Years ago, Saturday Night Live aired a recurring sketch about a family that was way too into kissing each other. It was funny since the sketch really went over the limit. But it left certain families wondering whether or not it's weird to kiss your family on the lips. One person in particular who doesn't question it at all is Kourtney Kardashian. Kourtney kisses her kids on the lips and truly doesn't care who has a problem with it.
Kourtney has three children with her ex Scott Disick. Son Mason was born in 2009. Daughter Penelope followed soon after, in 2012. Finally, son Reign was born in 2014. In a recent interview with Rose Inc., model and interviewer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley asked Kourtney about the one thing she'll never apologize for. Thinking hard, Kourtney admitted that the answer would be kissing her kids on the lips.
"I really try to not give energy to things that aren’t worthy of my energy," she added. "Once in a while, I may respond to a negative comment for fun, or if something really does bother me I definitely have the platform to correct it … but I usually don’t think twice."
Kourtney is no stranger to online mom shaming. She and her sisters get it frequently. Since they keep up their social media accounts — and since the world also sees them interact with their children on Keeping Up With the Kardashians — it's almost like every move they make is under watch.
"No matter what it is that I am doing, someone has something to say, good or bad," Kourtney said. "The worst, though, is when people I don’t know give unsolicited parenting advice. No one knows my kids better than me. I’ve got this, I’m good, thanks."
Kissing on the lips is just something Kourtney chooses to do in her family. But it's not just her — Scott has also posted photos of him kissing the kids. Mason and Penelope even kissed each other once in a photo, and the family received an incredible backlash from fans. It's almost hard to see the negative comments roll in over an otherwise sweet moment.
In general, people seem split over whether or not they think it's OK. Reader's Digest posted an article by Charlotte Hilton Andersen, stating that parents may be overreacting when they see a sweet moment between parent and child. Her article was focused on a similar celebrity kiss — David Beckham shared a picture showing him kissing his daughter.
"I have a daughter almost exactly the same age as Harper and I still kiss her on the lips," Charlotte wrote. "Let me tell you, kissing my little ones — whether it’s on their tiny fingers, sleeping eyelids, chubby cheeks, scraped knees, or rosebud lips — is one of the greatest joys of parenthood." She also said that it's strange for people to sexualize a kiss between a parent and their child.
"America has a long history of telling parents it’s wrong to kiss their kiddos," Charlotte continued. She referenced the 1928 child care manual Psychological Care of the Infant and Child. In it, behaviorist John Watson told mothers that it was wrong to kiss and hug their babies. Instead, a handshake would do. Yes — you read that right.
As someone who's been in the public eye for quite some time, Kourtney is already well aware that any sort of photo of her kissing her kids will be torn to shreds. On the topic of David Beckham, Victoria Beckham posted a similar photo with their daughter Harper. Even a mom-to-child kiss was scrutinized on Instagram.
Victoria chose to keep her comments on, likely immune to any negativity by now. She, herself, has four kids. However, there were plenty of people who were willing to stick up for her photo. "We only get to live one life, and our children and family are the most important people to us," Instagrammer @thesingingcicada said. "We should be able to kiss without being labeled as weirdos."
Kourtney has had to address countless other people who've told her online that she's not parenting correctly. Even an overseas trip with her kids created an uproar from people who were unaware of the situation. People still felt the need to pipe up and make it their business.
"We all have our priorities," Kourtney once told those fans. "So I’ll be making memories with my kids and amazing people while living my life to the absolute fullest. As women, we should be supporting each other for what allows us to be our best, not being so critical and judgmental of each other. We all do things our own way."
Gabrielle Union was another celebrity who was criticized for posting a photo showing her kissing her newborn daughter. Parents were concerned about her possibly spreading illnesses — which makes sense. Still, the fans made it seem like Gabrielle was unknowingly putting her baby in danger, when she's waited so long to become a mom. She wasn't trusted by her fans to make the right call.
"I appreciate all the concern about kisses on the mouth and labored breathing, I am blessed enough to have a nurse here with us while at work," Gabrielle said, per People magazine. "Kaav is healthy and I don’t even touch her without washing and sanitizing myself and everything and everyone that comes into contact with her."
Hilary Duff also faced a lot of criticism in a December 2016 photo that shows her kissing her son. "First of all, he was 3," she clapped back. "Not interested in what you have to say." She also made it clear that once you're a celebrity parent, people can't help but butt in. "People just have all these crazy judgments, and I think it’s best to not listen and laugh it off," she said.
It's brave of Kourtney, and all of these other celebrities, to step up and remind people that it's OK to show affection. Small kisses on the mouth can be harmless. Every family has its own culture and way of showing their love and appreciation, and if it's not hurting the child at all, it shouldn't be scrutinized.
