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School-Aged Children
5 yr. old has a BOYFRIEND??
My 5 yr. old daughter who just started kindergarten in September came home from school on Friday and told us that a boy in her class is her new "Boyfriend." The backstory is that we (and hence my daughter) have known this boy and his parents since the kids were all 3 (the boy also has a twin sister who is friends with my daughter). So this boy ended up being in my DD's kindergarten class, and he and his twin sister and my DD ride the school bus together. So I'm sure its nice for DD that she has a farmiliar face in her class, and I'm sure he can relate to her perhaps better than other boys, since he has a twin sister her age (my DD has always had friends that were boys, but never in a "boyfriendy" way). I think this is fairly normal, but she is clearly giddy with a crush and this is the first time we are experiencing this. When she was telling me about it, I explained to her that while it is nice that she really likes this boy and it is perfectly fine too, boyfriends are something that you have when you are much older, and that for now this boy is more like her "best boy friend." To which she replied that he was her boyfriend and she thinks she is his girlfriend and that they both really like each other (this si all from her perspective only). I remember the kid I had a crush on in Kindergarten and I think I may have even told my parents he was my boyfriend ( not sure), so I'm sure this is fairly normal at this age, but just wanting to make sure, and get some ideas on how to handle it ( if it needs to be handled at all). I was definitely happy that she felt she could tell me about it, and I made sure to not be surprised, or discouraging or to give it any connotation like it was something bad or wrong ( obviously). WDYT??
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Re: 5 yr. old has a BOYFRIEND??
I do think this is fairly normal, and I don't think you should worry about it too much.
When my kids talked about "liking" a boy or girl, or people in their classes having a boyfriend or a girlfriend, I just said that the most important thing is to be a good person and make good choices, and to learn to get along with lots of different people, both girls and boys.
I made sure they understood that the terms "boyfriend and girlfriend" have a meaning other than just "a friend who is a boy/girl." I explained that these older types of boyfriends/girlfriends are spending time with each other to learn what kind of person they would like to be with later as a husband or a wife. Since you're only in kindergarten, and you won't have a husband or a wife for a long time, you don't have to worry about that right now. But it's nice to have a special friend.
Heck, I'm still giving an older-kid version of this line to my 7th grade DD, and she and her friends are starting to have boyfriends in the real sense of the word!
This. My DD is in Kindy and her best friend is a little boy. I just stress the above when she starts talking about marrying him someday.
My dd told me about all the pairs in kindy last year. Zach was Logan's BF, Joe was Kathleen's BF, ETC. I asked her what that meant, as Auntie suggested, she had no idea. The boys and girls were barely interacting and as a matter of fact, when I asked if the boys liked having girlfriends, DD admitted that the boys were not even aware of it. It turns out, the girls had gotten together and randomly assigned boys and girls as "couples" and there was nothing more to it. The whole thing passed in about 2 weeks and was never spoken of again.
BTW, around the same time, my DD announced she was going to show me how to French kiss her brother. I had to for force myself not to jump in and tell her that was inappropriate. So I just stayed quiet while she gave her brother an "air kiss" on each cheek and told me that's how they kiss in France.
Kids sometimes pretend to know about grown up things but that doesn't mean they actually have a clue what they are talking about.
It's totally normal. Chances are that this boy probably doesn't even know he is her boyfriend.
My kindergarten son has a "girlfriend", an older girl (maybe second grade) that goes to his school and is also in his after school program at daycare. She helped him write his first love note (which consisted of "I Love Sue"). He talks about going on a date with her, and they're going to get married on their date.
I think it's cute, and so far haven't worried too much about what he's saying.