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Nothing. Hugs are nice. I might smile at the kid.

I'd probably let it go.

I probably wouldn't do anything. If my kid got hugged by another kid and didn't seem upset by it, I'd just let it be. Maybe I'd comment with something like "They sure are friendly!" or something, but I'm not really sure there's much to do in a situation like that.

I wouldn't think much of it but my friend would probably be upset. She likes her LOs to keep their hands to themselves and ask before hugging/kissing, etc and prefers the same from other kids.

@Arden: I mean, the only thing I feel like you can really do is try to gauge how the parents or other children will react before Vi hugs them. I wouldn't really want to discourage such friendly behavior from my child, but you also want to let her know about boundaries and how some people don't like to be hugged or don't like to be hugged without introductions. It's hard though because Vi's still so young, so you can't just encourage her to start a dialogue first!

@Arden: I've had parents get upset about it too. I kind of just try to redirect my LO when the parents don't want her to hug (or kiss) their LO. I don't get it though with the hugging because it doesn't bother me (I can kind of understand kissing a little more).

I would smile and not be bothered at all

ETA; unless the hugger started to cross boundaries (ie repeatedly continuing to hug while my child was trying to play and we had already asked the other child to stop)

My LO would probably push the kid away, she likes hugs on her own time not forced haha but I would be like "ahhh that's nice he/she wants to be your friend."

@Arden: yah boundaries are tough with toddlers. If our youngest is having boundary issues, I usually redirect her to the swing or another place where her mobility is more limited.

Honestly it would bug me if the parent didn't say anything. I know toddlers are toddlers but I'm trying to tell my son he has to respect other peoples bodies and that it's not appropriate to hug strangers no matter how old they are. If he tried to hug someone he didn't know I would gently say something to him. But I wouldn't make a big deal about it- it's only happened once before and he said NO and tried to escape (I don't blame him).

If my LO was hugged by a random toddler once; it wouldn’t bug me and I definitely wouldn’t say anything to the parent (or glare at them, etc.) but honestly I would think it was a little odd - but that’s because I don’t know any LO’s who just go up and hug people they don’t know well. If another kid persisted in hugging my LO more than once, I would likely get annoyed.

One kid at daycare has had issues invading LO’s personal space, so we’re working with her on being more confident in telling people loudly no” and that we don’t let others invade our personal space without asking us first (and they are working with him on appropriate space to give people); so I would also be annoyed in that respect. LO often doesn’t necessarily look upset to an outsider when he invades her space (with touching her physically) because she doesn't physically react back and won't necessarily say something loud enough for an adult several feet away to hear; but she *is* actually upset with the behavior. So, there’s that too.

It's tough because you can't control every move your toddler makes unless you uber-helicopter 24/7 (which comes with its own set of issues! lol), and it's hard to explain to them why someone else might not like the nice (and caring!) behavior that they are doing.

If DD was trying to hug other children I would probably say, "we just look, we don't touch." "When we meet someone we say, 'hi! I am (dd's name).'" And gently back lo up a bit and show her how to wave and say "hi." That is how I would handle it if the children were strangers.

If lo were being hugged by another child I would probably say, "oh, big hugs! That's nice!" Then I would gently back up lo and say, "when we meet someone we say, 'hi! I am (dd's name!)."' I would show dd how to wave and say her name.

Anyhow, that is how I would handle it. I had a little girl do this to lo at the clinic... but it was the clinic, which makes me paranoid. I was already holding lo and I admit I lifted her away from the other child and just smiled and said "hi sweetheart," to the little girl until her mom told her, "we look we don't touch," and redirected her to something else. That was at a clinic though! In general though, I would gently reinforce socially acceptable boundaries.

My son is very affectionate and I think to him, hugs and kisses are a way to show he wants to be friends with the other child(ren). I have definitely been trying to teach him to ask before he hugs/kisses other kisses but he just doesn't get it yet. I usually mention to the other parent that we're working on respect and boundaries but he doesn't get it and quite honestly I haven't ever had any negative feedback from parents! They've all thought it was very sweet/cute and definitely at this age, innocent. If a parent genuinely seemed uncomfortable I would remove J from the situation entirely. I definitely want him to value respect for others, especially since he particularly enjoys kissing little girls. But he's too young to get it at this point- we still discuss it every time it happens, but it hasn't sunk in yet.

Older girls always want to hug on E. Mostly I am cautious of it because it's like, a six year old comes and tries to hold the baby and E's like, being grabbed uncomfortably. It happened at the water park last week and it was really weird. She was almost obsessed with playing with her, holding her, etc, and I wasn't ok with that b/c we were in a pool.

But sometimes a kid just comes up, waves at her, gives her a hug, and wanders off and I don't do anything about it or am concerned with it! If she's not phased, I'm not phased. I would step in as a parent if i saw another kid being overly intense about it....hugging nonstop, or trying to pick her up or grab her, that's usually when I'm like, "no, let's not pick up the baby".

If all the other parents seemed concerned, i would wonder why....because one parent? OK. But all the parents?....

@Arden: The other day a little girl was crying in Target a few aisles down and J went over and gave her a hug. I didn't wait around to see the parents reaction.
But I have to say, I'm the same way and I'm sure not everyone is as comfortable with a hug as I am