You know the song, right? We sing along to it at library storytimes, preschool, sometimes even in the car—it’s a universal toddler-anthem. Hmmm, hm, hmm hm, hm, hmm, hmmm,.. It’s so catchy–plus, it’s educational! We’re teaching body parts through song.
But I teach a class for parents on how to talk to your kids about sex, and a consequence of being a teacher is that you must do a lot of learning and observing, too. So I frequently find myself noticing how funny our society is about sex. This song is my latest victim, as it occurred to me that it’s kind of like teaching our children that certain parts of our bodies are unmentionable. I picture a fictional songwriter, making a list of body parts to include in her song. She starts out with a comprehensive list, but later reconsiders when she imagines her 3 year old loudly singing the song in the grocery store.
