I’ve been a fan of Renee from Womanist Musings’ (@womanistmusings) work for a long time and loved having the opportunity to connect with her recently on Skype as we filmed her segment of my toddler years video. I’ve been begging her to guest post for me for a while and am happy to finally have a piece of her work to share with you. Please welcome Renee to the blog.

Teaching a Child to Refer to her Genitalia as the C Word

Every parent eventually has to make a decision regarding what to teach their children about their genitalia.  Some people simply cannot bear to give their children the correct anatomical names and instead make up cutesy nick names for them.  In doing so, what they don’t recognize, is that they are introducing the idea of shame when it comes to both the physical body and sex and sexuality.  As the years pass, it sends a strong message that certain body parts are dirty and not to be spoken of.

The unhusband and I made the decision to tell our sons that they had both a penis and testes. This should not have been a controversial decision; however, when they entered school, one teacher  asked my oldest son to refer to his genitalia as his wee wee, because his forthrightness about his body made her uncomfortable. What should seem like a straight forward decision, can at times become complex depending on the people that you and your child interact with.

I recently came across the story of a feminist dad who decided to push the envelop when it came to talking to his daughter about her genitalia.

I really never thought this would happen. I had a vision that I was going to be able to raise my kids differently than anyone ever had, that they’d grow up free of racial prejudice and television and only wearing pink and all the other bad stuff that’s wandered into the head of any other kid, ever.

Sadly, that is not always the situation. Case study #1: Language.

In college I read Inga Muscio‘s amazing book Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. (I was a feminist! I was the only guy in Womyn’s Issues Now! I could do anything!) Essentially, the point of that book was that the word “cunt” used to be an honorific term for the female ruler of a country, whereas the word “vagina” is an Old English Latin word meaning “sheath for a sword.” And, in the earliest days of changing nappies and learning how female people wipe, I was quick to teach my gurgling baby proto-feminist girl to say “cunt!” instead of “vagina” — or instead of whatever other term you’d use.

No matter what anyone else said, or how they looked at me when I said it. In fact, because of how they looked at me when I said it. (source)

I think there is a good argument to made that teaching a little girl to refer to her genitalia as only a vagina, is teaching her to refer only to a specific part of her anatomy.  It is based in the idea that the only part of our genitalia that matters, is the opening that allows penetration by a man.  I would fully support teaching a child to use vulva instead; however,  I believe that cunt is not the appropriate choice to thwart the limiting social construction of what female genitalia signifies.

There are some women who have chosen to reclaim the word cunt. This is an individual choice, and the same cannot be said for a father who actively chooses to teach his daughter this word.  I think first we must consider that we are talking about a male parent. No matter the intention of the man in question, the word cunt will always be problematic.  He may have done the research of the etymological roots, but the fact of the matter is that today the word cunt is socially understood to be a reductive word used to attack and debase women, no matter how many times you watch the Vagina Monologue and watch as Eve Ensler, encourages the men in the audience to shout out the word.  Intent does not magically alter the social understanding of a word in question.

There are several groups who have attempted to reclaim words.  Some Blacks have attempted to reclaim the slur nigger and some gay people have also done so with the word queer, but despite their efforts, these words are still actively used as a slur, and even within the communities to whom these words belong, the idea of reclamation is not necessarily universally embraced. Then there are communities like the disabled community, who are attempting to ask people to reconsider their usage of words like retard, lame, crazy, and moron, with little success I might add. Regardless of the community that you address, a large part of the issue with these problematic words is that they not only have become socially ingrained, the meaning of each of these words has developed their own unique definition.

In many ways, this mans effort reminds me of those who insist on claiming that they were only talking about a cigarette, when called on their usage of the word f#g. Part of raising socially aware children is teaching them to think for themselves.  It begins by setting a foundation in which they are taught that all people matter regardless of their race, sexuality, gender, age, or ability.  From there, the next step should be a discussion of common isms aimed at historically marginalized group, along with the concept of privilege. The final stage, and the most exciting I might add, is turning their questions around and asking them what they think and why.  This can be as simple asking themselves to picture how they would feel in the place of the marginalized person at first.

