When should you stop kissing your kids on the mouth?

Sarah - posted on 06/05/2012

Yesterday both my boys, one teen and one in 20s kissed me on lips,
i kiss my sister, my 20s niece and nephew on lips as well. I see nothng wrong with it. were times when the boys hated it, but they started again and i do not object in the least

Jennifer - posted on 07/12/2011

Its a personal choice. My dad still gave me a lip peck as an adult but I know that would make some people uncomfortable. He's been gone 12 years now. Id give up a finger for one more.

Marisa - posted on 07/12/2011

I kiss my my three boys on the lips, and I still kiss my parents and brothers and sisters on the lips when I see them.

Erin - posted on 06/24/2011

Just last week I gave my mom a kiss on the mouth. Im 24. I think theres a problem when you make it a problem.
some days my daughter cant STAND being kissed on the lips, other days she cant fall asleep without mommy and daddy kisses. Just play it by ear :P

Melissa - posted on 06/19/2011

Yeah I think comfort is what's important. I still kiss my mother and grandparents on the lips. Always have, always will. We've always been really close; we see and talk to both our mother and grandparents several times a week, so it's just always been natural for us to be affectionate with one another.

Michelle - posted on 06/18/2011

I don't think it is ever inappropriate to kiss your children on the mouth. But, as my children got older, they were like "Awww...mom, don't do that!!!" LOL. Only when I was dropping them off at school, or picking them up after school, or dropping them off at a friends. It seemed whenever we were in public, hugs and kisses on the cheek were ok, but they didn't like it when I kissed them on the mouth. Soo...I sort of let them decide. When I tuck them in at night...(yep, I still do that...LOL), I give them a hug and kiss on the mouth, and they are ok with that. But, in public...I have to kiss them on the cheek as per their wishes!!! LOL.

Christy - posted on 06/16/2011

I am glad I found this post, my kids are 4 and about to be 3, and they INSIST on kissing me on the mouth. Ok, it is sweet but I wil encourage them to kiss the fat part of my face which is the cheek in a couple of yrs, they slobber all over me now! ARG!

Shannon - posted on 06/16/2011

i dont believe there is anything wrong with it i kiss my son and my daughter on the mouth all the time, its just what we do. now if you make out with your child i would suggest you stop and get help and the child stay with someone else

Bevely - posted on 06/13/2011

I don't think I have ever kissed my kids on the mouth.

Cynthia - posted on 05/04/2011

I stopped with my 8 and 9 year olds. Just uncomfortable after a certain age...

Victoria - posted on 05/04/2011

Any behavior you exhibit with your children becomes inappropriate when either of you think it might be. My daughter and I occassionally exchange a smooch and she is 14, because it is a normal part of our family's social behavior, it is normal for her. If she was embarrassed or uncomfortable it would be inappropriate to continue it.

Elizabeth - posted on 05/04/2011

sorry ..kids are sticky..smelly and drooly ..gross
I have a germ issue lol I kiss and hug my kids all the time..I love them to pieces but never on their dirty little mouths

Amanda - posted on 05/04/2011

I am 28 years old & I haven't gave my dad Hugs & Kiss since I was 10 years old my mom & I weren't close...I do give my son a kiss on the lips & his cheeks he is only 2....There is nothing wrong with it unless the child wants you to stop

Barb - posted on 05/04/2011

i didn't have to read further than Teresa's post. she hit the nail on the head.



course i was going to add.. when you have to pin them down to get your kisses, which for my child was around 7 or 8.



Now we kiss foreheads. He's a 6' 7" 200lb U.S. Marine, my 5' 7" 130lb body isn't going to be able to pin him down anymore.

Joy - posted on 05/03/2011

We're a lip-kissing family and that's also the kind of family I grew up in. I obviously don't have a problem with it and if my son is still ok with it when he's my age then I'll take it! But I also don't have a problem with anyone else feeling uncomfortable with it after a certain age. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and you just have to do what feels comfortable and natural for you.

I do suspect though, that eventually my son will not appreciate kisses before he gets on the school bus and when he gets off lol So I'm enjoying it while I can ♥

Shannintipton - posted on 05/03/2011

My son is 8 and say ohhh gross when I kiss him on the mouth so then I shoot for the the eye or someother funny place. {:+)

Cyndel - posted on 05/03/2011

Until parent or child is uncomfortable. I suspect my son will ask me to stop in another year or so, I'll be sad and disappointed, but I'll respect his wishes, though he won't get out of kisses altogether!

