To find this comment unprofessional, inappropriate and unpleasant...

[sooziesquareeyes]

Was being shown around a nursery with a view to finding a place for DD when I go back to work. All looked great until right at the end, just before we left. Returned to the baby room and the manager giving the guided tour said to a little boy toddling around in his vest - 'Hey! Woo-woo, got yer sexy legs out!'.

as I said, just not what you say to a child IMO. or am i getting all het up over nothing?...

I said child I meant horse.

easily confused.

Yeah, yeah, what Hecate said.

I now look nervously over my shoulder for peachy when anyone says that.

She is about ready to kneecap me

I don't like it particularly but it wouldn't make me decide not to use the nursery. People say they're going to eat my DS all the time. I don't worry they're going to take a bite out of his leg.

I know that's a silly example but I think this is an example of someone not thinking rather than anything more sinister.

Where's my gavel?

I'm withe Hecate... it's seriously yucky to refer to any child including your own as 'sexy'.

I hate it hwne people use the word 'sexy' when talking with children.

I am certainly no prude, but it is inapproriate. I don't even like the word when used between adults.

Agree with MP, it is just the way some people speak. Some people speak an unbelievable amount of crap. Tbh I probably wouldn't have done much more than slightly raise an eyebrow . It's an odd thing to say but I'm sure she wasn't exactly inferring anything.

What does piss me off though is when people ask my 4 yr old dd how school's going... then in the next breath whether she has a boyfriend yet .

well Idon't particularly like the term sexy in reference to children of any age.

However if you're going to be pedantic about it then perhaps we should also refrain from calling children "lovely"

"# Inspiring love or affection.

Having beauty that appeals to the emotions as well as to the eye. "

Love:

A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.

1. Sexual passion.
2. Sexual intercourse.
3. A love affair.

An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object.

Yet we see fit to say we "love" this, that or the other.......

yanbu.....i don't think i'd be using that nursery tbh.

I hate people saying that children are pretty
Personal peeve but I feel it's as bad as the use of sexy in this case

I hate it too...YANBU. My uncle said 'Hello sexy' to his grandaughter on NYE, she's 9. It's not said in the true meaning of the word, but it does make me cringe. It's inappropriate to call a child 'sexy'.

i don;t think you can hold it against the nursery though.
i once didnt chose a childminder cos she said "innit"
fgs.
over reaction on both our parts i think

honestly hecate? Im not entirely sure i know. It sort of means, OMG that is sooo beautiful and lovely and gorgeous and overwhelmingly stunning and i can't find any other word for it due to my stunted vocab and sexy seems to fit the bill. I am weird though, i name inanimate objects too. So just ignore me

To clarify though, i think to say to the lad "oooh, got yer sexy legs out" is fine, absolutely fine. But to call a child sexy is a bit off.

hecate. I think it shows poor literacy tbh, not really understanding the meanings of words. It wouldn't put me off if the rest of the nursery was fab tbh.

YANBU

Language evolves constantly, and the meanings of words change according to common usage. If enough people decide that 'sexy' can be used to mean 'lovely', then the dictionary will be changed to reflect this.

The oxford dictionary does not rule the world.

that anyone should worry about giving an upset 5yo a hug, I gave one of my 11yo pupils a quick shoulder squeeze today when she started sobbing.. albeit in a sort please stop crying I'm really no good at this sort of a way

Stewie, this was the manager !

my daughter's keyworker says "dear" at the end of every sentence as though she is a Disney talking book

Princess Aurora Dear

Intersting - I would agree that sexy means exactly that but then I am old enough to remember when gay meant happy / joyful

So yes, it is inappropriate

I don't like it particularly, but it wouldn't bother me that much.
maybe I've become immune, my last few AP's (the yoof of today) seemed to use sexy all the time, as in that's a sexy laptop, sexy mobile, sexy haircut

I remember as a kid (ooop north) mums would say stuff like this all the time, but mainly to pre-linguistic children - same with the girl/boyfriend thing, and it meant nothing, really....just another adjective/bit of banter.
However, it seemed that once the children were talking and able to understand, it tailed off.
It was always said "Oooooh, who-whoo...sexy legs!!!!" in a joky kind of way, and i think the intention behind it was totally divorced from the meaning of the word.
Nowadays, though, if someone below a certain age said it i'd maybe do a double-take and wonder why they were so gormless as to be using it in these times.

I call both my dds sexy legs all the time, and say "wit woo"" as well. My mum and my nan always said it to me and my sister growing up. Nothing inappropriate about it.