Today’s post comes from Jenna of That Wife fame. I’ve followed her for awhile and developed a lovely internet friendship with her as we were married, then started a family very close together. She’s also a great photographer, and a trip to her blog is well worth it!
Growing up in my family, it was known that kissing on the lips was something mommies and daddies did. Not mommy and Jenna, not daddy and Jenna. This of course, led me to believe that I would want to follow the same policy when I had my own children. Kissing my babies on the lips would be rather icky after all.
Then I birthed a son in April, and he has lips that look like this.
Photo credit: Kelli Nicole Photography. Click the link if you’d like to see more pictures of my little one as a newborn. 🙂
I don’t know what it is, but those lips look like candy to me. I am Eve and those lips are the forbidden fruit. Sometimes he turns his cheek right as I’m about to go in for a cheek kiss and our lips meet and I find myself loving these little mother —> baby son kisses we are sharing. So juicy and sweet and innocent, and I’m thinking that I might be the mother who kisses her kids on the lips after all. My younger childless sister is rolling her eyes as I type this I’m sure.
Something tells me that this won’t be the only time I break my parent’s family rules. Now that I’m a parent myself I’m breaking new ground, the same ground my parents broke back when I was a wee one, but finding that the terrain is spread out before me looking entirely different than what my parents must have seen. Same goes for the household rules that my husband grew up. I’m coming to different conclusions, making different mistakes (and some of the same ones), and if I’m smart I’ll quickly figure out which rules were meant to be broken, and which ones our parents were wise to set. As a teenage girl I would have given almost anything to start wearing makeup before reaching the age of 12, but now that I’m older and wiser I know if we have any girls we’ll have the same policy in our home. Turns out my parents were a whole lot smarter than I gave them credit for after all. I still might kiss my kids on the lips though.
What “family rules” will you be keeping or ditching with your own children?
These Little Moments 
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July 8, 2010 at 9:37 am
Abby
Those are the cutest lips!
My mom wouldn’t let us wear makeup before 12, either. That’s one rule I’m NOT going to ditch.
July 8, 2010 at 9:57 am
beka
I never thought anything of kissing my dad on the lips but I will admit that my husband finds it a bit odd… Have to agree on the no wearing makeup before 12 years old thing, though. Our parents were very smart on that front!
July 8, 2010 at 10:38 am
Phoebe
I kiss my parents on the lips and never thought anything of it either- but my husband also thinks its a bit strange. I’m sure I will kiss my kids on the lips though- I think they will be too cute to resist, plus I don’t see anything wrong with doing it!
If I have girls there will definitely be a no make-up or bikinis rule until at least 12 and I think I’ll do the same thing as my parents and no ear piercing until 10. They were also fairly strict about the clothes we wore- nothing too tight, short or otherwise suggestive-which I HATED as a kid (didn’t they know I was an adult at the age of 12- GOD!) but I will definitely keep those types of rules with my own kids.
It’s kind of funny that the older I get (and the closer to parenthood I get) the more I realize my parents were a lot smarter than I ever gave them credit for….
July 8, 2010 at 11:10 am
Guest Post at These Little Moments | That Wife
[…] You can read my guest post here (which I worried would come off as slightly creepy, but Molly assured me it was no such thing). […]
July 8, 2010 at 11:17 am
Sandy
I have to admit I do find it creepy when parents kiss their children (or children kiss their parents) on the lips. Just seems unnecessary and kind of icky. It just seems to sexual to me.
July 8, 2010 at 11:17 am
Sandy
Whoops. “Too.” 🙂
July 8, 2010 at 11:23 am
WhiskAwayNic
My sister and I definitely kissed our parents on the lips . . . until we got to be dating age. By our own teenage awkwardness, we put a stop to that tradition and went for the cheek instead. No big deal, we sorted it out on our own and with no hurt feelings from the parents.
