Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Help for moms who kiss their kids too much (actually, no help, but perhaps you can relate)


Last night, Dave was tucking Max into bed and I heard Max giggling. I poked my head in. Dave had showed him how to nose kiss, and Max thought it was a laugh riot. "Ohmmmy!" Max said, and I leaned over and rubbed noses with him. And then, I kissed his cheek again and again and again until Dave was all, "Hey! My turn!"

I am greedy about kissing the kids; I can never get enough. This I inherited from my mom, who was always kissing me and my sister. I once discussed the habit with an office friend. "I basically make out with my kids!" she said, and I knew exactly what she meant. I will kiss the kids at any given opportunity: when they're on the couch watching TV, when they're buckled into the car, when we're at the mall riding the elevator, when they're sleeping. (Yes, I do.) (And if you call me creepy, I'm going to kiss you right on the lips.)

Sometimes the kids kiss back, sometimes they sit there glued to Good Luck Charlie because, whatever, it's just another spurt of mommy kisses. I don't believe there are any intervention programs for moms who kiss too much, although I suspect my children might start one someday. Back when they were babies, I'd literally nibble on their chubalicious limbs. I no longer do that, mercifully for them, since there's very little chub left. Excluding Sabrina's hands, which still have pudge and dimpled knuckles and are too delicious to resist.

Perhaps I'm making up for being away at work all day, where there is nobody I'd particularly like to kiss although they are lovely people. I'm still so grateful for Max's kisses, because it took a long time for him to learn how. He favors the open-mouthed, slurpy kind, sometimes planted on my stomach, sometimes on my cheek.

Max particularly likes to give kisses when he breaks something in the house, because he figures if he makes me melt I won't get upset. He is right. I like to tease him that I am going to pour ketchup all over him and eat him up (he considers ketchup a food group), but then he wisely points out that I should save the ketchup for his mac 'n cheese and I oblige.

With Sabrina, I'm catching up on lost time because as a tot she was stingy with her kisses. In fact, one of her first phrases was "NO TISSES!" I had to practically beg for a good-night kiss. Now, she calls me back into her room for more after I leave. I tell her that I'm aiming to kiss every single one of her freckles, which bloom during the summer. Sometimes, we play a kissing game in which we have to guess the type of kiss: vacuum kiss, ice-skating kiss, woodpecker kiss.

Too much of anything—carbs, sunbathing, reality TV—is never a good thing. But kisses? I think I get a free pass. Max and Sabrina are getting older, and there's going to come a time when they will be over me and my kiss-y ways. Until that day, I am cramming in those kisses.

28 comments:

  1. So cute! Your kids are so loved

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  2. I am a kisser and I am not ashamed of it. Like you, I find any and all opportunities to kiss the boys (and tell them that I love them): after they are buckled in the car, before I leave them in their classes at church or day care, before I leave the house without them, or even just random times throughout the day. I always kiss them several times (forehead and cheek) and tell them I love them and say a little prayer over them after they have fallen asleep. Apparently, our 2.5 year old has picked up on it because two nights ago, his five year old brother fell asleep first, and Isaac went up to Thomas, kissed him on the nose and forehead, and softly said "I love Thomas!" Oh, how my heart melted!!!

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  3. You can never give too many kisses!!!! I still tend to get a nibble of a cheek in occasionally. LOL!

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  4. Max's kisses are the best!! I totally remember Sabrina's "no tisses" phase, but now she is pretty generous with the kisses, and her kisses are delicious!!

    Kissing my daughter is one of my favorite past-times - it is a totally wonderful experience and it also does kind of make me feel less guility about going to work and not being with her during the day. Unfortunately, she is not always a very good recipient and sometimes she even hands the kisses back to me!! The best time to kiss her without resistance is when she is sleeping.

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    1. My just-turned-five-year old (who has SPD) likes to wipe off my kisses ... so I kiss the palm of his hand so he just smears it everywhere!

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    2. HA! So far, the kids haven't yet returned my kisses, though on occasion they both like to duck when they see me puckering up.

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  5. There can NEVER be enough kissing. You just have to be more stealthy at it as your kid's get older. Kisses of any kind, make everything better!

