Kissing problem
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Safe, that’s a great idea!
And it's a great way to start to teach consent and boundaries! Consent and boundaries are the beginnings of how to keep kids safe from familiar adults with ill intentions
( and how they can continue to stay safe as young adults )
Stranger danger is a myth. It does happen.... But familiar adults are more of a danger.
I think that’s a good idea. do your baby’s kiss their stuffed animals? I thought maybe this was a phase and curious to your experience.
@Kate yes she loves to kiss her stuffed animals but more so sees them as “dolls” - she also loves to kiss our pets but we started with teaching her “gentle hands” because she would get rough with the cats trying to give them love. I have not let her interact with any one else’s pets bc toddlers and animals are both pretty unpredictable and I don’t want her to end up with a bite or scratch to the face.
Some kids seem to have a stronger sense of “stranger danger” than others - seems to be attachment style and temperament as well as developmental age… up to us to model what we want to see
@Sage Indeed. 😄
@Sage oh Ayden will definitely be instilled from a young age to approach any animal slowly and to always ask if they are friendly. Because just because a dog looks friendly doesn't mean that they are.... But we have dogs, so he's already used to being around dogs.... But yeah, toddlers can totally be wild and crazy, so waiting until she is an older toddler of 3 or older is totally a sound approach too, tbh!
Before you kiss him I would ask for consent “May I get a kiss?” And if he says yes then kiss him and if he doesn’t answer or says no, then don’t. This will model boundaries for him.