Technically Speaking

Hayden is your typical boy. He loves baseball, swimming, racing, cars, video games etc. He also loves his penis. Typical boy right? He is so proud of it, that one day after using the potty he had to show it to Quinn and his Grandma.

Grandma was beyond thrilled, let me tell you!

I decided when he was young that I was going to teach him the correct words for all of his anatomy. No nicknames. This was a hard endeavor for me because I have the hardest time saying penis (and saying vagina is even more difficult). But I figured I had to get over this. It's a body part, no different than an ear or a nose. Except that it is a PRIVATE part, but still, we don't come up with nicknames for our noses or ears. Why do we feel the need to come up with nicknames for our private parts?

Plus I have an even harder time with nicknames. We didn't have nicknames either growing up. When referring to our privates we'd usually say "you know where" or "down there". I know people who use the word "pee-pee" for both male and female genitalia. I think "pee-pee" is harder for me to say than "vagina". One of my siblings who shall remain nameless cannot say the word "breast". This sibling is an adult with a family.

Why are we so embarrassed by these words??

A few weeks ago I listened as my coworkers discussed their nicknames for female anatomy. One of these coworkers is a grandmother to two little girls. From what I heard one of them picked up a slang word for vagina (there I said it) that was rather crude. So they discussed "nicer" nicknames that they use for private parts. I was thinking to myself the entire time "Just use the proper name!!!!"

Why do we feel the need to come up with nicknames for our body parts?

My church leaders have said many times that we as parents need to talk about sex with our kids (in an age appropriate manner, of course). And that we need to be open and frank with them regarding sex and their bodies. I don't see how we can be open and frank with children when we can't teach them about their bodies because we are embarrassed to say the word "breast" or "vagina" or "penis".

So I continue on my quest to get over the embarrassment of saying these words. It's a good thing that Quinn's still young. I have plenty of time to get over my issues with saying "vagina"

Hey look, I typed it 6 times in this blog. That's getting somewhere!