July 8, 2010 at 11:24 am
Paloma
You guys are lucky! My sisters and I weren’t allowed to wear make up until we were 16 (and i graduated high school when I was 17!)!! That is for sure one rule I will be ditching.
I don’t think I will be keeping a set “age requirement” for rules. It will just happen when I say so. Kids mature at different ages and I plan to use the “have you proved to mom and dad that you are a responsible/a well behaved kid?” way of handling things.
July 8, 2010 at 11:28 am
Ellie
My high school boyfriend kissed his mother on the lips. He was 18. It was super creepy. He had major weirdness with his mom though, because his dad had skipped out on them when he was 3 and they were like, weirdly cross.
I think it’s okay while they’re babies, but I might say you would not want to let it go past school-age, because other people will find it weird. But then again, I don’t have kids, so what do I know?
July 8, 2010 at 11:28 am
Emme
I have this same issue. I don’t kiss on the lips. I recently saw someone kiss their daughter on the lips and it freaked me out. I am not very affectionate, minus the bf, so maybe it’s just me.
July 8, 2010 at 11:34 am
Sunny
We always kissed our parents on the cheek but it was just that way. It wasn’t taboo or anything.
Also I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup until high school which is a rule we will definitely keep. My younger sisters are almost in high school and all they’re friends are already wearing makeup. They aren’t and it doesn’t seem to bother them.
July 8, 2010 at 11:39 am
Amanda
My family grew up where kissing on the lips was normal (and still is!) My husband thinks it’s slightly wierd, but I will also be the mom who kisses her kids on the lips. I agree on the no-makeup rule, except I had horribly bad skin as a teen and for confidence reasons, my mom let me wear makeup to cover my skin.
July 8, 2010 at 11:57 am
lor
I grew up in a hispanic family where kissing on the lips is normal…we kiss our parents on the lips, and my grandparents. I never in my *entire* life did I ever connect it with being “sexual”. lol. I still don’t. It’s just how we were raised…I guess I’m out of the norm – I think it would be weird to kiss my parents on the cheek, almost impersonal!
July 8, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Stephanie
Me too! My dad is Mexican American and I kissed all my relatives on the lips (aunts, uncles, grandma.. not cousins) and it was considered rude if you didn’t. My husband finds it really weird, but I try not to kiss my mom on the lips anymore cause she is the one that gave me cold sores
I don’t see my dad anymore, so that’s not an issue either.
I have an Argentine friend whose family kisses as well, but mostly on the cheek. Even strangers! I think it’s so friendly. Its like you’re immediately welcome to the family.
July 8, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Stephanie
actually scratch that. I never kissed my uncles! Only aunts and grandmas. Everyone else was cheek.
July 8, 2010 at 11:59 am
Kristin
I grew up kissing my parents on the lips. But I think we all reach an age when we know it’s time to stop. I can’t remember when I stopped kissing my parents. I’m sure it was before middle school. I never thought of this ‘rule’ but I completely understand the some of the reason behind it. I may think about passing this rule for one specific reason…….My husband’s grandmother is very affectionate. And tries to kiss me on the lips. Which is creepy and inappropriate. 1) I’m not your granddaughter. 2) I’m 26. 3) See 1 and 2 again.
For some people this is perfectly fine. My husband’s family all think that on some level I don’t like them, b/c I’m, by nature, not a physically affectionate person. And they are. Each time the family gets together you get a hug and cheek kisses from a dozen different people. Hugs are fine. It’s the kissing I think is a bit much. So as we think of having children, perhaps a no lip kiss rule is a good one….especially if our children are more like me. If anything it will be an excuse they can use not to get too close. :o)
July 8, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Kelli Nicole
We weren’t kissing people in my family either, but I will be all over that with my kiddos. I had (male) friends in high school that still kissed their moms (some on the lips) and I was kind of fascinated by it. My parents had it easy with me, I didn’t even think about wearing make-up until I was a junior in high school, and even then I think it was only mascara until senior year! I will have no clue what to do with an 11-yr-old who wants to be 17!
