy with affection might make him “soft” or “spoiled.”
E is an amazingly gentle and sensitive boy (my biases don’t need to be mentioned, do they?), but he is also a great little leader. When I pick him up from school, I will often “spy” on him while he plays with the other kids in the playground, just so I can see how he interacts with them. He usually has four or five kids following him, which I thought was pretty cool (yes, I am the ever proud Papa), but not exactly odd. Over the past week or so, however, I have noticed a different behavior.
I didn’t think much of it the first time it happened. As we were beginning to gather his things before leaving the school, three of the children lined up, each asking him for a hug. I thought it was cute, but I am usually in a hurry and was, perhaps (my wife would say “definitely”), a bit less patient than I should have been.
When I picked him up the following day, this time there were five or six little ones asking for one of his hugs. I asked the teacher if this was normal, if they were somehow all of the sudden encouraging the children to give hugs before they leave. She told me it wasn’t, that they just enjoy his hugs.
Yesterday more than ten kids were begging E for hugs as we left the school. Sure, I am a bit concerned that this could become a dangerous trend: we may never get out of there! Other than that, however, I am pretty proud. I am also amazed at how powerful a little hug can be.
But, then again, I love E’s hugs, too.
