Online starlet Maisie plays the name game
NHS advert helps youngsters to learn correct terms for body parts
Little starlet Maisie Craig has proved she isn’t camera shy after being chosen to star in a controversial health campaign.
The eight-year-old , from Paisley, bagged a starring role in an online NHS advert which encourages parents to teach young children the correct names for genitals.
The ad — which has racked up around 4,000 views since launching in April — forms part of a campaign delivered through the NHS’s sexual health service, Sandyford.
The initiative urges parents to ditch slang words like ‘willy’, ‘winky’, ‘ flower’ or ‘ front bottom’ and start teaching children the actual medical terms of ‘penis’, ‘vagina’ and ‘nipples’ from a young age.
The NHS say that using proper words when referring to private parts prevents kids from becoming confused with terminology and enables them to learn what behaviour and actions around these areas are appropriate.
In the advert, Maisie is busy with her homework when she blurts out to her stunned father: “Daddy, did you know I’ve got a vulva?”
After reading up on information on the Sandyford for parents website, the dad in the video begins to use proper terminology for private parts around Maisie’s character and it soon becomes normal.
Maisie, who attends PACE Youth Theatre group in Paisley, was cast in the advert after going through a casting and audition process.
Mum Jemma said she was over the moon when her daughter was picked for the role and she thinks the campaign is a fantastic thing.
She said: “I’m very proud that Maisie was picked for the advert.
“The drive behind the campaign is very important.
“You call your elbow your elbow, there’s no other name for it — so why don’t we stick to one name for genitals?”
Jemma explained that, at first, some of her friends were shocked by the video.
She said: “When the advert first appeared online I had one friend asking me how I could let Maisie take part in it and said it was inappropriate.
“But I explained to her that it’s nothing our kids aren’t learning in school and she understood a bit more.
“Children are being taught proper terminology in school now from primary one onwards and often parents don’t know exactly what goes on in class.
“The Sandyford online campaign is a tool for parents to use so they can bridge that gap between home and school.
“The website is categorised and is age appropriate, so you can see what your child is learning with regards to sexual health in the classroom and carry on the same work at home to avoid confusion.”
On the Sandyford website, the NHS say that adults often see words like ‘vulva’ or ‘penis’ as sexual, but they claim that children won’t view them as ‘dirty’ words unless they are taught not to do so.
Jemma says that parents shouldn’t tell their child off for using these words as they shouldn’t be deemed as embarrassing.
She added: “There’s a stigma that surrounds the medical terms and that’s not right.
“A lot of the older generation especially often feel embarrassed when it comes to sexual health and they don’t know how to approach that kind of conversation with a child — but the more comfortable parents and guardians are with using the right words, the more normal it will become. “It’s a safety thing too. “If a child is confused about private parts it can cause a real problem if something happens.
“This campaign teaches children to know what the parts of their body are, what they do and who should be allowed near them.”