July 8, 2010 at 12:16 pm
slowmiles
I kiss my mom on the lips, but not my dad…ever.
But, I do kiss my uncles on the lips (my mom’s brothers). So….apparently my mom’s family was a lip kissing family, but my dad’s wasn.t Well..my dad’s family isn’t very demonstrative to begin with.
July 8, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Megan
I used to think kissing on the lips was so gross before I had my own baby! Now I love his slobbery kisses mouth to mouth 🙂 My parents my cringe when I go back to visit and they see this haha.
July 8, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Chelsea McGowan
We’re big lip kissers! I still kiss my mom on the lips sometimes. Well, she’ll grab me and kiss me. 😉 But yeah, there’s a natural time when it stops with dads that keeps it from being weird. At least in my opinion.
July 8, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Life of a Doctor's Wife
Oh the lip kissing… I come from a non-lip-kissing family – we’re actually more huggers than kissers period. My husband comes from a pro-lip-kissing and pro-all-kissing family. Which is supremely awkward when the families get together. My parents have no idea how to deal with their daughter’s in-laws kissing them!
Like Kelli-Nicole, I was always fascinated by kids who kissed their parents on the lips. But now that I’m an adult, I’m not a huge fan of it – at least when it comes to being kissed by, say, my husband’s gramma.
Since I don’t have kids, that’s all I can contribute… Maybe someday my mind will change.
(Great pic of T1!! He’s so cute!)
July 8, 2010 at 12:33 pm
ladylikeambitions
Yeah, sorry, I think lip kissing is a little gross and weird. Personally, I think babies and little kids cheeks are so much more enticing anyways. They are plump and soft and huge and luscious! My family obviously did not kiss on the lips. I just think that is for romantic relationships only.
As far as make-up, I don’t think I personally even thought about it until I was 15 or 16, and then that’s what we did on my birthday. I think that was a great age, because seriously, you have to wear make-up the rest of your life and your little girl doesn’t know what she’s signing up for. I think I would allow 14 if my daughter was in a high school instead of a junior high, but I don’t think there’s any need to go younger than that. No hurry to grow up to fast and attract that kind of attention earlier than necessary.
July 8, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Katy
Kissing on lips when kids are young – okay. When teenagers – weird. But most people in my experience phase this out as kids get older, but I find nothing weird about it as a toddler/young child. And yeah, my mom was right about so many things – I was a good kid too and didn’t challenge her too much and I still look back and see she was right about so much.
Her rule/our church’s rule about no dating until 16 and no steady dating until college is extremely good counsel as I discovered. Not only does it help keep your virtue and all that good stuff in tact, but I shed so many tears over a guy that wasn’t going to even remotely be in my future. I could have had so much more fun with friends and doing other things, but instead I was holed up (emotionally) with a passive-aggressive loser that took up the precious time I had to just enjoy being a teenager. That’s one lesson I’ll definately pass on to my kids. Save the drama of “relationships” until your a bit older!
Those are the sweetest little lips. But what isn’t sweet about him?
July 8, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Tracey @ TropicalHappiness
The comments on this post make me laugh! I think kissing on the lips is fine with little kids. As they get older, you just adjust (and they will too) so that it’s not awkward!
One of the things I love about my husband is that when we are at the mall or the movie theaters, he always exclaims over the provocatively dressed ten year old girls. You know the ones, in those super short shorts and low cut little tanks that expose their flat chests. My husband always adamantly proclaims “If we have daughters, they will NOT be allowed to leave the house like that! What parents buy those clothes in the first place?”
July 8, 2010 at 1:13 pm
schmei
I only recently realized that, in both my family and the hubs’ family there’s an unspoken rule: no kissing family on the lips except for three important exceptions:
– Your spouse (or intended or boyfriend)
– Children under the age of 8
– Elders over the age of 75 or so.
