Q: My son is 2 years and 9 months old. People at my home have made it an issue to point towards his genitals and make fun of it. He thinks it is funny. They call it chilly. I have often tried telling him that it is another part of his body and there is nothing funny about it. When I ask my husband to tell the others not to make it an issue, he says maybe if we keep the child ignorant we might have to give him sex education when he grows up. This might help him to understand his body. I don't know how to tackle this, with what words I explain him the body part at his age?

A:It seems like you are fighting a lone battle! The first thing to do is to tell your husband what you feel and why, on such matters. Making fun of the child’s genitals or giving it a funny name will not exactly take the place of sex education at a later time. That will come in due course and there should be no hesitation on the part of the parents to talk to him at his level when he does ask about it. You could tell him the word denoting genitals in your mother tongue and also explain that some people use other words. Whatever you are concerned about is not a major problem. Be a little relaxed about it. Tell your child about the modesty rules expected in your family and what is right behaviour within the house and outside it. After that, just don't make an issue of it.