I disagree with this man’s approach because his first thought removes choice.  Not all women believe that the word cunt should be reclaimed, and many, myself included, find it extremely offensive. He could have chosen to thwart the common understanding of female genitalia and use the term labia and then had a discussion on why cunt might be a word for her to consider, but instead he used his adult and male privilege to decide for her.  There may well come a time when she pulls away from her father’s understanding and decides that this word is not suitable for her, but we all know that ideas when introduced at a very young age are very difficult to overcome in later years. In this instance, I believe respecting women and encouraging agency should come with the right to name and that is something that was taken from her, in his bid to be the ultimate feminist man. Every person should have the right and ability to cherish their bodies.

Any parent who engages in social justice parenting will tell you that it is an uphill battle.  There are times when your children will say the most insightful things, and you will be filled with immense pride, and others when you feel it is hopeless because they have learned and internalized such negative things from either their friends, or the media.

Renee Martin is the proud mother of two very active young boys. She resides in Niagara Falls On with her family, where she works as a freelance writer and blogger.    Her home blogs are, Womanist Musings and Fangs for the Fantasy.

Photo credit:moxieg on flickr

This past week, I posted an article on my facebook page about some mothers in the UK that have decided to allow their teenage daughters’ boyfriends sleep over. Is that shocking? I didn’t think so. I found it progressive and refreshing. But not everyone agrees and some find the idea of it irresponsible or morally reprehensible.

I respect the fact that different people have different opinions about sex, ranging from “whoever, whenever, wherever” all the way to “put a ring on her before you sleep with her”. I also respect parents wishing to share their values with their children. However, I don’t think that forbidding something from happening in your home is the best way to ensure that your teen adopts your values. I think a loving, mutually respectful, open and connected relationship is the best way to do that.

Here are a few things that I know about teens and sex, from first or second hand experience:

• Teens who decide that they are ready to have sex are going to have sex, whether you allow it in your home or not (they’ll find somewhere else to do it and that may not be a safe place or with a safe person)
• Teens who are not ready to have sex, will not have sex, just because you allow it in your home
• Teens who give into pressure to have sex when they are not ready are going to do that whether you allow it in your home or not
• If teens of the opposite sex have a sleepover, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are having sex
• If teens of the same sex have a sleepover, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are not having sex

I reject the idea that “teens are going to have sex anyway, so you might as well allow it in your home”, because I don’t think that is entirely true. Some teens do opt not to have sex. That said, I also reject the idea that allowing your teen to have opposite sex sleepovers is encouraging them to enter into sexual relationships before they are ready.

These aren’t just my crazy ideas. In the book Not Under My Roof, Amy Shalet looks at parents, teens and the culture of sex in the United States and the Netherlands.

For American parents, teenage sex is something to be feared and forbidden: most would never consider allowing their children to have sex at home, and sex is a frequent source of family conflict. In the Netherlands, where teenage pregnancies are far less frequent than in the United States, parents aim above all for family cohesiveness, often permitting young couples to sleep together and providing them with contraceptives.

I haven’t read the book yet, but it certainly fits with both my experience and my worldview on parenting and sex.

If you don’t want your children to have sex before they are ready and don’t want them to practice unsafe sex, I think the best way to do that is:

• Instill self-confidence and a sense of self-worth in your children
• Teach them to respect themselves and to respect others (that means teaching them to say ‘no’ when they want to say ‘no’ and teaching them to hear and respect ‘no’)
• Teach them about safe sex and be open to answering their questions
• Share your opinions about sex with them, but be sure to tell them that they are free to form their own opinions and make their own decisions
• Tell them that they can come to you with any questions that they have, but also make sure there are other people they can go to with questions if they are not comfortable talking to you (doctor, older sister/brother, aunt/uncle, school guidance counselor, anonymous teen help phone, etc.)
• Ensure they have an easy way to get condoms and other forms of birth control if they decide that they need it

Then, after you have done that, trust your child. There really isn’t a huge difference between 16 years old and under the shackles of the parental roof versus 18 years old and in a college dorm. If you haven’t given them the skills to make good decisions by the time they are 16, then you probably have bigger things to worry about than just this issue.