The first time my grandmother kissed me on the lips I think I was about 20, and I was taken aback. But now I smooch her on the lips all the time when I see her, and I kiss hubs’ grandparents on the lips, too. To me, it’s a sweet way to communicate “you’re someone I’ll take care of” (which is why it’s always good to smooch your spouse on the lips, right?).
And seriously, THOSE lips? How could you not? He’s smoochable!
July 8, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Brandi
I don’t really know how I feel about kissing kids on the lips, so I’ll have to think about that one. My parents never kissed us on the lips, but it never seemed like there was another option.
As far as make-up and bikinis and ear piercings go, I’m too liberal to put an age on any of those things. I was less than a year old wearing my first bikini and getting my ears pierced (hey, I am a Florida girl!), and neither of those things ever equated to sexuality for me. Neither does make-up. I also suffered from poor skin issues (I’ve finally been diagnosed with rosacea, which is why every acne treatment I’ve ever tried has failed), so cover up started when I was about 11. I never was into all of the extra goofy kind of make-up, I used a little mascara, and maybe a teensy bit of glitter on my eyelids, but even if my future little girls went nuts, I don’t see myself picking that battle. Make-up washes away at the end of the day.
July 8, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Paloma
I agree with you 100%! That is why I am so against the “cookie cutter” age requirement. One daughter may really want it/ need. While the other daughter has no desire or need for it.
July 8, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Lauren
I guess I never really thought about it before. We’re lip-kissing people but it’s not ‘mandatory’. Now that I’m older I tend to gravitate towards the cheek unless it’s my husband, a young child or a grandparent.
My parents had it easy, I didn’t ask to wear make-up, it was given to me when I was 15 or 16. Only thing I did, was I sneakily shaved my legs a few times when I was 11 and then my mom gave me a razor the next year (I had brown hair, it was quite noticeable)! I think it we have girls we’ll just see how it goes and go from there.
July 8, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Christana (us meets uk)
I don’t have a baby- but I too am in the kissing on the lips with your parents is weird camp. I just really can’t see myself ever doing that.
July 8, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Cécy
I remember that my mom used to kiss us on the lips when we were kids, then it stopped. I can’t remember if we were bothered by it or not, I was in middle school maybe or earlier, really not sure.
His aunts and cousin kiss on the lip, or right next to the lips. It was weird for me at first and I’m still not 100% used to it, but I don’t find it as weird because they are very affectionate and loving people.
There are rules I will keep like: no TV with dinner, except for a special planned TV dinner which was a treat to us. If only I could get the rule inforced with my husband already. But he agrees to it when we have kids too.
My parents use to slap up when we were children, and even teenagers when we made serious mistake. I’d rather work on the idea of timeout (with the number of minutes=to the age of the child), and discuss with them. I didn’t even know that mode of parenting existed until I stayed with my godparents at age 14, and I remember coming home at the end of the summer and asking my parents to stop slapping, which worked. 🙂
I’ll will encourage my children to do sports, and come hike with us too as my parents did.
I will teach both boys and girls the basics of sewing and cooking and I want my husband to do the same with the basics of taking care of the car. I hate that my dad didn’t show me that because I was a girl and I feel boys could benefit with knowing how to sew a button or fix a sock.
July 8, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Ann Ever
I will kiss my children on the lips. My aunt and cousins always did and I was kind of jealous. I agree with the previous commenter that it will stop on its on when they reach puberty and think it is awkward to hang out with their parents.
I had the no peirced ears until 13 rule, which I pitched a fit about as a child and actually got moved up to 12 and 3/4. Yay! But I will be keeping this rule for my children. I think have it engrained in me that young children with pierced ears have tacky parents, ha.
July 8, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Natalie
I can see it phasing out as you get older — or keeping it. I don’t think anything is wrong with it unless it is creepy — and then it is wrong! I don’t know if that made any sense, but basically – who cares what other people say, it is the intention of the heart that matters.
Also keeping the make-up until later thing. Don’t know if there will be an age – I do think for me it was 12.
