David Beckham recently caused discord among fans after he posted a photo to Instagram with himself and his seven-year-old daughter.
In the photo, the two can be seen outside with Christmas lights.
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And David appears to be kissing his daughter on the lips.
And let us be clear, it is more of a peck than a full-on kiss.
Still, many are upset with the gesture, suggesting child abuse.
Folks have made comments like:
“I’d never kiss my kids or parents on the lips. That’s disgusting.” and “You can’t kiss your daughter on the lips!”
As well as comments like:
“It’s not wrong to kiss your kids but it is wrong to do it on the lips!!! Lip kisses are for romantic partners not your parents.”
While others have come to David’s defense, saying:
“I can’t believe this discussion is even happening! It’s all the people making negative comments I feel sorry for, they clearly have never experienced the most precious and innocent love being displayed in the photo. The world is a very sad place – if what is seen in the photo, doesn’t make your heart melt but just provokes such horrendous & unnecessary responses!!”
As well as:
“When I see a pic like this, it makes me so excited to have a child of my own and to see her/him bond with their Daddy and the relationship I hope they will have. Everyone with Daddy issues needs to get off Instagram and use their phone to call a help line. If you find yourself thinking sinister dark thoughts when you see a picture like this it says more about your own warped mind than it does about anyone else’s. #freud Maybe you’ve had a sinister upbringing and need help. Get help. Trolling is not the answer.”
But child psychologist Charlotte Reznick, a child psychologist, argues you should never kiss your children on the mouth.
“If you start kissing your kids on the lips, when do you stop?” the doctor shared with The Daily Mail.
The child psychologist goes onto explain how children’s awareness of their sexuality starts at an early age and a kiss on the mouth can create an emotional bond that may be confusing to a small child.
Reznick says it does not hurt to kiss your kids on the mouth when they are babies — parents should not start doing it at all as the child can become confused later in life.
“As a child gets to four or five or six and their sexual awareness develops, the kiss on the lips can be stimulating to them,” the doctor shared with The Daily Mail. “People don’t like to hear this but the lips are an erogenous zone and feel-good chemicals that are associated with sexual arousal — including serotonin and oxytocin — are released through lip-kissing.”
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But psychologist, Sally-Anne McCormack, disagrees. Saying:
“There’s absolutely no way that kissing a young child on the lips is confusing for them in any way,” Dr. McCormack shared with The Sun. “That’s like saying breastfeeding is confusing.”
“Some people might have issues with it,” McCormack went on. “But it isn’t any more sexual than giving a baby a back rub.”
Needless to say, it is not a black and white issue!
Kudos to parents for being well, parents. It is not an easy job!
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, I think we can all agree David Beckham does his best.
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