What’s it like to kiss a boy?

“Have you ever kissed a boy? What’s it like?”

That’s the question my 4-year-old daughter asked of my best friend while they were out on a special dinner date.

I have yet to determine where this insidious thought came from. Was it someone at preschool? A particularly racy episode of “Sesame Street”? Or did she simply see my husband and me smooching in the kitchen and her wheels started turning?

Whatever the catalyst, something she saw or heard made my daughter aware of two things: 1. Boys are different than girls. 2. Girls kiss boys.

I knew this day would come. I just figured it would be 10 years from now and I would be much more prepared to discuss the finer points of boys, kissing and how mixing the two together is a really bad idea before you are, say, 26?

The truth is my daughter is growing up. I have to come to terms with this. Perhaps what bothers me most is that she didn’t ask me her super secret boy-kissing question. She never even hinted at it with me.

Am I already that uncool of a mom that she can’t discuss her boy questions with me? Did she think I would scream in horror and research home-schooling methods?

Well, I might have. So I guess I’m glad my daughter felt comfortable enough with my friend to ask her kissing questions.

But if I don’t get to deliver the sex talk in all its glory, I’m going to feel pretty cheated. I had to sit through it with my mom. It’s the cycle of life, and a moment of pure, unadulterated awkwardness that I refuse to miss.

How do you get your children to open up to you, or is it best to rely on cool aunts and mom’s friends to field these questions?

Erin Stewart is a regular blogger for Deseret News. From stretch marks to the latest news for moms, Stewart discusses it all while her 4-year-old daughter crams Mr. Potato Head pieces in her little sister’s nose.