Kaity - posted on 05/02/2011

it shouldnt be an issue we carry the children for 9 months we go through the pain of labor and if we want to give kisses on the mouth then we should beable to they are our children and if certain people dont like it then they dont have to look its not an issue my 14 month old gives me kisses only on the mouth for some reason and i love when she gives me kisees

Candyce - posted on 05/02/2011

I don't think it matters as long as the parent and child are comfortable with it. I kissed my mother on the mouth half the time, even as a teenager and in public (I think that's how I got my first cold sore... still not sure, lol). I kiss my son on the mouth, same thing with my niece and nephews, and my son does the same with my sister and husband. No big deal, it's just a show of affection. Besides, we all have pretty much the same germs anyway.

Blessed Be

Jenn - posted on 04/26/2011

I dont think it is ever inappropriate unless the child feels uncomfortable with it. You created you children so what the hell is a kiss?

Susanne - posted on 04/26/2011

I stopped when my sons told me to get off when i tried to kiss them lol

Alecia - posted on 04/26/2011

i definitely kiss my daughter (19 mnths) on the lips, and so does her daddy. i kiss my mom on the corner of the mouth, or on the lips somtimes. i kiss my dad on the cheek (step-dad since i was 2 yrs). i kiss my grandparents on the cheek and even a few (girl) friends. just like breasts arent necessarily sexual, neither is kissing. its just a way to show u love someone. i hope my kids never get too old to get kisses from their momma :)

Constance - posted on 04/25/2011

I guess I am a very affectionate person. I kiss all my children on the mouth. As I did with my Father ( RIP) for thirty years and I kiss my best friend who just happens to be a guy. For me a peck is perfectly fine, no matter how old they they are.

Brittany - posted on 04/25/2011

I kiss my daughter on the cheek, however she hasn't figured out that you kiss on the cheek. After all she sees mommy and daddy kiss on the lips.

Kissing started out as nursery play anyway. It wasn't until about Shakespeare's time that it was done between lovers, in fact he started it.

Krista - posted on 04/23/2011

I guess I come from a weirdly unaffectionate family! I don't remember the last time I kissed or was kissed by my parents, and even hugs are kind of awkward. I'm super affectionate with my kids, though (they're 2 and 5 weeks) and I'll keep kissing them as long as they'll let me!

Toni - posted on 04/23/2011

I agree with the others as long as both parties are comfortable then there isn't a problem. If other people are uncomfortable with how your family shows their affection for each other it is their problem not yours!

Tyrae - posted on 04/22/2011

I'm a cheek kisser always have been. I've never been comfortable with kissing on the mouth, even my 5 month old daughter I won't. The only person I kiss on the mouth is my fiance... and I like it that way :)

Charlie - posted on 04/22/2011

I still kiss my Mum and Dad ( before he passed away ) on the mouth , as long as everyone is comfortable then continue .

Rosie - posted on 04/22/2011

i still kiss my parents on the lips and i'm 32. as long as each party is comfortable, i say it's right as rain.

Mary Renee - posted on 04/22/2011

Oh yeah, and my daughter's father kiss her on on the lips but getting him to kiss me is like pulling teeth! I swear I don't have bad breath, he's just not that affectionate with anyone but our toddler!

Mary Renee - posted on 04/22/2011

My dad still kisses me on the mouth and I'm 24! But he's Italian. I remember at one point when I was older after being a way for a while I was kind of surprised and caught off guard, just because it had been a while since I had been home. But then I was like "Oh, whatever, it's just my dad." Haha. I can remember when I was really little he used to tell me "No slurpee kisses" and that's when I was really little and meant no slobber or drool! haha. And when ever he had a cold he would tap his cheek to let us know we had to kiss him good night on his cheek instead of lips because of his cold. When I was really young I was like "But I don't care if I catch a cold, Daddy!" but he insisted.

Reading over this I can see how it might come across as strange to other people, but my parents were divorced and they had split custody and I think that actually made my dad and I closer because when he watched us it was JUST him so he had to be more involved, he had to learn how to do pig tails and braids, and eventually even ran to the store to buy us tampons! We're just a close family with a strong European heritage not too far down the line. My uncles (my dad's brothers, and even his Greek brother-in-law) still kiss us too! Haha.


Oh my goodness, April I just read your post, so weird it's the same in my family! My younger sister is a little weirded out by it and said something to me but I didn't think so. So I guess even with in the same family there are different comfort levels.

