Do you kiss your kids on the lips

[louise5754]

Mine are 8 and 10.

Myself, DH, My Mum and Step Dad Sister and Brother in Law kiss my kids on the lips.

My brother and sister in law prefer to kiss them on the cheek.

They prefer not to kiss DH family at all so don't.

If they don't feel like giving family a kiss they won't. It's just something they have always done.

My mum sometimes kisses me on the lips and I kissed my grandparents on the lips until they passed away.

My friend has said she's never kissed her boys on the lips.

Mine are girls not that it makes a difference.

Kissed my grandma on the lips until she died I'm in my 30s now

Never really done it- though DC when little were the type to launch themselves at me so you got lips or cheeks depending on trajectories - and would more naturally go to forehead/ cheeks with small children.
But each family does things differently and, frankly, it's a pretty low blow for posters to try and sexualise how someone else shows affection.

I disagree Missinglinker, but then I would.

It seems to be a habit perpetuating culturally, although no-one's mentioned which cultures yet (my lip-kissing granny was Irish though).
Given this, I doubt anyone gives much thought as to why people kiss in the first place.

Kissing mouths has developed in humans to supersede our poor sense of smell. Essentially, we are tasting our partners to obtain the chemical information in order to ascertain whether or not they have the qualities that we require to mate with them.

To me, it seems an odd thing to replicate with a child. Cheek kissing, which stimulates dopamine without the pheromone exchange, totally understandable.

Still, convinced or otherwise, at least you come away from this thread knowing that a large proportion on here hated being kissed on the mouth as children (me included) and that many find those that do it creepy and odd.

louise, I was always a great hugger and kisser with mine but never on lips. Honestly, I've never in my life seen it done with children - it just isn't, full stop. Of course it isn't sexual when they are small but surely even you can see how it could be as they get older and if they try to kiss other people on the lips who might freak!

If mine had ever given me a smacker on the lips I wouldn't have said anything because kids don't know, but I would have diverted them, I always kissed on cheek or forehead. We were very affectionate. Some things need to be saved for someone special when they are older.