Children can say the funniest things. Art Linkletter, in the days of black and white television, clearly demonstrated that children, when given the opportunity, can make unexpected and funny statements.
When our children were little, like many Louisianans, we would go to Destin, Florida, the Cajun Riviera, for a few days at the beach. This particular year, we were living in Monroe, Louisiana, where I was a professor at Northeast Louisiana University, now the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Our daughter was six and our son was four when we started this summer on the sunny shores of Destin. This was before Interstate 10, so we traveled the scenic route of Highway 90, when it was time to head east. With our beach towels, inflatable water toys, and a reservation at a beachside hotel, we were ready to go and we were all looking forward to the trip.
Those of you parents who have traveled by car with children know that the experience can test the nervous system, patience, and the desire to stop the car and put them on the side of the road. “It’s touching me.” She is on my side of the seat. “” He doesn’t take turns with binoculars, Dad. “” Mom, he’s pinching me. “And finally,” Are we there yet? “counting the number of animals we saw on the country roads we traveled. Charlene, my wife and I looked at each other and wondered why we wanted to have children. We scold them, we threatened to turn around and go home, we promised them” down time “when we got to our hotel room and many other powerless threats to their well-being.
I have always believed in sex education for all children, starting at a very young age and continuing throughout their school years. Unfortunately, the state of Louisiana and its school systems during the time my children were young and in public schools, did not. So my wife and I felt the need to inform our children about important questions about the sexual parts of their body, in relation to their age ability to understand and value the knowledge imparted. I share this information with you now, because it is related to this true and funny story of the five-legged horse. Part of our first introduction to our children was teaching them the proper names for their genitals. For example, it was not called her “pee” or tee-tee, but her penis. For her it was not called her, you know the names well, it was her vagina. Other sexual parts were given appropriate names.
Now let’s get back to our trip to Destin. We were driving through a rural area and there were some horses in the fields. I was busy keeping track of the road when all of a sudden my son hit me on the shoulder: “Dad, look, a five-legged horse!” I looked in the direction of his index finger and saw a horse with a pretty impressive erection. Before I could respond to my son’s excited announcement, my daughter chimed in: “Hey, stupid, that’s not a leg, it’s a penis and you have one too!” My son started crying immediately, I suspect he was afraid that his penis would grow to that size. My wife and I couldn’t stop laughing, my thoughts being, “Son, if only you were so lucky.”
Our children are now 48 and 46 years old, with their own children, and they have heard my account of this trip several times, and we still find it amusing. So when I hear from someone who is planning a trip to Destin, I go back to the memory of the five-legged horse. Art, you’re right, children say the funniest things.
I used this true and hopefully funny story as a long introduction to the importance of sex education for our children and to draw your attention to an important function of parents: sex education. Children today know a lot about sex, mainly from other children and the media, especially from social media, Facebook, etc. Much of what they are exposed to is inaccurate and does not adhere to healthy values and responsible guidance. Parents can offer the appropriate knowledge housed in a way that is consistent with the values that will guide the child toward safe and healthy choices.
Parents should not be apprehensive about their important role in providing sex education. I wrote about this topic earlier in a previous post. “Tips for Talking to Your Teen About Sex”. Check out this article and take the initiative to help your children. When you remember the story of “The Five-Legged Horse,” smile and teach him.
