The Hug Rule

Growing up, we didn’t have a ton of rules to follow, at least I didn’t. Maybe that’s because I was the youngest and my parents had already been “broken in” by my older siblings or maybe it just wasn’t Mom and Dad’s parenting style. So besides rules about going to bed on time and not talking with strangers we had the Hug Rule. The Hug Rule stated that you had to have at least four hugs a day to be sure you had enough hugs to fall asleep happy and safe. At the end of the day Mom or Dad or on special occasions both of them (they were involved with various community services that had meetings on weeknights) would come in and tuck me into my bed and ask if I had enough hugs that day. If I had enough then I would get one extra from either parent and be snuggly tucked into bed. But, if I didn’t have my fair share of hugs for the day, my parents would sometimes whisk me out of bed and down the hall to hug my sister or brother or maybe the parent who wasn’t there or even one of the cats if they hadn’t gotten themselves left outside for the night. The Hug Rule was sacred for many years in my early childhood and it’s one that I would like to spread across the world. If there were more appropriate and caring physical contact between families I think it would go a long way to people feeling more valued, more secure, and definitely more cared for. Four hugs a day, is that really asking a lot?