Tonight at a shopping mall , I watched a 5 year old boy ask a little girl if he could hug her because he liked her sweater. She said, "No.” He smiled, "Okay! I like your sweater. Bye!" and ran back to his dad. To his dad, he proudly said: "I didn't hug her because she said no... but I told her I liked her sweater!" His dad replied, “Cool, buddy!" ...and they went on shopping.
If a 5-year-old boy can understand consent and respect a "No," then so can every adult