Yesterday I took my 5yr old to a birthday party and watched her play a game with her friends where one of the girls would just go stand behind a boy until he realized she was there, then he'd scream "A girl!" and run away. On the drive home I explained to her the concept of what he used to call "cooties", as in "ahhh! girl cooties! Run!!!"

"Oh," she said. "We don't really play that game, Daddy."

"You don't play the cooties game?" I asked.

"No," she said. "We just pretend to marry them."

"Same thing."

This morning over breakfast, my wife informs me that our daughter (this same 5yr old) has a boyfriend. "Is that the same one I saw yesterday, who ran away whenever you came near him?" I ask.

"Yes," she says.

"That's ok then."