[AnnieK]

It's a fine line I guess, a kiss on the cheek is harmless and could be a confidence booster but some 14 year olds may read more into it than was intended? I feel it's quite sad though that a harmless kiss from an adult has to be scrutinised now and everything that comes out of someone's mouth can be read wrongly and become a big issue

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by AnnieK

It's a fine line I guess, a kiss on the cheek is harmless and could be a confidence booster but some 14 year olds may read more into it than was intended? I feel it's quite sad though that a harmless kiss from an adult has to be scrutinised now and everything that comes out of someone's mouth can be read wrongly and become a big issue

100% agree,sums it up perfectly AnnieK.

[Nedusa]

Actually, I think it was me who turned this hypothetical scenario into a real news item...

Sorry bout that...

[Ithinkiloveyoutoo]

No this is not grooming I don't think because ideally it doesn't go further than that and the adult doesn't encourage them in any way. Girls will have crushes when they're young but if you raised your children right they know that a sweet kiss on the cheek is nothing more. I had crushes on older guys all the time as a young lady but I knew that they were just crushes and not to go beyond that and if the adult in question did kiss me on the cheek it was just a cute greeting like a kiss on the cheek my mum, or dad or relative would give on the cheek not an invitation to do more things.

[lostalex]

If it were a 14 boy and a gay 22 man you know people would lose their minds. if it were a 14 boy and a 22 woman no one would care.

[arista]

Originally Posted by lostalex

If it were a 14 boy and a gay 22 man you know people would lose their minds. if it were a 14 boy and a 22 woman no one would care.

Thats Because
so many Hate Gays

It never changes

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Mystic Mock

The adult who's say 22 years old gives the 14 year old a kiss on the cheek to boost their confidence, should this be classed as a form of grooming or not? Because the 22 year old would know about the 14 year old having a crush on them and it could be seen as encouraging the crush, but obviously they've not had sex with the 14 year old either so it's a bit tricky I think.

I know it's a weird thread, I was just interested to get people's responses to this as it happens more often than people realise and I don't know how people feel about it in general.

....hmmm, it wouldn't feel ok for me personally Mock but that is just more a personal thing than a generalisation...obviously I wasn't 22yrs old when my sons were 14yrs old and their 14yr old friends were always at our house all of the time but I would never have felt that it was ok to kiss one of them on the cheek as a 'confidence boosting' thing...I have a different perspective though as a mum and also through working with children ..I do know that confidence boosting/raising self-esteem and self-belief etc are important but for me, not in a way that would involve any physical contact at all...especially I think if the older person is aware that the 14yr old does have a crush on them etc...