No Hugging??

NO HUGGING??

Ryan has always been a very lovable, happy child. He will give just about anyone a hug. Alot of servers in the restaurants we go to remember him as he gives his hugs away freely. JB tends to encourage this, I, on the other hand, struggle with it a little. Whether to tell him "no" or allow his free expression.

When at John Hopkins last week the Dr pointed out that a 3year old wanting to hug the Dr is not really typical. Really? Wow , what a revelation! (sarcastically said into myself).

At the diner the other day we were waiting for a table and a little boy with Down Syndrome was leaving. He made a bee line for Ryan and gave him a big hug. The dad had a really tired, worn out look on his face. I told him that Ryan also loved to hug everyone, and he answered "they make a good pair then" with a smile. "I can tell you are not from around here" he continued, "That makes me a little more comfortable, everyone is a little uptight in there" I wondered was the tried face from explaining over and over about his boys advances and sometimes them not being as welcomed as we had. After a few minutes Ryan broke free and turned round to hug me. The Dad put his hand on the boys shoulder and said "lets go Buddy" as if he had done this a 100 times before.

So the dilemma to me is whether we should allow Ryan to continue to reach out to everyone he meets, or to nip it in the bud while hes still young, or to try at least. These kids definitely don't come with a manual. Whereas it is more socially acceptable that Ryan doesn't spread his love so freely, but putting an end to it would mean missing out on some beautiful moments like this.