The title caught your eye, didn't it? Well, lucky for you this is not clickbait. My mom did indeed teach me the word "penis" along with "labia," "vagina," "breast" and "nipple," and I am indeed truly thankful for it. Soon you'll understand why.

I've known these words as long as I can remember because I was taught them early. You might think, "That's absurd! Children don't need to be using those words!" But the fact of the matter is, they do. And most children use them in the wrong way.

This creates a cycle of false information and ideas spreading from the time we're just little children playing on the playground, knowing virtually nothing about the real world. In this age of "fake news" more than ever, I think we need to inform rather than perpetuate lies.

Also, because I was taught the scientific truth about these parts, they weren't such an anomaly to me. I didn't really have that urge, as children do, to go look on the internet and see what my parents weren't telling me. Today, that would save your children from a whirlwind of pornographic sites.

Now, just because she taught me these words and told me a little about what they are doesn't mean she gave me the sex talk at 2 years old. It didn't mean I even knew that was a word that existed. For all I knew, penises and labia were where people peed, the vagina was where Mommy bled once a month, and breasts and nipples were how she fed my baby sister. Nothing sexual, completely scientific and informative. Hell, I thought people got pregnant by making out until I was in middle school.

Anyway, because of this, and because my mom taught me this, I thought the word "boobs" was stupid little boy playground talk that separated me from the people I didn't want to hang out with. (And I've gotta say, that judge of character was often spot-on.)

On a more serious note, my mom taught me these things to keep me safe. Here's what she told me, almost two decades after teaching me these words.

"It helps a parent or doctor understand if a child is describing a medical problem. Also, it is very important in the awful event of sexual abuse, that the child knows the proper terms. It takes away a huge avenue to hide the abuse by calling those parts by different things, so even if the child talks about it, no one will know what the child is describing. It also helps with investigating such an assault."

Thank the Lord that I never had to use these terms for such events, but it is a very serious reason to consider teaching your children these words. Every day, we put our children in the hands of other adults that we trust, but sadly trust isn't enough to keep away pedophiles. Keep your children safe.

So, I'm not telling you to tell your kids about sex at 3 years old but inform them. The earlier you let them in on that "confusing" part of life, the more likely they are to not think of it as taboo. We were all young teenagers once, and I think we all know that the taboo topics were the things we wanted to try the most.

While you're at it, teach them anything a normal human needs to know to get by in this world and teach them young. The more you teach them where they're young, the more informed they will be as adults.

Teach them that they can love whoever they want to love and that Uncle Rob and Sam's marriage is just as valid as Mommy and Daddy's. Teach them that they can be whoever they want to be and that they should always be comfortable with telling you who that is. Teach them that they can make a difference, even just as one person. Teach them that their bodies are magnificent, no matter the shape or size. Teach them that they are deserving of your love forever and always.

Teach your children these things because they are the future of this world.

Most importantly, teach your children to love and be loved, because without love we are nothing.