Oh, the joys of first grade: creating construction paper masterpieces, eating paste and napping on cots.

Now we get to add sexual harassment to the list of first-grade truths about the tooth fairy and strangers who offer candy.

Recently, a 6-year-old from Massachusetts was suspended from school for three days after he was accused of inappropriately touching a girl in his class, according to a Feb. 9 CNN report. The boy allegedly put his fingers inside the waistband of a girl's pants and touched her skin.

Sexual harassment is not an issue that should be taken lightly, but there is no way a 6-year-old child was intending to get sexual gratification from such a situation.

Anyone who touches his or her classmates inappropriately needs to be disciplined and taught what is acceptable. But do not call it sexual harassment when the kid can barely even pronounce the word correctly.

And what does the boy learn from sitting at home for three days? He gets to play with his Tonka trucks, eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese for lunch and skip the daily math lesson. Now this poor kid won't learn how to subtract.

The boy's mother is upset. She's right -- it is difficult to explain to him that what he did was inappropriate. But that is the job of the parent. Use videos, books, Web sites or your own voice and knowledge of the subject to get across the point.

Awkward conversations are never fun, but if the parent does not address these issues, they will put themselves and their children in far worse positions. What happens if he gets to middle school, high school or college and puts his unwanted fingers down a girl's pants without knowing it is wrong?

The other day, my friend told me his mom waited until freshman year of college to ask him if he knew about sex. Luckily, he was smart enough to pick up the proper way to treat people without her guidance, but this won't be the same for every kid.

I understand the school's dilemma: They can't let this incident go untouched; they'd probably have some very angry people after them. The CNN report said the school stands by its decision to suspend the kid for three days because they were following the school's sexual harassment policy. They need to isolate situations and treat each case appropriately.

How can the school have a blanket sexual harassment policy? Does it make sense to give the same punishment to a 6-year-old student as they would a 16-year-old student?

A few years ago, a second-grader in New York was suspended for ripping a button off of a girl's skirt. His inspiration? Curduroy, his favorite book about a bear with a missing button. This is evidence, that clearly, children engaging in these behaviors are not motivated by sexual urges.

I know we're young and most of us are focusing on our statistics homework instead of how to raise children, but file this incident in the back of your mind, next to what you're going to tell your kid about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.