Monday, December 19, 2005

"There was one problem with Alex at school today.."

Not the greeting a mother looks forward to hearing upon picking her child up from school.
"Oh,"I say.
Did he hit another child??
Did he get frustrated and yell at at a teacher or therapist?
Usually he is really good at school I think to myself.
His gentle soft-spoken aide gives me the story,"Well, during reading group today...
he kissed another boy on the cheek."
I almost burst out laughing. This is not what I expected and feared! But I am not surprised as my boy is very oral (likes to put things in his mouth), loves to kiss and be kissed and recently licked the face of a friend of his.
It turns out the kiss itself was not as big a problem as the comments by the children calling the kiss receiver a "girl" (a true insult in 1st grade). This made the boy quite upset and he cried.
So at our house we are having discussions about who is okay to kiss and hug and how to let our peers know we like them or are happy to see them.
So, if you're a really good friend of mine and I lick your face, you'll know it's a compliment.

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