July 8, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Sarah
Rule 1: No cell phones before 16; while I am not sure if I will keep this rule to the exact date, I know that when I have kids they will not have a cell phone when they do not go ANYWHERE without a parent. i.e. definitely not one before 14ish
Rule 2: No makeup before 6th grade. This one will be strictly enforced like you said because girls need to be girls.
Rule 3: I also will keep my parents rule of no pierced ears before 12. This is because I have really sensitive skin and I fear that I may pass this on to hypothetical kids. My skin required a special cleansing routine and extra care compared to my sister.
Rule 4: NO NEW CAR at 16. No 16 year old kid needs a new car ever.
Rule 5: NO SKIMPY BIKINIS until they are out my house. This is because I think bkinis need to cover up more than undies! And 1 pieces always until 12. (at 12 tankinis and other appropriate 2-pieces considered on a case by case basis)
July 8, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Katie
My Mom wouldn’t let me pierce my ears until I was 12 and that has never made sense to me. I have not decided if I am going to pierce my daughter’s ears when they are babies, or just wait until they ask for it and do it then. Either way, I am not setting an arbitrary age requirement for ear piercing.
July 8, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Kris
I don’t have children and didn’t grow up in a kissing kind of family but I don’t find it odd to kiss your children on the lips. Though, your post did remind me of SNL’s Volgelcheck family (the family that is constantly kissing each other on the lips). As long as you aren’t like that, I think you’re fine! haha
July 8, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Tiffany
my husband grew up with no lip kisses. I grew up opposite, although, the lip kisses stopped around junior high/freshman year i believe. I can’t remember an exact date, but I don’t kiss my parents on the lips anymore. with that said, my husband told me he would not kiss our children on the lips, then we had kids, and that all went out the window!! He even still kisses our 3 year old daughter on the lips, and i don’t think he would have it any other way. we are a lip kissin family! although, I do think it weirds out his parent’s when our little girl tries to kiss them on the lips and they have to turn their cheek! oh well!
July 8, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Michelle
I’ve never heard of this before. It creeps me out just thinking about. Maybe when I have a baby I’ll feel different. My husband’s family is Hispanic and they don’t do that. (or do they? Maybe I haven’t been paying attention!)
July 8, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Elizabeth
I’m 32 and still kiss my dad on the lips. I also kiss my mom on the lips. I’m not sure how that’s sexual at all!! They are your parents. There shouldn’t be any sexual feelings with your parents! I also have a 3 year old who I kiss on the lips, and if I think about it, my parents probably also kiss him on the lips. We are family. And we kiss. And I think that’s ok! I actually find it totally creep, and odd, for someone to think it’s anything but ok. I almost feel bad for those that do!
July 8, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Jilian
Very interesting. Not something I have ever thought about. My mom comes from a very affectionate family – huggy/kissy. My dad’s family doesn’t even say I love you and kinda pats you on the shoulder for a hug. My Great Aunts (maternal) love to tell about my Dad’s transition into being more ‘huggy’ and ’emotional’ – “We weren’t so sure about this Yankee when she first brought him home – but he warmed up to us and fit right in”.
I’ve never thought twice about kissing my parents on the lips. I’m 32 and still kiss my mom on the lips. My dad passed away when I was 25 but I know I still kissed him on the lips too. It’s just a peck – nothing weird about that to me.
July 8, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Tamara
I couldn’t wear makeup until I was in high school. I hated it at the time, but now I’m glad because I do not always feel the need to wear it.
Also, I think the kissing thing is fine. I think once they’re older, you guys might change your mind and leave it to cheeks. Our family was the same way. Kisses on the lips when you’re little, and not so much as an adult.
July 8, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Miss. Blur
My family and DHs family are the kiss on the side of the mouth kind of kissers LOL you aim for the cheek and just dont quite get there.
