To think PSHE shouldn't be teaching yr 3 the words vagina and clitoris?

[littleducks]

We went on to see materials.

The children have to label a girl and a boy. Whole body, outline picture standing upright facing forward. They have to label fingers etc. And then penis, vagina and clitoris.

I think they should label a 'vulva' and be done with it. They don't teach that term at all. You cannot see a vagina or clitoris as the girl is standing upright.

They made a big fuss about needing to teach the correct scientific language. But it isn't.

I mentioned this and the teacher said they should draw arrows indicating the region.

(Body parts is the extent of the topic this year so they don't conver the act of sex or anything that would clarify the bits being between a woman's legs)

Children will already have the names for most of those body parts. Maybe a simplified name eg oral cavity = mouth/ throat, nasal cavity = nose. Yes they should be told the correct name for all body parts along with the common names. There are no simplified words for clitoris or vagina and yes i would expect them to label the anus, urethra , labia, testicals and nipples.
Im sure when the kids are learning names for parts of the face they will have a diagram of the mouth to label. Which will show teeth, tongue and tonsils. The volva is no different
Why shouldn't they learn these names and what they do? It will not destroy their innocents or warp them into sex deviants. Its a proven fact, the more you educate a child about sex (and take away the shame) the lower the rate of teen pregnancy and std's

I have seen several children, as young as 3, having orgasms at school. Usually hands down knickers at story time or rubbing themselves along the edge of a table etc.
The father of the hands down knickers girl was furious when I suggested a gentle chat with her about the appropriate places to do this, storytime at school not being one of them! He didn't think she should be doing it anywhere at anytime.
One of my own daughters was about 6, so just younger than Y3 when she asked, 'is your vagina the hole your finger slips into when you're in the bath?'
I agree with the poster who said children can not have too much information about body parts, in age appropriate ways.

wheresthebeach don't worry, Y5 think this stuff is all gross!

This thread is getting strange so I'm going to leave it.

When I taught sex education (to year 2) we talked about the names they use at home for their bits, this varied wildly! We then agreed as a class to use the terms penis and vagina, they were incredibly sensible and were just learning the names of part of their bodies. However some parents still objected to their children being in this lesson, despite the fact that 'sex' was never mentioned. The lesson started with video about male/female animals and differences.

The picture was like this, if not even more simplified and less lines (but was of a girl not woman so less shapely figure and no breasts)

fc08.deviantart.net/fs51/f/2009/288/3/9/Anime_girl_drawing_by_naranch.jpg

Pompoko the other items on the list were things like fingers and eyes so not that detailed.

schmee in what way?

While school does need to teach the right names it needs to be for the right bits, so YANBU.

I think it is a bit odd to teach about menstruation before sex as reproduction is really the context of menstruation.

Naming all the body parts i mentioned would be a bit much for yr3's. I was trying to show that there is no difference to any other body part.
That drawing should not be labeled with a vagina or clitoris since nether are on show

I agree that a picture of a vulva should be labelled as a vulva. But my children knew what a clitoris was well before Y3, DD because she asked me what that little lumpy thing in her vulva was, and DS because having a clitoris isn't a big secret so it gets mentioned occasionally.

I think I explained the function as being to make it feel nice when making a baby.This was refined on a bit as she got older.

I've never used the words clitoris or vulva & I'm 45.

Not even clitoris?

To be fair, I'm in my 20's and our school didn't mention the word vulva. It was just vagina, and the opening was the vaginal canal. Vagina is so synonymous with vulva here schools don't even teach it. But this is also the US so we're not exactly what you would call progressive about sex ed either. We teach abstinence only sex ed, because obviously teaching about birth control encourages kids to go out and have sex. Now you know why we have shows like "16 and pregnant".

YANBU.

Teaching incorrectly labelled scientific diagrams is ridiculous.

Change the labels or the diagram.

YANBU

If they want to teach terms like clitoris and vagina, then they need a detailed diagram.

A vague arrow in the general direction of the genitals should be vulva.

Pompoko, that is the only point I was making. The vagina should not be labelled as it is internal and so not visible In a drawing of a child standing.

It is sexist to label internal parts only on the drawing of the girl.

It has nothing to do with prudishness.

And it only adds to confusion that some people carry into adulthood that the clitoris is mostly external.

Beginning to think I am a bit prudish...

Totally in favour of correct body part names but this just smacks a bit of the male gaze invading an educational space. Most little girls will not have any awareness of their vagina as it is an internal organ. They almost certainly will be aware of the vulva, labia, anus, urethra. I am surprised by the choice to highlight to body parts connects directly with sex.

If I'm reading your post right, YANBU. I don't think you're saying that they're too young to learn about these words, more that they are learning the words and not actually knowing what they are because the diagrams are incorrect (and showing a clitoris to 7 and 8 year olds could end up being a chaotic lesson!)

Am I right in thinking that's your point? (If your point is the opposite, and you think that they are simply too young to know the words 'clitoris' and 'vagina', then YABU.)

Sorry, my last made no sense.

I am surprised by the choice to highlight body parts which are directly connected to sex.

I would think that for year 3, something like genitals would do for girls and boys. The focus of the lesson was very basic body parts not sex ed (eg eyes, rather than iris, pupil, eyelash etc so genitals rather than clitoris, vagina etc fits with that).

If it's a diagram of the outside of the body it should be labelled vulva. Or mons pubis. There is no way in the world it should be labelled anything else. The clitoris, by the way, is part of the vulva, which refers to all the external genitals of the female. But it's only a very tiny part and to use it for the whole area is ridiculous.

Dd is seven and in yr 2 and came home last week having learnt penis and vagina. I explained where her vagina was as she asked. What they'd been taught about was vulva. Wrong word so dd was confused.

Sin counter:

a) posting on an old thread (FFS, START A NEW ONE)

b) asking for survey participants which is against board guidelines.