Crushed by Preschool Boys: My Daughter’s First Love Story

“Bye,” said Genevieve to Peter seconds before he walked out of the door after preschool graduation. I don’t know if she realized she probably won’t ever see him again, unless we randomly go to the park at the same time.

Peter barely looked at her as he ran out the door.

At only 5 years old, he is oblivious and clueless about her crush on him. He has no idea she comes home every day from school and asks me if she can have a play date with Peter. Or that her heart broke when she found out he had a pool party for his birthday and didn’t invite her.

 

When we got home from graduation, Genevieve said, “Peter was so beautiful!”

Genevieve and Peter used to go to preschool on the same days, but this last semester, they got switched to opposite days. Sometimes, if Genevieve was feeling under the weather, I would keep her home from school and tell her the good news: now she could have a makeup day at a time when Peter would be in class! She would always get giddy.

The first time I saw Peter was on their class trip to a pumpkin farm. I met Peter’s mom, too, but we didn’t connect enough for me to creepily add her as a Facebook friend. Genevieve sat across the table from Peter at snack time that day and I made sure to take pictures of them so she could show Grandma.

I remember what it was like to be in school and have a crush on boys. And I remember what it’s like when the boys don’t notice you or are paying attention to other girls. Genevieve is years away from this teenage drama, but we both got a first taste of it this year at preschool. One day, a boy will break her heart and I’ll be there to console her, sharing stories of my own crushes and telling her how I never had a real boyfriend until college.

For now, I hope to keep her as innocent for as long as I can and protect that loving heart. Next year, she starts a new school and will have new boys to chase around the playground. And I’ll teach her something very important: the only boys worth paying attention to are the ones chasing you!

Lesson learned from this post: We’re going to see our kids be disappointed over crushes and friendships as they enter school. As parents, we should draw on our own experiences and stories to help boost their spirits.