As far as make up goes I just wasnt that interested in it and my mom actually encouraged me to wear it more as I was in highschool and even today she still tells me I need to wear it more, make up has never been something I “cant leave the house without it on” kind of thing like it is for my mother. I also had my ears peirced was a baby but hardly ever wear earrings. If I have a daughter i’ll just be winging it. Peircing her ears as a baby and talking about makeup when she starts getting interested in it
July 8, 2010 at 8:04 pm
bluejeanamy
my babe has delicious, rosebud lips, too. i smooch them all the time with no shame! tho more often than not, i get tongued/slobbered/gummed on so…perhaps i need to reconsider.
tho in general, i’m an easygoing/relaxed mama, i plan on being pretty strict with her re: makeup/apparel. i wasn’t allowed makeup till … high school i think? and couldn’t pierce my ears till 10. i’m grateful for those rules now, as i grew up confident in myself without the extra glitter.
we had a really strict no-reading-at-the-dinner-table policy. i’ll probably ditch that. my husband and i love to read while we eat and as long as there’s a good mix of quiet time *and* social time, i don’t see a problem with it!
July 8, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Susannah
Our rule is ONLY mouth kissing with family (mommy, daddy, baby!) 😀 Also, no makeup till 12, no ear piercing till 13, and no dating till 16!
July 8, 2010 at 8:57 pm
caitlin
I think I only kissed on the lips until I was 7 or so then stopped.
Kiss away!!! He’s your baby!
July 9, 2010 at 12:03 am
Kelly | Glamour This
We kissed on the lips until maybe 8ish… i think we stopped naturally… or it was more like my mom and dad were aiming for the lips and I turned so they would kiss my cheek. I think that was hint in itself.
My younger sister though, at 5 thought that kissing on the lips automatically meant french kiss. So ya, she would open her mouth to family members (yup even my parents) but soon enough realized that wasn’t how it worked.
I have this weird funky feeling with breastfeeding. I am beyond excited and hope I can breastfeed, but it’s also the idea that my son is well… sucking on my boob. I know I am weird. So when you think about it… kissing on the lips isn’t that big a deal. I say go ahead. He’s your baby boy, and well won’t be small forever. 🙂
July 9, 2010 at 12:50 am
Jenny
My family is a kiss on the lips family. And now having a baby I can completely not help myself from kissing him on the lips. You are definitely right. Those baby lips are just too sweet and wonderful 🙂
July 9, 2010 at 2:12 am
Ashley Smith
I kiss my kids… but they are all under 4 years. I don’t plan on continuing it though. My family is very non touchy, my brothers and I joke about it and do air hugs but it is awkward for us. However I have had both my mother-in-law and my father-in-law lay one on me, right on the mouth. I wanted to die. I always stay well away from them now when it comes to goodbyes.
I think I will be more lenient on sleep overs, my parents didn’t allow them, even with cousins. I figure if it is at my house, or if I know the other family well it is okay.
July 9, 2010 at 8:04 am
Erica
I dont have kids yet, and the no makeup before 12 rule was enforced and I turned out okay. Granted when i was allowed to start wearing makeup it was browns and light purple colors and I seemed to have stick with those.
Some rules are good I think. I didnt mind that one at all. I also didnt have a curfew, but then again I lived in an area that required a car. lol
July 9, 2010 at 8:28 am
Meg
My daughter’s ears are pierced now and she will be 4 months on the 18th of July. The only rule we have about earrings is absolutely no hoops until she’s 13 and makeup is the same way. However, when I say makeup I mean maybe a little eye liner and some lip gloss. I think early makeup wearing ruines skin (like foundation).
We (my husband and I and my immediate family) all kiss my daughter on her lips. It’s just normal to us. I think we will stop when it becomes normal to kiss her on the cheek. Until then her lips are up for grabs, but NOT from strangers or even friends. I think I would completely freak out.
