Member-only story
My Daughter Is Getting Married To A Boy I Don’t Know
How do I navigate my child’s new found interest in romance?
My daughter announced a week ago that she is getting married.
The wedding is today.
She is incredibly excited and has galvanised all of her friends to organise the event for her. One is arranging a dress, one is organising decorations. Last night she had a small panic attack as she realised that she hadn’t got anyone to arrange the music.
Oh, I should probably also mention that she is five years old and this is all happening at after school club.
If I’m honest I’m a bit conflicted about it.
I have found it tricky to know how to respond appropriately to the situation. On the one hand, this is a game that she is playing with her friends, including the little boy in question (who I will call Robbie). It is probably perfectly innocent, why not play weddings?
But last week she told me that she had kissed Robbie and Robbie had kissed her back. I expect it was just a peck on the cheek but I have no way of knowing.
In the end I said something like “oh, did you?” in as neutral a tone as I could muster and then casually asked whose idea it was that they kiss. She told me that her friends…