I hope that if I teach my kids well, that they will make good decisions. But if they don’t and if one of them does end up with a revolving door of lovers coming in and out of our house, at least I may know about it and have an opportunity to talk to them about it. The parents who make sex sound dirty and forbid sex at home — they may (unknowingly) have the same problem, without the opportunity for dialogue.

Photo credit: michi003 on flickr

Late, but better than never. Happy Holidays to all of my blog readers! I wish you and your families all the best for whichever holidays and traditions you are celebrating this winter. Our family celebrates a secular Christmas. This year we were treated to several different Christmas concerts and were treated to songs, like the ones my son is singing in this video, in four different languages (raising multilingual kids is fun).

In addition to spending time with friends and family, I’ve also been reading about some of the traditions and celebrations of other bloggers that I read and interact with. Here are some of their posts:

• Mary writes about the visit from St. Nicholas in early December (we celebrate this at our house too, but he is called Nikolaus), with posts about getting ready the night before and waking up to surprises the next morning.
• PharaohKatt wrote about celebrating Litha on her own, since she is the sole pagan in her family. Since she is in Australia, it was actually Summer Solstice a few days ago.
• Patricia Harman writes about the Winter Solstice from her perspective as a practicing certified nurse midwife.
• Both Sarah from Little Boy Green and Jo from Outta Jo, Onto You write about creating new Winter Solstice traditions in their families.
• Ali writes about the candles, the food and the beauty in their family’s Hanukkah celebrations.
• Dorothy writes about her family’s menorah collection and other aspects of their Chanukah celebrations.
• WoodTurtle wrote about creating Muslim holiday traditions which honour some of her secular and German Christmas traditions.
• A couple of years ago here on my blog, Arwyn from Raising my Boychick wrote about Christmas, cookies, carols, cookies, and conflicting ideals.
• The Toronto Star also had a series on interfaith families in Toronto, which  showed how parents from different backgrounds combine their heritage, traditions and beliefs into new family celebrations.

Wishing you all many merry, happy, festive, joyous, loving and peaceful holidays.

Today on Gawker, Brian Moylan opened his post with with this:

Is there anything worse than mommy bloggers? That is a rhetorical question because if you have two firing synapses, you know the answer to that question.

Yeah, and people wonder why most of us don’t like being called mommy bloggers. Usually it is me sitting here, writing about how ridiculous it is when people claim that they don’t want to have to explain things to their kids. Or explaining why, in some circumstances, “I don’t know” is the best answer you can give a child. And now, all of a sudden, because I’m a mom and a blogger, I’m being painted with the same brush as a woman who didn’t want to have to explain a billboard of two men almost kissing to her child.

For what it’s worth, I drive by a sex shop with a variety of interesting window displays on the way to drop my kids off at school and have never complained about that. The KFC we drive by, yeah, I kind of wish it would burn to the ground like the McDonald’s around the corner did, but my fairy godmother doesn’t grant all of my wishes.

My kids know they are welcome to love anyone they want to love. We have lesbian friends. We took our three year old and five year old to the gay pride parade in Berlin last summer.  But somehow, I’m just like that mommy blogger who complained about the billboard, because we’re all the same.

What if Brian had opened a post with…

• Is there anything worse than coaches? Because, you know, some of them allow children to be raped right under their noses and therefore all of them are bad. 
• Is there anything worse than men? Because, you know, some of them beat their wives, and therefore all of them are bad.
• Is there anything worse than Muslims? Because, you know, some of them stone people to death, and therefore all of them must be bad.
  
