Editor's Note : When Did Six-Year-Olds Start Having Girlfriends

My daughter is six years old, going on seven.

Over the past few weeks, she has come home from school talking about how "everyone" in her class has a boyfriend or girlfriend. At first, I brushed it off as playground make-believe.

Children imitate all sorts of things they see in the adult world. But then she began mentioning one particular boy.

"He keeps calling me his girlfriend."

She tells me he follows her around, calls her "baby girl", says "I love you" and blows kisses whenever he sees her. She doesn't like it. She has repeatedly told me she wants him to stop.

To some people, this may sound adorable. Cute even.

To me, it isn't.

Perhaps my reaction is heightened by my own childhood. Growing up in Nigeria, I spent far too much of my early life trying to fend off unwanted attention from boys-and sometimes men-long before I was emotionally equipped to understand what any of it meant. That experience leaves its mark. It shapes the way you parent. It makes you fiercely protective of your child's right to simply exist without feeling watched, pursued or labelled.

I know this little boy is only seven. I don't believe he understands the weight of the words he's using. More than likely, he's repeating what he has seen at home, on television, on YouTube or elsewhere. Children are remarkable mimics.

But that doesn't mean we should dismiss the behaviour.

Children learn social boundaries early. They also learn that "no" has meaning. If we laugh off persistent unwanted attention because "they're only kids", we risk teaching both boys and girls lessons that follow them into adulthood.

Girls learn that discomfort is something to tolerate because the attention is "harmless."

Boys learn that persistence is romantic, even after someone has made it clear they aren't interested.

Neither lesson serves them well.

When my daughter told me what had been happening, I spoke to her teacher in her presence and asked that the boy's parents be informed. Not because I wanted him punished, but because this is exactly the age when children are learning about consent, respect and personal boundaries.

Some may think I am overreacting.

Perhaps.

But I also believe there is value in preserving childhood for as long as we can. Six-year-olds don't need to navigate playground relationships modelled on adult romance. They need friendships. They need imagination. They need games of tag, scraped knees and stories about dragons-not conversations about girlfriends and boyfriends.

As parents, we cannot control everything our children are exposed to. They will hear things, repeat things and encounter behaviours beyond our reach. What we can do is provide a counterbalance.

We can teach our daughters that they never owe anyone affection. We can teach our sons that admiration never overrides another person's boundaries. Most importantly, we can remind our children that growing up is not a race.

Because somewhere between pretend weddings in the playground and calling classmates "baby girl", it feels as though childhood itself is quietly shrinking. And I can't help wondering when that became normal.