The power of not talking down to children

I've always been a big proponent of using mature vocabulary with children. Though I've done my share of "baby talk," it's generally in my tone of voice--not in the actual words I use--that constitutes baby talk.

In our home, we use proper words for things. Perhaps some day, hearing the word vagina, penis or breasts from a 5 year old might get some stares from other parents, but we really believe in using proper names and hope there will be no need for those proper terms with other small children, which might make other parents uncomfortable.

We also use the mature adult words for things. Though there are times we have to explain to our children what the word used means, it's well worth it.

We were going to a local pizzeria/game room the other day that we rarely patronage and we said to our 5 year old: "Do you remember the crawly tubes they have there? You and your sister really enjoyed it last time."

To which she replied, "no, it's NOT crawly tubes, it's a PLAY STRUCTURE."