My 3rd grader is studying the solar system and every time he names the planets, he smirks, giggles or outwardly laughs when he names Uranus. It’s a joke that never gets old.
Butt, boobs, pee, poop … common “potty words” that most little boys find hysterical, but not my boys … at least not until recently.
I had almost made it through 11 full years of parenting without experiencing the bathroom humor phase. Bum jokes and poop talk were never a big thing with my boys until recently. Back in the springtime, my older son was studying the human body around the same time that my younger son was reading a book about the solar system. One night over dinner, their worlds collided when my younger guy realized that the body part anus sounded very much like the planet Uranus. Hysterical laughter ensued and from that night on, butt jokes became king.
Age appropriate humor for a 3rd grader? Most likely. A bit childish for a middle-schooler? Possibly. Harmful or perverse? Hardly.
It’s not like my boys have turned into Beavis and Butthead or anything. Far from it. Their puns are generally innocent and mild, not crude or crass. And it’s not like butt jokes and booby talk is being spewed continuously, or even regularly, in our house. That said, when/if an opportunity presents itself, it certainly isn’t missed.
Case in point: While shopping for birthday cards recently, the boys came across two cards that garnered big laughs … one about an itchy butt, the other about hairy buttocks. Luckily, the recipients were 8- and 11-year old boys as well, so the humor wasn’t lost.
I’ll admit that I sometimes find myself laughing at their ridiculous jokes, puns and word plays … Boobies is a fun word to say; Uranus is an absurd name; and the “M-i-s-s-i-s-s-“I-PEE“-p-i” pun is still going strong. Classic stuff!
So here’s my theory: If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, then I think young girls are from Saturn and young boys are from Uranus. Get it?
– LJDT
