My three-year-old son is a kissaholic. He won’t go to bed unless his father and I kiss his face a gazillion times and he’s always begging for more. I don’t mind indulging him because I want him to know he’s loved and cherished. I kiss one cheek and he instinctively turns his head so I can get the other one. He knows what’s up.
We mostly kiss him on the cheeks but we also kiss him on the lips, too. As I was looking for a picture to illustrate this post, I came across this one from Hello Beautiful about a year ago:
In the post accompanying the image, the writer wanted to know if there was anything sketchy about a grown man kissing his almost-teenage son (on the lips), even going as far as to also include a close-up so readers could see exactly where Will Smith’s lips landed on Jaden’s face.
In my opinion, thinking about my son now and how I plan to treat him as he grows up, I say no, there is nothing wrong with a man displaying affection toward his son, no matter the age.
I know my husband didn’t grow up with a lot of hugs and kisses in his family. As a result, he’s definitely more verbal than physical with his affection. I haven’t asked my husband if he knows a time when he’ll feel uncomfortable kissing our son, but I hope that day never comes. There’s nothing sexual about it, and if we’ve done our job as parents, he’ll know that our pecks are signs that we are always in his corner and we love him deeply. I’ve decided that if someone ever asks my kids when’s the last time they got a hug or kiss from their mom (or dad), they won’t have to stop and think deeply about the answer. I know at a certain point, it will not be considered “cool” to give Mom a kiss in public and I’m okay with that.
What do you think? Is it cool to show physical displays of affection with your kids as they get older, or should you hang it up once Junior starts sporting facial hair? LOL. Does your answer differ if you have sons versus daughters?