If I didn't laugh I'd cry.....
Who didn't look up swear words in dictionaries when they were younger? If your school dictionaries didn't automatically fall open on the word "fuck" then you either managed to get a brand new, untouched copy or you went to a school for the blind.
I suspect that this kid has asked his parents about oral sex because of what he read in the dictionary, they've become embarrased due to their own inability to explain this to their child so, rather than think about how best to approach the subject, they've decided to dismiss it as something 'bad', and called for the banning of a dictionary. Great parenting and a sure way to encourage your kids to be comfortable asking you questions in the future. Not.
Fair enough, there are kids dictionaries which don't have common swear words so why not invest in that? Outright banning of the dictionary only prevents kids learning which is unacceptable. With literacy rates in the Western world the way they are and children not being educated enough already it's shocking that knowledge should be witheld because one small group of people don't agree. Do these people not think that their children are being exposed to sex in their everyday lives through media, playground rumours and myths and what they overhear from other people? If your child is smart enough to question what they're told then they're smart enough to deserve an answer suitable to their age.
Yes, ten year olds don't need to know what oral sex is but they'll sure as hell hear about it in the playground, on the television or wherever else. It's been the same for generations and it's not likely to change. Our children are entitled to an explanation rather than having their questions fobbed off because it makes us uncomfortable.
I'll give you an example, my nine year old daughter LOVES music and has pretty mature tastes for her age. She recently discovered 'Queen' and loves Freddie Mercury, so we were talking about the band and their music and she told me she heard that Freddie was gay. She had asked about people being gay before and I explained to her, to an appopriate level at least, that some people are attracted to the same sex and that there's nothing wrong with that. I confirmed that Freddie was indeed gay, she knows that it's no big deal so didn't ask much more about that. A few days later she asked me how Freddie Mercury died so I told her that he contracted AIDS and how it affects the body. I didn't go into how it was transmitted since I didn't think it was appropriate for her to know at present but she asked me later how he managed to get AIDS in the first place. I kinda stumbled on the words for a moment (through my own embarrasment) and then realised that it's better that she's educated about things like this than left to find out on her own, have her head filled with rumours and suchlike about it so I told her straight that it was mainly a sexually transmitted disease that's passed on through having unprotected sex. She was a little embarrased and blushed but I told her it was ok to ask these things and that I'd rather she get the truth from me than second hand falsehoods from others.
Being a kid, she didn't pursue the question much further
I think her embarrasment, the same way we all felt, got in the way but I told her that she could talk to me about ANYTHING and it's something I've always encouraged her to do. The point of that example is that it's possible to educate your children without going beyond what's appropriate for them to know. If you need to say to them "I think maybe you're a bit too young for that right now but we can talk about it when you're a bit older" then there's nothing wrong with that. Kids will be inquisitive and depriving them of facts and knowledge is wrong.
Anyway, that's me off on another bloody rant again.....Maybe I just tend to read a bit too much into things....
Ident is a fictional character - The stories and quoutes attributed to Ident should be treated as having no basis in reality.