Tuesday, 22 July 2008
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Rub a Dub Dub Three Boys in a Tub
by Mama Fox
Scene: Three young boys play in the bath while their mother supervises.
Fox1: "Mama, Fox3 has a penis!"
Mama: "Yes he does."
Fox1: "Just like me!"
Mama: "Yup and Fox2 too."
Fox1: "And like you."
Mama: "Honey, girls don't have penises."
Fox1 thinks for a second. "But they have butts."
Mama laughs uncontrollably.When did/will you teach your children about "private parts"? Did/will you teach them the proper names, or make up "baby" names for the body parts?
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Comments (16)
My girls just did find out boys are "different" down there than girls are. Thanks to their nosiness when I changed a baby boy I was babysitting. They didnt ask, Just stared, then asked questions when I told them to stop staring at his butt. They now know them as boy boy butts and girl butts. LOL! Â They gave them those names though.
LOL, that's a funny scene. My 3 year old knows the difference, because he was in the bathroom with me one day and wanted to know why I wasn't standing up to pee like him and Daddy. I told him that girls don't have a wee wee. I figured that since he had a baby sister due anytime, that that question was bound to come up sooner or later. I decided to use baby names for his penis because, as my sister-in-law put it, I'd rather have him say that in the middle of the grocery store check out line, than penis. :) For some silly reason, it seems less embarassing. I figure they'll learn proper terms soon enough.
I don't know when it's a proper time to tell them but I'm not thinking ahead of it yet. My daughter is still trying to learn potty training. That is something that we have to battle right now.
We've talked about the girls' "tee tee's" ever since I can remember. C when through a phase of being extremely interested in that part of her anatomy. I think it's perfectly natural and healthy for them to have that curiosity. As long as it didn't seem as though she was hurting herself, I just let her explore. If anyone has any right to be exploring down there, it's her! I don't know if they're old enough to pay any attention to the difference between boys and girls. They've seen me drop trow plenty of times, but we're the same, so the don't think a whole lot of it...aside from the hair. They've seen Papa a couple of times, but he's pretty shy about it. I don't know if he thinks it's innappropriate or what. I've told him they're young enough that it isn't a big deal. I'm sure we'll have that discussion sooner or later, though.
I once babysat for two little boys who had just gotten the "body part talk".
We drew handprint turkeys.
When they're mom came home, one of the boys ran up to show her his turkey drawing.
"Look at my turkey, mommy! Here's his eyes, and here's his beak, and here's his penis!"
@lotta_valdez@xanga - HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
@mamaoftwins - Yeah we're the naked family. Haha!
It's actually slightly painful to see one of my boys exploring, they sure can pull on themselves! It's their body and we just have to remind them that some things are private and you shouldn't do in front of people. So far we haven't had a problem.
@Luv2BMama@xanga - That is part of the reasons they know the proper names for the parts (even if they can't really pronounce vagina quite right yet). We feel it's not something to be embarrassed about. We don't give cutesy names to our arms or noses so why give silly names for other parts? Excluding toes because everyone knows toes are piggies
It also takes away the funny factor of it. If we are matter of fact with "bathroom things", they lose their charm. I've yet to have anything embarrassing shouted in a public place (knock on wood). Kids say and do things to get a reaction. If you take the reaction out of the equation, it's no longer fun so they don't do it. Just my thoughts.
@mamafox - You have a good point. I guess, though, I am still slightly bothered by those words. Yes, it's silly, but I would still rather hear my 2 and 3 year olds say "wee wee" instead of penis. But I agree, if you take away the funny factor, kids are less likely to be silly about it. Things I need to think about and probably try to get over myself so that they can learn the proper terms.
@Luv2BMama@xanga - It took me a little while to get over my own hang ups about those words too. It got easier as my kids got older.
my daughter knows what breasts are in korean, but she picked up the word without me intending to teach it to her. it's pretty cute that she knows how to identify body parts, but it could also be really embarrassing in public! (thankfully, it's korean, so most people don't know what she's saying haha).
I just turned 17, and my mom still calls it a "wee-wee".
-_-
One summer while working in Florida as a lifeguard, my SIL and my niece had come down to visit me, my mom, and my brother. My bro, SIL, niece, and I were all at the pool while I was working and my niece was having a great time swimming on a noodle in the shallow end. One of the YMCA moms was there holding on to the noodle and pulling her around.The way she was sitting on the noodle however wasn't very comfortable (she was stradling it) and so in order to let everyone know she stated loudly that she wanted to get off because, and I quote, "it hurts my 'gina." The YMCA mom's eyes grew very wide and suddenly she busted out laughing as well as the rest of us. My SIL had taught her the proper name of her private part, vagina, but she could only say "'gina" instead. Hahah! You better believe we told that story to the rest of the family.
My niece was only 23 months old at the time.
Also, another funny story is when my niece was born. Her BIL, who was only 7 at the time, was watching his older sister change her diaper. When he saw that she didn't have the same parts that he had he asked, "why does joie have two butts?"
Another reason why my SIL made it a point to teach her daughter the difference between boys and girls.
Thats hilarious. I dont have any children of my own. But I am a nanny of sorts. I have had kids who know the correct terms for their parts, and their brother or sisters parts. I have had boys who call their parts wee wees and their moms woo woo. I think as long as they know the difference thats all that matters, but if you do tell them the correct terms be prepared for some embarasing moments in public.
Me and my husband call it all his "baby jive", but I don't think I want to teach him that when he's older. He'll probably go around saying "do you have boy jive or girl jive?"
I don't think people should be embarrased by medical termonoligy. I'm already teaching him words like eye, nose, belty button (ok, so that's not medical), and nipple. He pokes something to ask what it is, and I will tell him. He likes to poke other people's bodies too, without warning. I think the strangest one was when I was toweling my hair off after a bath, and I felt an unexpected poke. "That's the vulva, sweety. We don't poke other people's vulva's, it's rude."
R is 5 and I taught her proper names I think around 3 years old. I think baby names teach an element of shame, that our body parts can't be called by their rightful names. We have also talked about when and who should be allowed to touch private parts - i.e. limited to medical context, only when mom is around, and when she feels ok with it.
We talk about the physical differences between boys and girls. Last year when she started school, we learned how to tell a boy "No" for trying to kiss her (I followed up quickly with a phone call to the school director, who was great).
Now we're working on the concept of privacy, though with just us two girls in the house that one is taking a bit longer to sort out.