For many, it’s a popular schoolyard game growing up.
But parents have weighed in on the pastime called ‘kiss chasey’ which sees children running after any boy or girl they want to smooch.
According to Mamamia’s parenting podcast This Glorious Mess, some schools have banned the game from the playground.
But Australian mother-of-two Jane Hunt said she doesn’t believe the childhood game should be taken away because it’s all just ‘innocent fun’.
For decades, children have been playing ‘kiss chasey – which sees them run after a boy or girl they want to smooch in the schoolyard (stock image)
‘I get sick of things being banned when they can be used to start such positive conversations, like that of consent,’ she told Mamamia.
‘The rule has always been, if anyone ever says “stop”, you stop. Even though most of the time when she says ‘stop’ she is giggling madly and doesn’t really want the game to stop, we stop. Two seconds later she will say ‘GO!’ and it’s game on again.
‘The lesson is pretty basic. We want our girl to grow up with the understanding that if she says stop and the other party doesn’t, there is a problem.’
She explained the game offered a ‘wonderful opportunity’ for children to start a conversation about ‘consent and personal boundaries’.
Her discussion stemmed from an opinion piece penned by mother Cat Rodie after she revealed her six-year-old daughter was pinned down during the game.
Australian mother-of-two Jane Hunt said she doesn’t believe the childhood game should be taken away because it’s all just ‘innocent fun’
‘Although she told them that she didn’t want to play, a group of boys from her class chased her anyway. When they caught her they pinned her to the ground, kissed her and tickled her,’ Ms Rodie wrote for Fairfax Media.
When her daughter told the teacher who was supervising the playground, she was told that it was ‘just a game’ and that the ‘boys probably liked her’ so she ‘should be pleased’.
‘I’ll admit that my first reaction when she told me about this was to smile and stifle a little laugh, too. But my daughter, quite rightly, reminded me that it wasn’t funny,’ Ms Rodie said.
‘The more I thought it over the more I realised how disturbing it was that the teacher and I had both automatically trivialised her experience just because kiss chasey is such a familiar game.’
Ms Rodie clarified that chasing games are ‘fun’ but only if ‘everyone consents’.