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Phase: Open Submission

What do you see? Teaching children to name all their body parts.

Teach a child his body parts, but systematically skipping the private parts, they will get the impression that those parts do not exist.

Photo of Lotte Jonkergouw
14 2

Written by

What do you see?


Do you know the place, 

of everything on your face?


*let the child look into the mirror in the book and point out; 

eyes, ears, nose, chin, cheeks, lips etc.*


On our chest, some have only nipples while others also have... 

Breast


Bodies come in all kind of forms. 

Big apples and tiny worms.


Down your shoulder, arm, elbow and wrist. 

With your hands you can make a fist.


Clap Clap *clapping in your hands together*


From our neck, down our back, we look quite the same. 

But our fronts are quite a different game.


Most body parts have just one name. 

But for our private parts, they are not called the same.


Wee-wee, flower, front button, vulva, pussy, minnie, vagina *insert own examples*


Abraham, cock, diddle, pee-wee, dingus, winkie, penis *insert own examples*


Shake your legs and bend your knees. 

Turn your ankles and wiggle those toes please. 


From head to toe.

Can you now point out all your body parts? 


*let the child point out the body parts you mention.*


Shoulders, mouth, fingers, feet, ears, hands, eyelashes, belly, chest, toes, head, ankle, hair, face, elbow, neck, vagina, bellybutton, breasts, legs, eyes, nails, nose, nipples, knees, cheeks, chin, chest, penis, eyebrows, legs, butt and arms.


Great job!

Describe the intended vision for your early childhood book manuscript in 1-2 sentences

By going from the head down to the toes and naming everything in between, the book teaches children that the penis and vagina are regular body parts just like knees, elbows or noses.

Share your suggested book title

What Do You See? or within mind the possibility of a series; A Bathtime Story.

How has this book been informed by early childhood language development research and evidence? (response minimum 250 Characters)

I created this book during my graduation at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Netherlands. After I’ve noticed that private parts are mysteriously hidden in all sorts of games, videos, books, and images used to teach 0 to 6-year-old children to name their body parts. I did extensive research on this topic and the importance of naming these body parts from the start. I received support and guidance from the Rutgers Foundation, for sexual and reproductive health and rights. ( https://www.rutgers.international/ ) Also, the work of Sanderijn van der Doef, psychologist and sexologist, was of great importance. ( https://sanderijnvanderdoef.nl/ ) To test various editions of the book I have talked to many parents and children from all over the world, received hundreds of positive responses during the graduation show at Dutch Design Week.

Please describe any familiarity you may have with Philadelphia and its residents? (optional question)

.

How have you crafted this manuscript to resonate with and/or reflect the experiences of those living in urban contexts? (optional question)

We live in a society in which sexuality plays a major role. Think about sexy video clips, commercials and role models on social media. But talking about it rather not. Parents all over the world, often are too embarrassed to name the ‘private parts, giving the impression that these do not exist, are not important or even dirty. “You will learn about that at school.” “You are too young” “Stop it! That is; “dirty!” “wrong!” or even “sinful!” Do you recognize this? By rejecting or ignoring questions, young children learn to keep quiet. Yet teaching kids the proper names early opens the door to talking about gender and sexuality later.

Location: Country

The Netherlands

Location: State or Department

Gelderland

Location: City

Wijchen

Website URL (optional question)

www.lottejonkergouw.com

Tell us more about you / your team

I recently graduated from the Design Academy, the Netherlands. I see myself as a design researcher, concept developer and product designer. I strongly believe in the power of teamwork. Winning this challenge would empower me to improve this piece of work together with others and inspire thousands of people. Beside that hopefully, provides the opportunity to continue working on a series of this book.

Provide an example visual identity for a look and feel you might like to achieve. ( (optional question, 3-5 visuals)

In the video, I walk you through the current design of the book. Which I illustrated myself. The other images are examples of what direction I would like to take it further.

Multiple Choice - Have you been previously published (online, self-published, and print included)?

  • No

Do you have an agent?

  • No

How did you hear about the Challenge? (optional question)

  • OpenIDEO announcement email

What best describes you? (optional question)

  • I am/we are creatives, writers, or artists

Attachments (1)

Manuscript - What do you see? Jonkergouw Lotte.pdf

14 comments

Join the conversation:

Comment
Spam
Photo of Lotte Jonkergouw
Team

Thank you all for your feedback. I tried to create more engagement in the story through the use of rhyme. In the end, I don't want the book to have a fixed storyline. First of all, I have noticed that kids love to go back and forth, comparing or repeating pages. Secondly, the purpose of the book will remain clear; naming the body parts.

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Photo of Itika Gupta
Team

Hi Lotte Jonkergouw  Welcome to the Challenge Community!
You have a very fascinating, important and critical story talking about such an obvious yet sometime uncomfortable conversation.
How might you evolve your manuscript to create rhythmic nudges of engagement for caregivers, to help keep the child’s attention as they narrate the story ? You can find some inspiration in the Challenge Resources listed at the end of the Challenge Page to understand more nuances about writing for learning development of 0-3yr olds.

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Photo of Ashanti Antonio Prescott
Team

I've seen so many different perspectives in the challenge thus far, but I'd not seen this particular subject matter as yet. Very interesting. Good luck

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Photo of Lotte Jonkergouw
Team

Thank you :)

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Spam
Photo of Ashanti Antonio Prescott
Team

You are welcome.. feel free to give me any feedback you may on my stories or the other participants as this helps all of us to better our craft.

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Photo of Perlina Murray
Team

Make it more interesting. Use rhyme and song. It has to be more child friendly. Something like:
Today we are going to learn our body parts.
Yeah. Oh we will have fun at last.
with my eyes I can see,
I can see a bumble bee.
With my nose I can smell
Mummy making roti shell.
With my mouth I can talk,
Saying numbers on the clock.
Something like that.

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Photo of Lotte Jonkergouw
Team

That is a really great tip. Thank you, I will start working on it.

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Photo of Perlina Murray
Team

Wonderful. Go for it.

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Photo of Shondra M. Quarles
Team

Interesting....

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Photo of Dawnnbooks .
Team

A very important discussion.
But surely there is a more baby friendly name for this story???

>>Teaching children to name ALL their body parts.<< Is more like a description of the story.

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Photo of Lotte Jonkergouw
Team

Yes indeed, the title of the book; What do you see? is unfortunately already in use in another submission for this challenge. I couldn't use it anymore but now I see I'm able to combine them, hopefully, it's more clear now.

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Photo of Dawnnbooks .
Team

If I understand this... Where we are supposed to put the name of the story there is a description instead?

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Photo of Lotte Jonkergouw
Team

Yes that is correct, I had to change it and be a bit creative with the title of my application because otherwise it is too similar tot someone else’s title. (The submission form did not allow it.)

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Photo of Dawnnbooks .
Team

Ahhhh gotcha.
Thanks for explaining.

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