Cuddling

[Anonymous]

Your post makes it sound like they are cuddling with each other. That is weird. It is not weird for them to cuddle with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your friend is high on crack. My 12 yr old DD loves to sit in my lap, she loves for me to lay in bed with her at night and read to her for a bit, etc.

She will never be too old for either as far as I'm concerned.

That.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for asking this OP... I "snuggle" my kids at night and in the morning (they are 8 and 11) and I thought maybe I needed to stop. I'm pleasantly surprised at how many others are still cuddling... but I can't imagine cuddling a teen boy. that seems weird. It's already a little questionable with my 8 yr old son.

They do seem to like physical affection before sleeping even if they don't want to be hugged during the day.

Questionable? WTH?

[Anonymous]

We still read before bedtime snuggled in bed. Your friend is a cold fish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for asking this OP... I "snuggle" my kids at night and in the morning (they are 8 and 11) and I thought maybe I needed to stop. I'm pleasantly surprised at how many others are still cuddling... but I can't imagine cuddling a teen boy. that seems weird. It's already a little questionable with my 8 yr old son.

They do seem to like physical affection before sleeping even if they don't want to be hugged during the day.

Questionable? WTH?

NP. I don't thinks it's questionable to snuggle my tween boy. He'll sit next to me and lean against me while we read, or I'll put my arm around him. I recognize that he probably doesn't want a big, squeezy bear hug from me so this closeness works for both of us. There's noting inappropriate or weird about it.

[Anonymous]

I think the oddness isn't on a couch or chair but more laying in bed cuddling between a parent and a child of the opposite sex when that child is pretty much an adult-size. So for example, if a father is cuddling a teenaged (13+) girl or a mother is cuddling a teenaged boy (13+) boy while they are laying in bed it may seem odd. (I'm not talking about hunkering down to read next to each other; I'm talking about cuddling and/or nestled up next to each other.)

[Anonymous]

10 yr old boy LOVES to cuddle every night. My 14 yr old girl climbs in bed with me every morning for a 10 min cuddle before wake up time. Love it. Would never change it. Some people are cold. I feel for the kids of these parents.

[Anonymous]

No, it's not weird. I cuddle my eight year old DS and give a lot of hugs and kisses. We have an affectionate household, but we follow DS's lead- I notice as he gets older, he is backing away slowly, but is still a physically affectionate kid.

The key OP is to enforce some modesty within the cultural bell curve (e.g. peeing with the door closed) and to follow your kids' lead-- if they back off a bit, so should you. There are times when I go to hug my son and I notice he's giving body language like he doesn't want a hug, so I respect that.
We teach my son that his body is *his* and of he doesn't want to hug or hold hands that is his right and it's perfectly okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for asking this OP... I "snuggle" my kids at night and in the morning (they are 8 and 11) and I thought maybe I needed to stop. I'm pleasantly surprised at how many others are still cuddling... but I can't imagine cuddling a teen boy. that seems weird. It's already a little questionable with my 8 yr old son.

They do seem to like physical affection before sleeping even if they don't want to be hugged during the day.

Questionable? WTH?

Questionable b/c DS gets a little too "rub"-ing.... like with his private parts on me. I think maybe it's no longer appropriate for me to snuggle him in bed.

[Anonymous]

They will stop at some point and it will be a sad day when they want nothing to do with you, enjoy it while it lasts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the oddness isn't on a couch or chair but more laying in bed cuddling between a parent and a child of the opposite sex when that child is pretty much an adult-size. So for example, if a father is cuddling a teenaged (13+) girl or a mother is cuddling a teenaged boy (13+) boy while they are laying in bed it may seem odd. (I'm not talking about hunkering down to read next to each other; I'm talking about cuddling and/or nestled up next to each other.)

What? My tween boy is about my size and I don't find snuggling with him to be odd at all. He's my son, not my boyfriend. It really wasn't all that long ago that he was a baby/toddler in my arms. I can't imagine how anyone would get a weird vibe from a parent lying down with a child before bed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the oddness isn't on a couch or chair but more laying in bed cuddling between a parent and a child of the opposite sex when that child is pretty much an adult-size. So for example, if a father is cuddling a teenaged (13+) girl or a mother is cuddling a teenaged boy (13+) boy while they are laying in bed it may seem odd. (I'm not talking about hunkering down to read next to each other; I'm talking about cuddling and/or nestled up next to each other.)

Per your logic you shouldn't cuddle opposite sex kids either since they can be gay or lesbian. Personally I can't ever imagine anything weird cuddling my kids.

[Anonymous]

^^^ I meant same sex kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for asking this OP... I "snuggle" my kids at night and in the morning (they are 8 and 11) and I thought maybe I needed to stop. I'm pleasantly surprised at how many others are still cuddling... but I can't imagine cuddling a teen boy. that seems weird. It's already a little questionable with my 8 yr old son.

They do seem to like physical affection before sleeping even if they don't want to be hugged during the day.

Questionable? WTH?

Questionable b/c DS gets a little too "rub"-ing.... like with his private parts on me. I think maybe it's no longer appropriate for me to snuggle him in bed.

OK....

[Anonymous]

I have a 17 and a 12 year old, both boys. Both still like to snuggle. My teen a little less so, but he will happily sit close to me on the couch, loves to be hugged. My 12-year-old is kind of a cuddle-bug, he always has been. He will sit on my lap if I let him, but he's getting too heavy to tolerate that much anymore, LOL.