July 9, 2010 at 9:16 am
Em
I was 16 before I could wear makeup. I thought it was a little overboard and still do-it’s an awkward phase, i needed cover up, and i felt like i was just forced to be ugly. Plus i was tall and awkward, and if a little bit of makeup gave me some self confidence, what would it have hurt? i was taller than all the boys anyways, haha! i think high school is A-oK for some makeup–no emo eyeliner and excessive looks, though. But even colored sheer CoverGirl Lip Smoothers (remember those?!) were forbidden. My parents were a little TOO strict and I will be a little more lax than them, although i already have tendencies to be more strict than my husband thinks is necessary. My mom actually didn’t let anybody hold me until i was 6 months old unless it was a grandma or grandpa. And i didn’t leave the house for 2 months. And she’d leave my dad notes on how to care for my brother and I, in specific order, when she was out of town. I turned out okay but my brother rebelled, and I firmly believe in having “rules” according to how your children are.
I was wearing two pieces as a baby, haha. My husband thinks it’s weird, but I’m from California and EVERYBODY wears a two-piece! They’re not sexual to me, either, it’s just a swimsuit. Heck, my 52 year old mother still rocks a bikini, so whatever! I don’t think twice about kids in two pieces, as long as they don’t have underwire and push up cups in them =]
As far as kissing on the lips, I’m not really a fan of it. I know babies are cute at all, and I’m sure I’ll be guilty of it, but it still weirds me out a little. My mom tried to kiss me on the lips a year ago, in my 20’s, and it was weird and I didn’t appreciate being put in, what i consider, and inappropriate situation when I head-turned and she made smoochy lips at me. I know moms don’t see it this way, but sometimes you have to realize when they aren’t babies =-]
July 9, 2010 at 10:20 am
Errign
When we were younger my parents would kiss us on the lips. Now, as my brother and I are both in our mid 20s, it feels a bit strange, so we tend to settle for hugs & a quick cheek peck.
Honestly, the most special times of my childhood were on Sundays, when my dad, brother, and I went not to church, but skiing together. I hope my own little family someday will love skiing and being together as much as we used to. 🙂
July 9, 2010 at 3:39 pm
DrayaAnn
Never lip kissers in my family. But my bestest’s mom is a lip kisser if you like it or not. She is probably the only adult that’s not my hubby I lip kiss. Weird.
But a rule in our house growing up which I think I’ll keep, no ears pierced unless you can take care of them yourself. I was in the 3rd grade when I was allowed to get them done, and I think it’s not such a bad idea now. Back then 3rd grade seemed like a lifetime away from where I was.
July 9, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Dienaid
I dislike that lip-kissing is simply seen as sexual by so many people. Yes, it is sexual to you, but don’t judge others for it! Kissing itself is not a sexual act. If you only see it done between your parents, of course you will think it’s sexual.
That said, I am not a hugger or a kisser. The thought of most physical affection makes my stomach turn. Jenna’s comments about kissing her son made me feel ill >.> Nothing wrong with them, but I am not an affectionate person at all.
July 10, 2010 at 8:15 am
Mary B.
I don’t think kissing on the lips is sexual, at all. I’m 24, married, and everyone in my family still kisses on the lips. It’s always been very sweet, a quick little smooch when we say goodnight or goodbye. It’s something I want to do when J. and I have children, and I’m sure things will sort themselves out over time.
I don’t really believe in absolutes for ages, probably because my parents never had any “you must be x years old” to do this. I never had sleep-over rules, dating rules, makeup rules, or anything like that. I would tell my parents what I wanted to do, and then we would find a safe way for me to do it. Right now, the only absolute rules I have in mind are no tvs/computers in bedrooms, and if you want a cell phone or fancy iPod or anything like that, you pay for it yourself.
July 18, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Asrntr
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March 23, 2012 at 9:30 am
Mini Style Files: Blue Vested Little Man - That Wife
[…] when I guest posted on These Little Moments about kissing your kids on the lips? I’m still doing it, and loving it. I say “kiss” and he puckers right up and […]