Child psychologist's warning: This is why you shouldn't kiss your kids on the mouth

As parents, we cuddle and kiss our little ones as much as we can — while they’re still little enough to let us.

As a parent myself, I think it’s important to give your child affection from time to time and kisses are the best way of doing so but how about kissing your child on the mouth?

People have mixed opinions on whether it’s ok to kiss your kids on the mouth and not everyone does it.

After former Spice Girl and celebrity Victoria Beckham posted a picture of herself kissing her daughter on the mouth last year, the internet was divided in their thoughts about it.

Not long after, a psychologist chimed in on the debate and gave her professional opinion.

The debate is now making rounds once more on the internet — to kiss or not to kiss…. your kid on the mouth? That is the question.

If you’re the type of parent who kisses your kid on the mouth or perhaps used to when they were little, then you’re not the only one. It’s not something unusual or strange but how psychologically healthy is it really?

After famous celebrity Victoria Beckham shared a picture of herself kissing her little daughter on her social media last year, it caused a heated debate on the internet.

Some people were reacting strongly to the fact that she was kissing her daughter on the mouth while others thought it was a perfectly normal and loving picture of a mother and her child.

The debate led to child psychologist Charlotte Reznick to give her professional opinion about the picture and the act. According to Dr. Reznick, you should never kiss your children on the mouth.

“If you start kissing your kids on the lips, when do you stop?” the doctor told The Daily Mail.

Sexually confusing

The child psychologist explains her point of view by saying that children start becoming aware about their sexuality at an early age, so an innocent kiss on the mouth can create emotional bonds that might be confusing to the child. Reznick believes that although it doesn’t hurt to kiss your children on the mouth when they are babies, parents shouldn’t start doing it at all because the child can become confused later on.

“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 explains to 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.”

Disagreements

But not everyone agrees.

Sally-Anne McCormack, another psychologist, didn’t hold back in criticizing Reznick’s point of view.

“There’s absolutely no way that kissing a young child on the lips is confusing for them in any way,” Dr. McCormack told The Sun. “That’s like saying breastfeeding is confusing.”

“Some people might have issues with it,” McCormack continues. “But it isn’t any more sexual than giving a baby a back rub.”

Below is the picture that created an outrage and sparked a debate online.