K-I-S-S-I-N-G

"Mama, L____ (boy's name) kissed me today."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. But I didn't like it."
"Did you tell him to stop?"
"No, but I put my arm like this so that he couldn't kiss me again"
"That's good. You should tell him not to kiss you anymore if you don't like it."
"Ok. J____ (boy's name) kissed K_____ (boy's name) too, and then he got sick. You get sick when you kiss other people. That's why I didn't want L____ to kiss me. But I'm not sick!"
"No, but he probably shouldn't kiss you anyway."
"Yeah. I can't kiss anybody until I get married right?"
"If that's what you want."
"That's what I want."
"That's fine with me."


Not exactly the kind of conversation you want to have with your FOUR YEAR OLD. (Except maybe the last part.)

Obviously, I don't remember being four, but whenever it got to the point where kids were being told that they would become physically ill by kissing other people as a tactic to get them to stop kissing each other, we as a culture were in serious trouble. I mean, seriously, how hard is it to say "Kissing is a grown-up thing to do."? Also, and perhaps what's more the problem for me, why are kids kissing in preschool? Like, why wasn't that issue stopped the first time it happened? I'm pretty sure my daughter hasn't been the one instigating the kissing. It's like in middle school where boys go around saying "bitch" and "fuck" because they just realized they can and it's cool, so they do it to show out. Four-year-old boys kissing their classmates as a way of showing out is definitely one of those things I'm NOT okay with. And my kid doesn't want to be kissed.

What's the solution? My tactic would be to lay down a "no kissing" law the first time it happened. I mean, regardless of what my personal feelings about kissing are, it doesn't belong in a school setting, even if it is preschool. Strike that. ESPECIALLY if it is preschool.