For Teenagers, Hello Means ‘How About a Hug?’ George G. White School - N.J., bans hugging

[groovedaddy]

There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type:

There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there is also the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out.

There is the hug that starts with a high-five, then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace.

There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once.

“We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug,” said Danny Schneider, a junior at the school, where hallway hugging began shortly after 7 a.m. on a recent morning as students arrived. “The guy friends, we don’t care. You just get right in there and jump in.”

There are romantic hugs, too, but that is not what these teenagers are talking about.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/style/28hugs.html?th&emc=th

[WillParkinson]

1. Sigh...

Adults get stupider and stupider.

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Hey, if this means the end to the 'high five'

I'm ALL for it. That was one of the most moronic fads of the last 30 years.

[imdjh]

3. Thank god. Though the official man-hug is as revolting as the air-kiss.

[ida and pingala]

9. Can we at least bring back The Wave?

:shrug:

[AndyTiedye]

4. We Have Been Hugging Like that in California For Years Now

:grouphug:

[BridgeTheGap]

5. Hugs are good for one's wellbeing. Try to get as many as you can! n.t

[LWolf]

6. Teen agers can take anything to an extreme.

Which is why adults in schools respond with limits.

My 8th graders are extreme huggers. So much so that when a parent shows up in the office to pick a student up early, the parent ends up waiting for an extended period because, without me stepping in to cut it off, that student is going to need to hug EVERY PERSON IN THE CLASSROOM, along with gushing goodbyes.

During which time, everyone in the room is watching the spectacle, and learning stops.

[Name removed]

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[proud2BlibKansan]

8. This was a huge problem at my elementary school this year

Drove us up the wall. Many of the kids are clearly uncomfortable with hugging 24/7 but peer pressure being what it is, they are active participants. Then they confide in us that they don't like it and expect us to put a stop to it.

Then there are the boys who cop a feel every time they are hugged.

Not a fun fad at all and I completely understand any school wanting to ban it.