• Is there anything worse than Americans? Because…you don’t really need me to finish that sentence, do you?

I could go on, but you get it. Moms are an easy scapegoat. It is okay to criticize moms and to paint them all with the same brush.

The really annoying thing is that most of Brian’s article was excellent. He did an excellent job explaining why the billboard (just like the “toy store for adults” that I pass on the way to school), isn’t really a big problem.

What if he asks what it’s an ad for? Tell him it’s for a way for men who fall in love with other men to meet. Easy as that. You don’t have to tell him it’s for sex. You can tell him it’s for love.

Brian may be right, the blog post he was critiquing may be “mommy blogging at its worst” (although he’d probably be surprised to find out that there is much, much, much worse than that out there). Homophobia shouldn’t be tolerated under any circumstances, even under the veiled “I’m such a liberal mom” circumstances. Brian seems like a smart guy and he makes a very important point.

So why did he need to use a ridiculous “straw mommy” to throw us all under the bus?

Image credit: All in One Training on flickr

I was here…

I was remembering all of this and more.

Where were you? What were you remembering?

I came across a post today that I really enjoyed. On the Camp Creek Blog, Lori wrote:

There’s a billboard in my town that makes me grind my teeth into dust. It shows a kid’s hands holding, on the left, a video-game controller and, on the right, a turtle. Then it says something along the lines of “unplug”.

She continued by explaining why the billboard bothers her:

The whole either/or mentality is what gets to me. By positing the game controller against the turtle, the message is “video games: bad, playing outside: good.” Why isn’t this a good way to get kids outdoors? Because if they reject the left side of that equation, they may automatically reject the right side. This kind of shaming argument runs a serious risk of turning kids off the outdoors.

I absolutely agree. I hate campaigns that attempt to shame people for their choices or their actions. I’ve written about this before as it relates to parents’ use of technology and as it relates to breastfeeding promotion and drunk driving ads.  Simply telling people what to do without understanding why they aren’t doing those things and without providing support to help them do those things is only going to create anger and resentment.

I think it is important to give kids plenty of opportunities to play outside and to foster a love of nature by engaging in outdoor activities with them. I also think that there are a lot of kids who spend too much time in front of the television and video games. However, I don’t think that setting up this type of good/bad equation is going to make kids suddenly turn off their video games and go outside.

The same logic applies to so many other things. Put the important/healthy thing on one side and the fun/delicious thing on opposite ends of the spectrum and you’re sure to teach your child to hate the important/healthy thing because you know that they love the fun/delicious thing.

• Math vs. Recess
• Broccoli vs. Chocolate
• Reading vs. Lego
• Kale Smoothie vs. Lemonade
• Volunteering vs. Going to a Movie
• Hiking vs. Nintendo
• Carrots vs. Cupcakes

There are so many enjoyable things in life. Some may be healthier than others when looked at in isolation and held up for an objective comparison. But life isn’t about trying to pack in as much healthy as we can. Life is about living. Enjoying a variety of different things is what makes life worth living.

If we act like we have to give up the things on the right in favour of the things on the left, we are going to make ourselves miserable. But if we give ourselves permission to have both the things on the left and the right and to enjoy them all, we’re more likely to be happy and successful.

Balancing shaming equations is not so fun. Doing math outdoors with chalk…now that’s awesome!

Image credit: stuartpilbrow on flickr

Every day I get dozens of e-mails from public relations firms, companies, writers and others asking me to feature their stuff on my blog. The thing is, that isn’t how I work. The content on this blog is mine and mine only (with the exception of a small number of hand picked guest posts). I don’t do reviews or giveaways (except for a rare book). But, I do offer advertising space. So if a product I am pitched seems like a good fit with my blog, I let them know about the advertising options. However, most of the products and ideas that I am pitched are so far removed from my subject matter, my values and my perspective that they just get deleted.