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    1. I will be sure to come up with a good plan for stealth smooching as they get older.

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  6. Oh, man, I SO relate!!! I would seriously inhale my kid if I could. I kiss her *all* the time, definitely making up for the time that I'm at work. I just adore her more than I can ever describe. I wonder how many parents totally *don't* get this, and if not, what their issues are... Kids are yummy. :-)

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    1. EXACTLY. I adore them so much it physically hurts, sometimes.

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  7. Enjoy it while you can Ellen They grow up way too fast :( My oldest(18) is off to college in 2 1/2 weeks to study music therapy and my younger daughter (who has Angelman Syndrome) is entering her senior year in 2 weeks sniff :( Lucky for me they still are affectionate but its not the same

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  8. My parents were a lot like you, Ellen, and I'm so grateful to have those memories! Treasure them! xoxo

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  9. Go you! Get em' while you can! I sometimes come home from work and snuggle my son with kisses for 45 minutes straight. He's only 14 months and I dread the day he makes me knock it off. I miss him while I'm out. It's like I'm making up for lost time-- with a baby make-out session. Love it!

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  10. My sixteen year-old has become shy about kissing (still okay with hugs). I have taken to kissing him on the forearm. I think he likes it!

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  11. You can never kiss too much. I miss my kids when they were the age I could kiss all over them. Enjoy it while you can, Ellen. They grow up way too fast.

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  12. I kiss my ten month old baby so much that she has developed a habit of hitting my face whenever I pick her up. I feel I am constantly annoying her, what can I do to curb kissing?

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    1. I know this is an old thread but my this is happening with my granddaughter and daughter-in-law and my son is annoyed that she is kissing their daughter to the point that the baby is showing annoyance and hitting. She is only 9 months old and wondering if she will be one of those kids who won't care what others are feeling because her mom doesn't care what she is feeling. How is your child?

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    2. Hi! Both my older children have turned out to be caring people. Now we have a third...and I can't stop kissing him, either! But, yeah, if the behavior is actually annoying a child the adults ought to hold back.

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  13. We should post videos of us all loving your sons n daughters! <3

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  14. OMG! Im so so happy I gound this..I worried for awhile cause my mom (very seriously)told me i kiss my kids to much.she said if i didnt stop he would grow up to be like norman bates

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    1. Same exact thing happened today to me whuch led me to google whether I was a creepy weirdo mum! Turns out I think I'm ok my son is two and seems to love kisses so I think I'll Just ignore her comments

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    2. My kids love thier kisses too..thier faces light up and they start giggling i love it..im glad im not alone thank you

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  15. I have a 2 year old daughter and a 8month old daughter. When my 2 year old was smaller I always attacked her with kisses, now she likes me to chase her for them or she gives them when she want to. While my 8month old is little she gets all the kiss marathons lol while she can't walk or run away. She's more accepting than my 2 year old , I love the moments where she just sits there and accepts my kisses !

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  16. Alexandra aka obsessed mommyDecember 13, 2017 at 12:31 AM

    I kiss my son all day every day. I am a stay at home mom. Yes I make out with every inch of his beautiful little face. He is my first son who just turned 5 months. My relatives tell me to stop slobbering him but I CANNOT! I feel way better reading this blog though. Thank you my fellow loving mommies! Kiss away ladies ;)

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    1. To all of you extremely selfish moms. I'm sure your kids just love having gross breath and slobber on their faces all of the time. They hate it. They wipe it or, they duck, they run from you! Get a clue. Why would you do something to a sweet child, that you KNOW they don't like. That's a jerk move.

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  17. This is so funny (in a good way), since I stumbled into your article while wondering if I have an issue/problem because I kiss my son A LOT (even while he sleeps, like you. My husband would freak out when my son was a slept newborn and I would kiss him) I just cannot resist! Sometimes I wonder how many hundreds of kisses he receives each day, haha!

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  18. "And if you call me creepy, I'm going to kiss you right on the lips." Hahaha! You are my new best friend. I am like this with my babies, too, and I ain't ever gonna stop.

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Thanks for sharing!