Sherri - posted on 04/22/2011

Nope as long as parent and child are comfortable. I still kiss my parents on the lips and I am 39. I also still kiss my kids on the lips and my boys are 14, 12 and 4.

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/22/2011

It's all up to each pair to decide. My aunt kisses her teen aged sons on the lips, the boys don't mind. My mom, her sister didn't kiss us on the lips ever that I can remember. She thought it was weird when her sis did it to her sons, and so I kind of felt like my mom didn't love us in the same way my aunt loved her boys. I thi my mom should have sucked it up and showed us the same level of affection we were seeing with our aunt cuz it gave a bad impression to us about affection.
My husband doesn't kiss his parents either, never remembers doing it.
And yet we both kiss Eric! I kiss him on the lips, cheek, nose, everywhere! He is 2. Dad kisses him on the cheek only, but if Eric goes in for a kiss and aims at matts mouth, matt doesn't turn away from it. We want it to be about what erics comfortable with mostly.

I would think when my kids begin to have relationships with bf or gf I'll likely stop kissing them in the lips, unless they prefer I stop sooner.

April - posted on 04/22/2011

I still kiss my parents on the mouth and i'm 22, thats just normal for us. I'm okay with that. Although one of my younger sisters prefers not too.

It all depends on if your comfortable with it or not. If you don't like that then there are other ways to show your affection and if your okay with it, well then there's nothing wrong with that either. :)

Maria - posted on 04/22/2011

I have to admit seeing it happen kind of catches me off guard but now im mature to see that it doesnt matter its whatever the family is really comfortable with. i spent the night at my friends house like a month ago i slept on the couch, her in her room her dad woke up early and called her cuz she got a letter in the mail she woke up walked out and only had little shorts on ( the underwear kind) and it was like so natural. In my family that would not fly my dad is somewhat conservative and so is my mom so me being the only girl in the family i have to always cover up while my bros dont. But in her family she has three sisters and one brother so maybe thats why idk but to each their own! I love kissing my baby on the lips she is only 9 months and i love smelling her baby's breath :)) my friend has a baby and kisses her baby on the lips her sister said that was weird! She saw me doing that and told me what her sister said i was like its not weird she's my baby. I made her!! So i guess ill do it for as long as i can haha :)

Johnny - posted on 04/21/2011

Still kiss my parents on the lips. Not extended family though.

My uncle married a woman from France about 10 years ago. Until then, no one had ever hugged or kissed each other on that side of the family. Now everyone does that oh-so-sophisticated double kissy thing. I hate it.

Teresa - posted on 04/21/2011

I don't come from a kissing family, so I'll admit that lip kisses from my 9 year olds are weird for me. THEY (at least one of them) want it, so I try to oblige. MY personal comfort level ends around kindergartenish....

Keli - posted on 04/21/2011

i think its just something you outgrow.or for some families you never do. im 24 and havent kissed my parents on the mouth in YEARS.

Medic - posted on 04/21/2011

I kiss the males in my family on the side of the mouth..so basically the cheek and sometimes when we are being silly my little brother on the mouth...now all the women peck on the lips

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 04/21/2011

Yeah, I know. But I don't kiss my parents on the mouth and haven't for quite a while. I honestly don't remember when I stopped, but I would feel weird kissing my parents on the mouth now. We hug and kiss on the cheek. I do kiss my daughter on the mouth (she's 2) and will until she doesn't let me anymore. My husband actually gets sad thinking about her not kissing him anymore. I remember when she was a baby and he asked me if it was ok to kiss her. He just loves her so much he wanted to show it. It was so cute. And now my daughter loves to kiss (dad probably won't like that so much in a few years lol).

Medic - posted on 04/21/2011

wow thats amusing..... I hope my babies give me kisses forever!!!

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 04/21/2011

Here's the link. It's actually a blog from The Stir if you want to read it:

http://thestir.cafemom.com/big_kid/11915...

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 04/21/2011

It was poking fun at people who get all bent out of shape about parents kissing their adult children. Apparently several celebrities have been "caught" kissing their older children and some people flipped out.

Medic - posted on 04/21/2011

I guess its just the comfort level of the family like Teresa said. I do kiss my kids on the mouth. I guess it will stop when they don't like it. What did the article say?

Teresa - posted on 04/21/2011

Your last sentence. In some families.... it's just what they do. In other's... they don't. Neither is wrong.