To give you an idea of the type of thing that gets sent my way, here is a sampling of the pitches I’ve received within the past few days (note: wording changed slightly on the descriptions and no links are provided so that this does not inadvertently become publicity for the pitch I was turning down):

• Life saving reflective products for humans and pets
• Campaign to design a pink baby play place in support of breast cancer (pink washing?)
• Video of executive of a big box store not wearing any pants while talking about a Christmas sale
• Report on the social and political impact of moms who blog. The opening line of the pitch was: “Did your mom ever send you to your room? Was it so that she could have some time to blog?”
• Octomom is going to be on a TV show
• Holiday stain removal
• Birthday bow tie
• TV personality substitute teaching kindergarten classes
• Same TV personality talking about Toddlers and Tiaras
• Once again the same TV personality wants to challenge you to have dinner as a family
• Guide to girl’s night out
• Kegel exercisers
• Announcement of winner of a stamp contest
• Adopted dog who teaches children manners
• Ergonomic backpacks
• Car racing video game tournament for kids
• Halloween-themed booster seats
• Gourmet food gifts
• Documentary on vaccine awareness
• An app that allows you to rate things you eat on a scale from healthy to fat
• A Parent Blogger Club relating to a specific popular toy item
• Dozens and dozens of proposed guest posts or “link to me please” requests for advice on everything from buying car insurance to diet and health to monitoring your kid’s use of the Internet

And then there is the story of the pitch I did accept and now wish I hadn’t. An author of a book wrote to me and asked me if he could send me a review copy of his book. The book sounded interesting and appropriate to what I write about, so I agreed.

A couple of weeks later, a courier arrived with a package that is about 20″ long, 15″ wide and 6″ deep. I opened it up, removed an excessive amount of paper stuffing, and found a black box about half the size of the original box. I removed the packaging on that, opened it up and found that it was a disposable video player with three videos in it and the box also contained a plastic baby bottle styled as a ketchup bottle. There was also an empty space that I assume was supposed to contain the book. Unfortunately, it was empty. So I received all of this packaging and throw away marketing materials and electronics instead of a book that I thought might come in a simple padded envelope.  I contacted the author five days ago expressing my disappointment in the package that I received and haven’t heard back.

What do you think?

• Are you glad I click “delete” when I receive these?
• Do you wish I covered more of these products on my blog?
• If you are a blogger, how do you react to pitches that are inappropriate to your blog or your audience?

At dinner the other night, Julian had a burning question:

Why are adults allowed to say “shit”, but kids aren’t?

This is the child who had to reflect on his use of the word “poo” at school last year, so I thought perhaps he was just searching for reasonable alternatives.

I didn’t have a good answer to his question. The problem with questions like these is that I’m not very good at hiding my own opinions while upholding some sort of correct worldview. You see, I don’t think there is anything wrong with the word “shit”. At least, I don’t think that “shit” is any worse than “crap” or “poo” or “doggie doodoo” or “woo woo” or any other word one might use to describe feces. I also don’t think that “shit” is any worse than “shoot” or “ouch” or “oh no” or any other word one might use to express how it feels to stub your big toe.

I read through the wikipedia entry on “shit” to see if there was something about the word that maybe I didn’t know. Was there some deeper meaning that made it less appropriate than other terms that are used interchangeably but considered acceptable? I didn’t find one. I read about the seven words you can never say on (public) television, and while I agree that children don’t need to be exposed to vulgar sexual language, I really couldn’t find any reason why “shit” and “piss” are on that list.

A while back, Mrs. Flinger tackled this topic on her blog. Her words have stuck with me and defined how I approach the words that sometimes come out of kids mouths:

I taught four year olds for a few years back before I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I learned that words get tossed around as a way to “test” their power. If you give the word power, the kids will run with it. My husband and I always said cussing is just that.. cussing. Meh. I do it all the time.

Ultimately, I couldn’t come up with a good reason why Julian shouldn’t use the word “shit”. Not at the time. Not after the fact.

