Is It Okay To Kiss Your Kids On The Lips?

Photo by Jennifer Casson

This article, questioning whether it's ok to kiss your kids on the lips, was in my Facebook feed this morning and it surprised me. I didn't know this was a question! (I basically share the same feelings as Jessica Alba whose reaction to the question is quoted in the piece: "Really?! Why?! It's your baby. People allow dogs to lick at their mouths." Tell 'em, sister.)

I have kissed my kids on the lips since they were born and it's never seemed anything but normal to me. I kiss their cheeks, their foreheads, their tummies, their toes, and yes, their lips. My daughter and I give a peck-on-the-lips goodbye kiss every day at preschool drop-off. I kiss my son good morning when I get him from his crib. This is odd?

The article raised the question of whether kissing on the lips is too sexual (um, no) and commenters raised the question of whether kisses on the lips are exposing kids to too many germs. (Uh, if you have a child, you know that your closed lips are hardly the dirtiest thing they're going to touch that day!)

I do know that there is likely a point where it will probably end--when either of my kids starts to become uncomfortable with it, it will. (Though the article quotes adults who still kiss their parents on the lips!) But for now, I'm going to savor ever moment and smooch away.

Am I the only one? Do you kiss your kids on the lips? Did your parents kiss you on the lips? (Or do you still kiss your parents that way?) What do you guys think?

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