I’m A Lover And A Hugger, And Thankfully My Son Is Too.

My mom was very affectionate and regularly told my siblings and I that she loved us. Because of this, to this day my mother, brother, sister and I regularly hug and say, love you. I love that I grew up in a house of huggers.  Sadly, this is not natural for all…I recently had a conversation with a friend who grew up in a very different home. Her mom was not affectionate or verbal about her feelings.  My friend is finding herself wanting to be loving and affectionate with her daughter, but is struggling with breaking the cycle of how she was raised.  She actually said she feels weird constantly hugging her daughter and telling her she loves her.  This breaks my heart!

Momma hugs are HUGE!
Everyone needs a momma hug

I tell my son that I love him multiple times throughout the day.  I can’t help it, I just get over whelmed and blurt it out. I am a huge fan of being very affectionate with Ollie.  I hold him and kiss him and chase him and squeeze him and oh my goodness I just cannot get enough of cuddling him.  The best part is that I know he loves it as much as I do, because he comes to me to give me hugs and kisses too.  I LOVE THAT! 

I know not every family is like this.  I know some people may even think I am weird for being affectionate and vocal, but whatever, this is how I was raised and how I want to raise my son.  FTD agrees. He is the same as me...Without fail every morning FTD embraces me in the kitchen while the coffee is brewing and tells me he loves me. I actually feel the beautiful rush of emotion it gives me shoot from my heart down to my toes.

I am not saying unaffectionate families suck… I just love being held and loved so much that I would think it would suck to not have that. Everyone should feel free and comfortable expressing their love and affection for their child. And their child should feel the same towards them...

What do you think about this? Were you raised in a non-affectionate environment? Are you glad?  Do you regret it?  Have you broken the cycle?