My daughter doesn't like people close to her when she is frustrated. This has been her personalisty her whole life! When she was a toddler and would fall or hurt herself while we were out in public she didn't want me, her mother, to pick her up and coddle her, she wanted to be left alone. I got plenty of looks from strangers as my child cried and I gave her some space.
Recently we ran into a bit of an issue at the gym because her coach really encourages hugging between the teammates. After my daughter was frustrated with struggling on a skill and was talked to by her coach the coach sent an older teammate over to check on her. The teammate asked if my daughter wanted a hug and my daughter said no. The coach talked to me about this later and I told him that our families rule is that a child NEVER has to hug someone if they do not want to.
I'm just wondering how common this is in this sport? Should a frustrated child hug a teammate even if they don't want to at the moment? Is it ok to give a frustrated child some space to work out their emotions before expecting a hug?
Recently we ran into a bit of an issue at the gym because her coach really encourages hugging between the teammates. After my daughter was frustrated with struggling on a skill and was talked to by her coach the coach sent an older teammate over to check on her. The teammate asked if my daughter wanted a hug and my daughter said no. The coach talked to me about this later and I told him that our families rule is that a child NEVER has to hug someone if they do not want to.
I'm just wondering how common this is in this sport? Should a frustrated child hug a teammate even if they don't want to at the moment? Is it ok to give a frustrated child some space to work out their emotions before expecting a hug?