Kiss chase or reason to kick up a fuss?

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

dd is 4 and in reception. She came home today and said that at playtime she and her friends are bothered by older boys (who share the playground) following them around and demanding kisses. She says she didn't give any kisses but her friends did cos the boys wouldn't leave her alone. I've talked to her about being about to say 'no thankyou' loudly and sticking near to the playground supervisor but tbh it slightly pisses me off that my little girl (and she is little, an August babe so youngest in the school) is getting hassle at playtime. I don't want her to have to think about kissing and boys etc when she's barely out of nappies. So, instinct says to go and talk to the teacher but am I over-reacting? is it just part of normal school life that little girls gets hassled for kisses?

I'd speak to the teachers there. Older boys shouldnt be bothering younger kids.

Thank you, I don't want to go in 'all guns blazing' but I do need to say something.

How old are the older boys....?

can only be year 1 or 2 I think as the older children have a different playground.

Talk to the teacher.

We had a similar problem when DS1 was in reception - with a certain group of girls 'playing kiss chase' when he and he friends were very young and obviously didn't want to.

There were also some issues with bigger boys and bullying so we had a chat with the teacher, then teacher and head together. They dealt with it by speaking to all the children in their classes and then together in assembly about appropriate play etc and then put a line of cones down the playground to separate older and younger children for a few weeks. It certainly seemed to work. I think having the time apart in the playground meant that the situation was diffused and they all just forgot about it and moved on to play in more age appropriate groups.

thanks moosemama, the playground cones is a good idea. Will talk to the teacher tomorrow.

Did you get to speak to the teacher today?? What was the outcome!?

I can remember playing kiss chase ... I see it allot in the infants school where I work. I would say it's very normal, but if your dd doesn't like it, the lads should soon get the message. You refer to them as 'older', yr1 or 2 are still only 6 or 7 at the oldest.

Personally, I think the teacher will not be that bothered if you say something - sorry, don't mean to play your concerns down, but I see it all the time.

the teacher was away and there was a supply teacher so I talked to the TA who said she would keep an eye on the situation. I asked DD how it was today and she said she still had the same problems but for some reason didn't seem too worried about today. You never know with these small people, I've been worrying all day and then she seemed ok. I guess I'll have to see how things are over the next few days.

Actually, although all kids do play kiss chase at some point probably I do think that children need someone to explain about being able to say 'no' - whether it's kiss chase or any other play ground game, my issue is not so much with the kiss chase but with the hassling of her and her friends.

Glad to hear she wasn't upset today - hopefully they've got the message. You are right about being able to assert your feelings and it's a toughy, but school is where they will learn all the 'hard' lessons.