6 year old used the word sexy

[Popchips]

Hi my 6 year old daughter came home from school and described a boy in her classes hair as sexy.
I’ve told her this word is not appropriate and I don’t want to hear it again. She told me that others in her class use the word.
AIBU to complain to her teacher and for the teacher to maybe speak to the children?

Or are you all eye rolling me?

As a family we do not use bad language and although the word isn’t a swear word I feel it’s not age appropriate.

I’m NOT going to speak to the teacher. I definitely realise that’s not a the right thing to do.

Hopefully won’t hear it again for a while!

I know some parents don’t mind if their kids use foul or words that are not age appropriate- but I do.
I agree it sounds vulgar and aggressive.

Thanks to those that gave me sensible advice

Just for context OP
When I was about 5 (in the dim & distant 70s) I came home & repeated a chant I'd heard in the playground at school. My df asked me to repeat it, it went as follows:

10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or more,
Frank got Betty on the floor,
He kissed her once & kissed her twice,
Pulled her knickers down & said "Oooh nice!"

I'm grateful to this day that df just gave a little smile & walked off!!
I don't think you need to worry about a sexy haircut...

When I was 4-5 years old in the late 70's I was wandering around the house singing Rod Stewart's "Do ya think I'm sexy?"... I had no idea what sexy meant - it was just words in a song that was on the radio all the time. To my knowledge there were no catastrophic effects from my singing the word "sexy" or any of the other interesting lyrics from my era.

I don't think it is age appropriate and would try to explain that as much as you can to a 6 year old. My 5 year old said bloody hell yesterday, complete copied it from me. I'm 6 months pregnant and have sciatica so say it a lot.

We used to sing "Roll me over (in the clover)" while being completely oblivious to what the lyrics meant.

This is number one and the song has just begun
This is number two and he's taking off my shoe
This is number three and his hand is on my knee
This is number four and there's somebody at the door

About nine and we were singing "I want my holiday" which I'm shocked we got away with.
This is number five and he's doing a sexy dive
This is number six and I'm taking off my knix
This is number seven and I'm halfway up to heaven
This is number eight and the doctor's at the gate
This is number nine and the baby's doing fine
This is number ten and we're starting all over again

Surely, if you are saying to a child, l don’t want to hear that word again, it should be followed by “because...”

Because ... it is a word for grown ups not 6 year olds

If you ask what she thinks it means, and discuss what is appropriate and why she will learn. If not she will hide it.
She should be learning about boundaries and safe behaviour, touching and privacy

When my nephew was about four years old he used to sing that "sex on the beach" song as he heard it on the radio and was just singing along. His mum, my sil, gave out to him telling him how naughty he was to use such a word. From that day on he sang " sex on the sheep" which then became "sex on the cow" and sex on just about any farm animals you could name ( they lived very rural at the time). He is now in his twenties and every so often will launch into a verse to wind her up, so be careful how you approach this.

I agree it sounds grim from a small child but your specific phrasing — “don’t want to hear that word again” — is shutting the conversation down repressively, rather than opening it up. You’re giving the word so much power — while making it clear you don’t want to talk about it, so missing an opportunity to demystify it so that she loses interest.

It is completely different from saying it in a more open and conversational way, like, “what do you think that means, dd? Okay, I see, well, here is what it actually means [age appropriate explanation] and you’re too little to need a word like that”

Sorry op I also think you over reacted and handled this terribly. You’d think she dropped the f bomb from this reaction. She doesn’t think it means sexually attractive, to her it means nice, in a cool way.

No I wouldn’t have liked it either.

I was a nanny in France when Gangnam Style came out. For about three months the two boys (2yo and 6yo) greeted me in the morning with "heeeeey sexy lady" from the chorus. The parents and I just let them grow out of it.

Words evolve over time. I think the word sexy is often used as a fairly innocuous synonym for attractive and often slick (high end cars for example are often referred to as sexy), rather than sexually attractive.

I think it's strange you wanted to 'complain' to school based on your six year old saying other people in their class said it? You're going to have a bloody long few years ahead if your first instinct is to complain rather than to have a chat with them about something that worries you. Wouldn't that be a more sensible approach?

@Sceptre86

I don't think it is age appropriate and would try to explain that as much as you can to a 6 year old. My 5 year old said bloody hell yesterday, complete copied it from me. I'm 6 months pregnant and have sciatica so say it a lot.

I always think it's quite impressive when they use something like that perfectly in context

I know what you mean, op.

My 7 year old's favourite song at the moment is 'I'm sexy and I know it'. Along with the constant 'what's sexy mean!??' he's also singing the song with the obligatory hip wiggle dance.

Not much you can do really

I always think it's quite impressive when they use something like that perfectly in context grin

^.

Yup! DS used 'sidding' in exactly the right sentences

#proudmummatolilman

Sodding! Sodding!

Not sidding

I get it was a bit of a shock to hear your DD say this, but it's a word that's used in every day parlance to mean something exciting, something good, eg literally washing up liquid. It has taken on a meaning outside of sexual attraction.

Yanbu about finding it inappropriate although I wouldn’t talk to the teacher about it

@DPotter

I get it was a bit of a shock to hear your DD say this, but it's a word that's used in every day parlance to mean something exciting, something good, eg literally washing up liquid. It has taken on a meaning outside of sexual attraction.

‘Oh dd your homework is so sexy’

No

Omg do some people live like this

@Susannahmoody

I always think it's quite impressive when they use something like that perfectly in context grin

^.

Yup! DS used 'sidding' in exactly the right sentences

#proudmummatolilman

I apparently did a very dry "oh for Christ's sake" at about six when a girl at my party was showing off by being mean to her little sister.

And I didn't give her a goodie bag.

I regret nothing

They pick these things up at school. Often from children who have older siblings. I would just remind them not to use that word and leave it at that. For what it's worth my 4 year old has dropped the F bomb before. Not ideal but such is life.....