Thursday 12 February 2015

Parents, PLEASE!

Tonight I was reading a parenting blog. A hilarious one where parents can feel like they're not alone in their misery, joy and general messiness of being a parent.Tonight it pissed me off, though. Not the blog post. That was awesome.

It was the comments section.

Usually I scroll. I'm good at scrolling. Tonight I am pissed. It may seem like a small thing. Some parents might not even realize they're doing it. No big deal.
Here's the thing. We teach our children. We teach them about their eyes, their hair, all the fingers and toes.
Heart goes here. Those are your ribs. That is an elbow.

Guess what else we teach them?

It is NOT a naughty part. It is NOT a rude spot. It is NOT your dirty place. It is NOT a front bottom.

It IS a penis. It IS a vagina.

They are parts of our anatomy like any other. They are not shameful. They are not a topic to be afraid of. We shouldn't shy away from the questions.
They perform necessary bodily functions. They can also do some pretty neat tricks (I have boys)

Let them enjoy learning about their body. Let them explore it. Ok, maybe not at the dinner table. Instead of snapping at your child to "leave it alone", suggest a private place, a safe place, and do it without shaming them.

As we get older, our genitalswill do some amazing things. Give us pleasure. Help create life!

Why is that something to be afraid of? Our children need to have respect for their body parts so that they can treat them properly. How can they have respect for something they are ashamed of?

If your child learns from a young age that they can't talk to mom and dad about all of their body, who ARE they going to talk to?

That, to me, is far more frightening than using the word "penis" where someone might hear.

Parents, please, just stop