Conversation, ideas and events for parents in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County

Kissing kids on the lips

Recently Harry Connick Jr. was caught in a sweet photo when he was giving his daughter a kiss. But some people claim that moments like these between father and daughter are anything but sweet, but are instead inappropriate due to the fact that the kiss is on the lips, and a kiss that's smacker to smacker can seem more sexual than innocent. An argument is that it can seem confusing to a child who tries to kiss his or her classmates on the lips because this is the practice at home.

What do you think? Is kissing on the lips inappropriate and out of line? Are there age limits on when lip kissing can be done with kids? Or will you always kiss your little ones on the lips - even when they're not so little?

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Permalink Reply by Zoe Neely on July 28, 2010 at 4:58am

People in other countries routinely kiss on the lips, including children, adults, and people of the same sex. It's a cultural norm for many. My 2 year old recently started kissing me on the lips after she saw Daddy do it. It's a simple sign of affection and there is nothing sexual about it. When I was in Europe several years ago, I had people kissing me left & right. I thought it was sweet.