Children and the Human Body

The other day I told my daughter that my anatomy class dissected sheep brains. She asked a lot of follow-up questions. Our conversation meandered through topics such as scalpels and surgery before ending on C-sections. She asked to see a picture of a C section scar. Then she asked to see a picture of stitches. Then she asked to see a picture of the incision before stitches. I considered whether the images could be too graphic for her, but she was genuinely interested. Instead of a picture of the incision, I showed her a picture of a freshly born baby with his umbilical cord still attached. Blood, babies, the body - they are all just parts of our human nature, after all.

This philosophy has led me to adopt another potentially controversial practice: I don't care if my kids see me naked. For awhile, it was a little out of my control. When we remodeled our bathroom, we didn't have a door. The kids could waltz in whenever they wanted. It was hard to tell them they were crossing a boundary when there was no physical demarcation present.

Even now, when we do have a door, sometimes they walk in the room when I'm shaving. I politely inform them that I need some time for myself, but I don't rush to hide. The way I see it, the human body is part of God's creation. God's creation is perfect; humans ruin it by being selfish or using others. My kids are still innocent. I have to protect them from other people, but I don't have to "protect" myself from them.

Soon enough, I know it will become awkward, and I'll make sure to lock the door. (Note to self: buy a lock.) In the meantime, my kids are seeing a "real" person - not the airbrushed, sometimes surgically-altered images in the media. They will probably forget what I look like (in fact, I hope they do), but they might remember that an imperfect woman was comfortable in her own skin. In truth, I have many insecurities, but I don't mention them in front of my kids in the hope that they will have healthier relationships with their own bodies.

Really, that's all there is to it. I'm not trying to make a statement or be a rebel; I'm just trying to raise confident, healthy, scientifically-aware children!

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 14, 2018 at 4:03 PM

    If they ever have questions you don't know how to answer or they are uncomfortable talking to their mom about, feel free to ask me or send them my way. "Aunt" Allie, RN, had a knack for making uncomfortable topics super normal. Good for you for teaching them the facts rather than lying or watering it down. Human anatomy is normal and nothing to be ashamed of.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Can Do Better

I have a brother-in-law who once posted an article about a woman revived after a lightning strike. Her recovery was considered a miracle since she was thought to be dead. After she was revived, she claimed that she had traveled through hell and could discern the sins that had led individuals there. She said the deepest level, full of the worst suffering and completely isolated from God, was reserved for those who had committed suicide. I'm sure my relative shared the story to encourage people to think more seriously about the fate of their souls and the consequences of their actions. While I wondered about the theological validity of the woman's claims (and even whether or not her "experience" was actually a side effect of the lightning strike), I kept thinking that my brother-in-law was willing to promote a story that proclaimed suicidal individuals are the worst type of people. Stigma, judgment, fear - many things prevent individuals with mental illness from rec
Read more

Family History

My husband is 100% Polish. One grandparent and all of his great-grandparents were born in Poland. Even a relative who may have been born in an area that was once part of Russia listed "Polish" as his native language. Polish traditions are still pretty strong in his family, and I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of their cultural heritage. What is my own ethnic background? In short, I don't know exactly. When I was younger, my parents always told me I was Irish and German. They were a little vague on the percentages of each and when my ancestors came to the United States. Additionally, we don't have any explicit traditions linking us to those particular cultures. I sometimes joked that I was a "mutt" waiting to be adopted by a more specific tradition. I have recently begun to research more of my family history. I have verified that at least a few relatives came from Germany, probably in the 1800s. Another line seems to go back to Wales; that family
Read more

Summer Reflections

The beginning of summer can be a difficult time for me. I look forward to warm weather, festivals, extra time with my kids, and a more relaxed atmosphere. It also comes with graduations and the discussion of students' choices of colleges and majors. Given my insecurities, it's hard not to look at what others are doing and wonder if I made the best decisions for myself. In my AP class this week, students were discussing which medical specialty they may want to pursue. There were only seven individuals in the room, but five of them were chatting about their plans for medical school. In my experience, when people find out about my education history, they can't understand why I would have abandoned physical therapy or optometry for a teaching career. Just the other day, though, an interesting memory returned to me. Within the first couple months of optometry school, I was restless. Unlike other students, I wasn't excited by the clinic rotations; I didn't care w
Read more