No Scrotum Here

I am on duty as the P.M. parent to be home with the little one. She just went in for a nap after reading Smudge. Luckily for me, there were no discussions of male body parts or references to medical terms for the human anatomy. God forbid we as parents, teachers, adults in general would have to brave a conversation with our children about human anatomy.

I of course am making light of the hub-bub surrounding the newly minted Newberry Award winning book called The Higher Power of Lucky. I have not read the book yet, but in it a ten year old girl is listening-in on AA meeting and overhears a sordid conversation in which the word scrotum is uttered. Many people are outraged, that is probably an understatement, by the use of the word. Seriously, a lot of 10-12 year old girls are getting their periods and are then off engaging in adult behavior. I think the medical terminology in a book should not be the focal point of those outraged. How about not letting your kids watch primetime television or listen to some mainstream pop music. How about sitting down to dinner together as a family and talking about each other's lives - and no, the mall food court does not count. Considering that the bulk of this country does not read, the use of one word 2-3 times in a book is probably the least of our collective problems. Maybe it's just me, but do people take this kind of stuff WAY to seriously or what? Aren't there bigger issues, many of which start in the home, that should be addressed...and then maybe this word in this book would not be such a big deal? Frankly, I find American Idol more offensive that the word Scrotum, but that's just me.