So my answer to his question was:

I don’t know. (incidentally, he is used to me saying “I don’t know” by now).

You can say “shit” at home if you want, just don’t say it at school.

My partner added something along the lines of some people thinking that it is rude. We left it at that.

This was just a test run, I imagine, for the day when we have to explain to him why he cannot say random religious words in French, like “Mon ostie de saint-sacrament de câlice de crisse!”

Image credit: Silly Little Man on flickr

October 31st isn’t just Halloween. It is also a date for thinking about and participating in three important causes. In our house, we’ll be participating in all three and I’d love it if you would consider joining us on one, two or three of these paths.

#NoNestle: Nestlé-Free Week (October 31 to November 5, 2011)

Each year Baby Milk Action coordinates the International Nestlé-Free Week. It is intended as a time for people who already boycott Nestlé to do more to promote the boycott and for those who don’t boycott to give it a try. On its blog, Baby Milk Action wrote:

The main target of the boycott is Nescafé coffee. If you only boycott Nescafé, try giving all Nestlé products a miss for this week. If you don’t boycott because you don’t want to miss out on a Nestlé brand, try it for this week. In some countries 31 October is marked as Halloween when sweets/candies are given to children – this provides a great opportunity to explain why you won’t be buying Nestlé confectionery.

You can read more about Nestlé-free week and some of their initiatives, including a photo contest, on Baby Milk Action’s blog post.

If you are hearing about this for the first time or if you need a reminder about why to consider boycotting Nestlé, check out my blog post on Nestlé’s unethical business practices. If you need ideas for Halloween treats that are not from Nestlé, check out these great posts:

• No Nestlé Halloween at KellyNaturally
• 3 Tips for Choosing Healthier Halloween Candy at I Thought I Knew Mama

UNICEF and the Orange Box

Since 1950, children have been wearing orange boxes around their neck as they head out trick or treating on Halloween. I remember wearing one as a child.  and this Friday, my kids brought home their boxes from school. When they head out on Monday, they will be wearing their boxes around their neck so that households who want to add a few pennies to their box can do so (correction: the boxes they brought home, which look just like the ones UNICEF used to use, are actually for another charity).

I think that the UNICEF boxes are a great way to get kids involved in fundraising for important causes from a young age. This year UNICEF is trying to raise $2 million to provide educational resources for 5 million children around the world.

In addition to the orange boxes handed out at schools in some countries, UNICEF has also created a virtual option. This is great for families that are homeschooling or that don’t do traditional trick or treating. Canadians can go to the UNICEF Canada Make October Count for Kids Page to learn about making a donation, collecting donations via a virtual box, or helping to spread the word. People in other countries can go to the UNICEF.org page on Halloween Fundraising to find the links for their own country.

Movember: Raising Money and Awareness for Prostate Cancer

On October 31, a group of men, including my partner, will be shaving their upper lip for the last time until December. Commenting on the calendar of the months to come, my kids have been saying “first it’s Halloween, then it’s Daddy grows a moustache, then its Christmas.” Wondering what this is all about? Welcome to Movember — the worldwide initiative to raise awareness about prostate cancer and money for prostate cancer research.

On the Movember website, they break down some of the stats:

Movember’s primary campaign objective is to raise awareness of men’s health issues, specifically cancers affecting men. We want everyone to know that most cancers are highly curable if caught in the early stages – including prostate and testicular cancer. Movember aims to increase early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment, as this will ultimately reduce the number of deaths from cancer. It’s time men face the startling health facts.

