Happy Bear

I blame it on my uber modesty and tendency to embarrass easily, but when we were teaching our children the names of their various body parts (eyes, ears, nose, etc) I chose not to teach them the proper name for "down there" parts. Some parents choose otherwise, and that is totally and completely their prerogative. I think that's fine. I, personally, couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't imagine my 2 year old talking about his or her "P" or "V" (see, I can't even type them out) in everyday conversation.

So, we referred to them as "privates". When Tate came along and the girls could plainly see the difference in his privates, we casually began calling his a "boy part". Ok, yes, it looks and sounds silly when I put it in writing, but it worked fine for us.

Beginning in Kindergarten, the school puts on a program each year called "Happy Bear". A very basic, age appropriate program about "good touches" and "bad touches". Of course, as a parent, this whole topic horrifies me to the core. But I thought the school did a great job of sending home information/literature beforehand about what to expect from this very brief program.

Imagine my surprise when little 5 year old Reesie came home from Kindergarten the day of the program and said, "Mommy, girl privates are called 'baginas'". After I choked on my lemonade, and was once again able to breathe normally, I said, "Well, that's close" and begrudgingly told her the correct pronunciation. Of course, she didn't keep this information to herself. She didn't waste any time teaching 3 year old Druebie the anatomically correct term as well.

Fast forward to this year. Tate's first time through the program. I just prayed he'd get through without excessive giggling. One of my friends went to the program and texted me afterward. She assured me Tate behaved accordingly. I asked him about the program when he got home and what he'd learned. Being male, he certainly never gives me as many details when relaying a story as the girls do. But he did retain a few bits of useful information.

Knowing I could put it off no longer I braved the question, "And did you learn the name for your 'boy part'?".

"Yep," he said confidently, "A peanut".