It All Starts with a Kiss... My lips are sealed!

Both Mr. And Mrs. are seated finely on the lavish sofa and their junior on the lesser couch a little near the Television set that has completely owned their attention. A soap, on the local channel. As Alejandro (pronounced as Alehandro ) talk to his Juliet, the TV Romeo apparently has too much hidden up his sleeve, or rather up his lips- and when he does make them apparent, the audience is rather caught off-guard. Initially the parents share a look slyly only to ghastly remember the minor present and rise up in a jolt. The young laddie who had been gingerly watching the scene is soon 'exiled' into his room.

Well, Alejandro just could not wait past bedtime!

With the continuous development of the media mangled with our continuous neglect, kids have become too knowledgeable for their age-in the negative sense. It is a fact that our children actually know more than is shockingly enough to give parents a trauma induced stroke! Yes, most of the media of this age are; matter-of-factly, harzadous to the ethical standards of the society as a whole. And the mother of it all is the Kiss that's in Cinderella and Snow White all the way up to A Secret Affair - Babra Taylor Bradford (A book that should not be in a middle school library but is.)

The magic that starts every not for persons under the age of 18 scene. 'Parental Guidance is advised' they always say but in all honesty the rebellious, curious spirit lies in every germinating bud. I was young so, i need not tell you. You are right on! I did peek a little, and the aftermath was a whole week of unspoken questions and immense wonderment (always accompanied by a tinge of penitence at the remembrance.) So it always rose the question, what is this kissing?

Too deep to cut off

Kissing is as old as the word 'old' itself which makes it impossible to cut off. Let's learn some history. In Cyropaedia (370 BC), Xenophon wrote about the Persian custom of kissing in the lips upon departure while narrating the departure of Cyrus the Great (600 BC) as a boy from his Median kinsmen.According to Herodotus (5th century BC), when two Persians meet, the greeting formula expresses their equal or inequal status. They do not speak; rather, equals kiss each other on the mouth, and in the case where one is a little inferior to the other, the kiss is given on the cheek. Thats not me, thats Wikipaedia and we all know just how much this old fella knows! Simply put, if you brought two Persian ancestors and dumped them in zimbabwe, you should not be surprised when powerful Robert shouts "Amandla" (Power in Xhosa and Zulu) and the two immedeately hauled out of the 'pure' country for they surely will be suspected of gayness.

The bible has a number of occurence where this 'noun' happened. One such example, in the old testament in Genesis 27:26," And his father Isaac said unto him, coms near now and kiss me my son." Thats not all, hindus have theirs mentioned in their Sanskrit Scriptures while in Islam only spouses are allowed to kiss that too not in public to preserve decency( which explains the general surprise of the mass when famous reporter Mohammed Ali kissed his wife. The kiss was fine but the part where it was broadcasted live wasn't. How much he must have been awaiting for the sun to dart off into the western horizon.). As it is, kissing is very much into us, who the hell said anything about cutting it off? I mean who would want to delete such a fine way of expression that beats chocolates and roses? Heck, even the Kiss of Judas is well known.

On a fun note, apparently even monkeys kiss! A report "How animals kiss and make up" published by BBC News. October 13, 2003. Has Professor Frans de Waal explain chimpanzees kiss and embrace after a fight. An important factor of savage reconciliation.

Studies Have shown

Apparently, this mandibular activity did not just disturb my mind alone. Thusly, the study of kissing started sometime in the nineteenth century and is called Philematology. Through this process, Athropologists are divided into two schools on the origins of kissing. One believing that it is instinctual and intuitive and the other that it evolved from what is known as kiss feeding, a process used by mothers to feed their infants by passing chewed food to their babies' mouths. Cesare Lombroso, Italian criminologist, physician and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology, bolstered this idea. While still on the same topic of kissing, medicine admonishes us by stating that the disease Infectious Mononucleosis is spread mostly through saliva. So better have those medical reports ready before sharing your potentially vectorial saliva.

Too young?

The U.S. Customs Service estimated in 2002, that there are more than 100,000 Web sites offering child pornography alone. As a parent you can Limit tv time, check their web content but can you cut off peer pressure? Just recently out of teenage i can clearly narrate. At fifteen, my deskmate was already telling about the kisses' diary that was fresh on her neck. At sixteen some sexual activity was rumoured among students. By seventeen some had dropped out of school and almost half the class in cross class relationships for it was a mixed school. Being dragged into that mess, with my religious veiws and still trying to look normal was hard. This teenage bravado always engulfs most of the youth. Overprotection is a risky gamble, but those who dare win.

Africa SAFE?

The American child learns how to kiss by the age of eleven. Even if its not the parents who demonstrated, it may have been the neighbour or the couple on a date at the park or better yet the eighth graders at school. It is a well known fact that you can kiss in a western country's alley but not an African street. This may seem like 'Ushamba', but its no little an attempt at preserving decency which stems from the cultural backgrounds of the continent as a whole. Which means that it is safe from the nude ways of the world, but really is it? Because it is still a third world country it is developing. Interaction and development pioneered by the industrialized nations is only making us bleak by bleaching away our own cultures for the trends of role models. Because we are not growing on our own terms but flowing on traced paths we are becoming copies. So this live display of romance will go viral in afew years and Akinyi and Kamau will soon be Jane and Tarzan.

Kids grow faster than we anticipate hence we need to be there to see it through. Many teens who have remoursefully and carelessly become mothers would say,"It all started with a kiss." We need to guide them to,"...You may kiss your bride." and not regretful lives. Work is no excuse, the need for money does not extinguish the need for parental love and care. Let them watch Alejandro when they are old enough to deal with their own Maria de Samparadas. Guide them through crushes so that they know the real relationship and the real kiss. Protect them by showing them the way and not by mindlessly and strictly preventing ways. Religious belief and awareness builds the faith and subsequently the moral character. Be the engineer for that child. Thread them finely, it all starts with a kiss- on the forehead.

Start it with love.

Without much of an experience of what i have just said, My lips are Sealed.