Should I Make an Issue of This?

It's hard to know what the right thing to say and do are in this situation. I have a 6 year old who has already fallen "in love" with boys and have even announced she will marry certain boys. I know when I was her age, I didn't think boys were gross, I liked them, but I wasn't as aggressive about it.

I have had to sit down both of my children (I also have an 11 year old boy) and explain the difference between love and having a crush. I have also explained how special and important each of these emotions are. I have also explained that physical actions, such as kissing, should be saved for when they are older and more responsible for their actions. And that even kissing someone is very important and shouldn't be given out just because they have a crush on someone. I explained that mommy and daddy kiss because we LOVE each other, are adults, and are married to each other.

I have noticed on some of the kid shows out there show quite a bit of kissing. I was watching one show just last night and a boy and a girl kissed. The boy couldn't be older than 12 (the girl looked a little older)! My mouth dropped. It was one of those drawn out kisses, not even the more innocent one second peck. I turned to my kids and made the comment that they were much too young to be kissing anyone in that manner and that it made me uncomfortable to watch. I told them the show was trying to make these kids look more like adults when they are really only children.

I think the best thing is to be honest with your child no matter how uncomfortable it may make you. It is surprising how much these young kids know and how much they are exposed to. Good luck!

Hi L.,

This makes me think of my husband when our daughter was in kindergarten. She announced a few crushes going on, and my husband freaked. He told her she was not allowed to have a crush on anyone, and even further- that no one was allowed to have a crush on her.

I had to keep myself from laughing at both of them! If she likes crushes, there's nothing you can really do to stop that. And you certainly can't control others crushing on her (my husband finally accepts this fact). However, you can set up boundaries for her. As you know, she doesn't really know what a crush is or what you should do with a boyfriend. So she needs you to set up the parameters.

Have a discussion with her and besides telling her what she can't do (kissing, being alone with him, and whatever else you don't agree with), make sure to tell her what she CAN do- smile, make pretend wedding plans, wink, etc. This helped my daughter a lot. She knew that having a "boyfriend" meant certain things, so she knew what not to do, and this way it didn't interfere with school days, and she knew what wasn't o.k. when others dared her to do things- like kiss boys or whatever. But she could have a little fun as well.

Good luck!

I would talk openly about it. The best thing you can do is talk about it with her and tell her its not appropriate to kiss so young, or how ever your values are in your home. I give you credit for taking some tv shows away, I would have done the same thing aswell.

Good Luck!