The Stats

• There are 177,800 new cases of cancer and 75,000 cancer deaths expected in Canada in 2011.
• The average life expectancy for men is five years less than women (presently 78 years old compared to 83).
• In 2011 there will be more cases of prostate cancer diagnosed than breast cancer.
• After prostate cancer lung is the most common cancer in Canada.
• 5% more men will develop cancer during their lifetimes in Canada than women.
• Incident rates of cancer are highest in the Maritime provinces and Quebec.
• After cancer the leading cause of death in men is heart disease.
• Approximately 93,000 Canadian men will be diagnosed with cancer, and an estimated 39,900 men will die of cancer.
• On average, 11 Canadian men will die of prostate cancer every day.
• Testicular Cancer is the most common cancer in young men in Canada between the ages of 15-29.
• Among Canadians of all ages 4 out of every 5 suicides are male.

Canada’s New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton fought and beat prostate cancer but was sadly unable to beat a second type of cancer. While he was still with us, Jack was a big supporter of prostate cancer awareness programs and I expect there will be a lot of men supporting a Layton-style moustache this November in his memory. Layton photo credit: Matt Jiggins on Flickr

Last year, my friend Rebecca’s husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. A year later, having gone through treatment, he is doing really well. Her family’s ordeal helped raise awareness in Ottawa and beyond about the need to see a doctor and get tested, even at a younger age (her husband was 36 when he was diagnosed).

I hope you’ll all support the Movember movement in your country and maybe try to convince a guy in your life to participate or, at least, to see a doctor every once in a while. It could save his life.

Which causes are you supporting?

Are you getting behind one, two or three of these causes? Are there other causes that are incredibly important to you and your family right now? Our family has recently made donations for the famine in Africa and will continue to do so and as we approach the Christmas season, we’ll continue to support local charities like the food bank, snowsuit fund, toy mountain and other organizations that help out low income families during the holiday season and the cold winter.

This image from Occupy London has been floating around on facebook. I thought it was interesting, so I decided to print it off and bring it home and test it out with my family. We happened to have friends over, a dad and his two kids, so we were able to include them in the discussion as well.

SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE TEST YOURSELF, STOP HERE BEFORE CONTINUING.

This is what happened….

All the adults recognized all of the brands easily. We got three to four of the plants. Maple and oak were easy for everyone. We settled on beech for the bottom right after debating for a bit. While the picture isn’t great, we figure the conifer in the top right is a pine (but could also be a spruce). We didn’t get the middle bottom or middle top ones. After looking online, I now know that the middle top is probably an ash (but I don’t think we have those around our area). We’re still not sure about the middle bottom. It could be a bad illustration of an elm or a birch leaf or something else altogether. Given that this is a British picture and we are in North America, that could be our problem too.

Next we asked the kids, two boys and two girls, ages 4, 5, 6 and 7.

• All of the kids got McDonald’s and the maple leaf immediately (they are Canadian kids after all!).
• Most of the kids also got the oak and one of them got the beech.
• Beyond McDonald’s they didn’t do that well on the brands.
• They all said “apple” for the Apple logo, but it does look like an apple, so I probed further to see if they knew what the Apple company makes. They thought about it for a while, discussed, and eventually came up with computers. Given the amount of time my kids spend with their dad’s iphone in their hands, I was surprised that they didn’t associate it with that.
• They said “crocodile” for the Lacoste symbol, but when asked what the company makes, the only answer they could come up with was “reptiles”.
• They couldn’t come up with the name of the Nike symbol, but they did associate it with clothing (one kid) or shoes (another kid).
• They also didn’t know the Volkswagen name and thought that the symbol was for a gas station. I was surprised my kids didn’t get this one since we walked past a Volkswagen dealership almost daily when we lived in Berlin and they always noticed the cars.
• They didn’t recognize the facebook logo, remarking only that it was the letter F. That surprised me though, since my kids do know what facebook is and often ask me to put pictures on facebook to show their grandparents in Europe. I guess they just haven’t been visually exposed to the logo that much though.

I thought it was an interesting exercise. I don’t have any illusions about my kids being sheltered from brands, but I was surprised how few of these they knew. I do think there are other brands that are kid specific that they are much more familiar with at this point in time than some of the brands on this page.

If you try this exercise with your family, I’d be interested to hear what your results are like.