I remember having a "boyfriend" in 1st grade. He of course had no clue

and we never spoke to each other, much less played together. I just thought he was cute.
The stuff that little kids do is not the same things as what middle school kids do. When my girls are 12 I would NOT want them calling boys, saying they are "going together" or whatever they're calling it this week, but in early elementary school, it's so innocent. DD1 happens not to have any friends who are boys and she only calls her 2 best friends on the phone. DD2 however, has lots of friends, male and female, and she calls them. Not a lot, but from time to time. She has one friend (a girl) who calls her nearly every night. That's a bit annoying, but it's not a huge deal. (I can overlook it because 2 years ago DD did this herself - only for a few weeks. I did ask the mom if DD was bothering her, and if so I would absolutely put a stop to it, but she said no. We both thought it was cute. And yes, the friend happened to be a boy, but it's not like they talked for more than 30 seconds and certainly not about anything "inappropriate.").
Near the first of the year, DD2 told me about a boy who was "bothering her" on the playground. My first instinct was to write a note to the teacher. Then I asked her some more about it.He wasn't doing anything terrible. No bullying or harrassment. I told her sometimes boys acted like that because they liked you. She rolled her eyes and said, "Oh yeah. I know he likes me. He wants to marry me." So...there was no note to the teacher, and the boy found another girl to like in a few weeks.
Anyway, MY peronal opinion is not to sweat the small stuff. Soon they will enter the stage where boys are "icky" and it will be a non-issue, but THEN they progress to discovering they aren't and that's when we moms have to really worry.
I can't imagine not letting my girls talk on the phone, but my older one is already begging for her own cell! (NO WAY on that!! I know some kids have cells for legitimate reasons, but not just to chat and play games, which is why she wants one. )
My concern is what can happen when you make something a "forbidden fruit" vs. treating it like it's no big deal. I understand every parent and child are different and you have to do what feels right to you. I just don't think the OP needs to worry that "real" boy-girl stuff is starting yet

In four more years, though - watch out!!
Laurie
